By Harold Egeln
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BROOKLYN – Fear not, bus and subway riders, for there will be no service cuts or fare increases in 2010 under the transit agency’s preliminary budget.

That’s the message from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which shook up riders earlier this year with proposed draconian service cuts and high fare hikes that an Albany plan prevented.

On Wednesday the MTA announced its 2010 preliminary budget and four-year financial plan, both subject to public and government discussion through this December. “As promised to the governor and the legislature, the 2010 budget includes no service cuts or fare increases,� said the MTA statement, forecasting a balanced budget through 2011 sustained by a moderate surplus.

“We are grateful to Gov. David Paterson and the legislature for their strong commitment to the transit system during the current economic downtown,� said MTA Board Chair H. Dale Hemmerdinger about the arrangement made in Albany two months ago after months of wrangling and riders’ fears.

“Meeting the MTA’s fiduciary responsibilities while sparing our customers from the drastic and painful measures proposed earlier this year will help us keep to our mission of providing safe, dependable and affordable public transportation,� said Hemmerdinger in a statement released by the MTA.

The outcry of protest from riders, elected and civic officials, and mass transit advocates in Brooklyn kept up the pressure to prevent the proposed cuts all over Brooklyn, from East New York and Canarsie to Bay Ridge, from Bedford-Stuyvesant to DUMBO and Sheepshead Bay. Major bus routes such as the B25, B37 and B75 were among those slated for total elimination but escaped the axe.

However, 7.5 percent fare increases are scheduled in 2011 and again in 2013. The fare hikes enacted by the MTA on June 28 were smaller than the original proposed increases.

The MTA took a more fiscally responsible and saving-pennies approach, as shown in the four-year financial plan announcement, noting, “Projected cash balances of $29 million in 2009, $39 million in 2010 and $1 million in 2011. Manageable deficits are projected for 2012 and 2013.�

In addition, the announcement cited “significant spending restraints building on the substantial expense reductions taken in 2009 to save $64 million in 2010. The savings grow to $297 million in 2013.�

Already, MTA’s NYC Transit is planning a $32.5 million budget cut in its station, bus and subway car cleaning crews, with a slowdown in station repairs and maintenance.

Economy’s Direction Factored Into Budget Estimates

The agency, acknowledging its estimates of the economy’s direction that could flow good or bad, also cited “a continuing falloff in real estate values and ridership� as factors in its projected budget and plan. Ridership, while still overall the highest in decades, fell 3 percent this year largely because of the recession and job loses. Inflation, the MTA believed, is not foreseen in the near future.

The MTA invited the public and elected officials to join the agency in a discussion of its proposed budget and financial plan, and public hearings are being planned in all the boroughs.

“Today’s presentation kicks off six months of public discussion before a final budget is approved in December,� said MTA Interim Executive Director and CEO Helene Williams. “Engaging in a productive dialogue with our customers and stakeholders before a final plan is presented to the MTA board assures a maximum transparency throughout the entire process.�

Bus fun is in the offing during the popular Atlantic Avenue Festival on Sunday, Oct. 4. The MTA’s 16th Annual Bus Festival, which includes buses dating back to 1917, will be held at the festival midway point on Atlantic Avenue at Boerum Place. The NYC Transit Museum at nearby Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street will have free admission on that date.

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