The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) pays for its operating budget from a wide variety of sources, but the decline in paid ridership since the pandemic and economic changes have contributed to significant shifts in those streams of income.

The stability of the MTA's finances is increasingly reliant on its ability to find significant savings, grow ridership, and efficiently execute capital improvements. By prioritizing and delivering capital investments and continuing efforts to find ways to provide more cost-efficient service that remains safe, frequent and reliable, the MTA will ultimately improve the ridership experience. This will further strengthen farebox operating revenues and better prepare the MTA for uncertainty in the coming years.

Subway on-time performance (OTP) last year and in the first half of 2025 remained better than in 2019, but the causes of delays have changed as riders have returned. A train is considered late, or delayed, only if it arrives at its destination more than five minutes after its scheduled arrival time, skips scheduled stops or is cancelled altogether. Of the 2.7 million scheduled trains in 2024, 486,614 trains did not reach their destination as scheduled, for an OTP of 82.2 percent.

The MTA has made substantial progress funding its capital programs and has tried to limit the strain on its operating budget from debt service costs, but potential federal actions threaten its financial future and debt profile.

After a brief period of financial stability secured by an infusion of State funds last year, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) now faces growing fiscal uncertainties and risks that create projected budget gaps. Those gaps could grow much wider if various budget risks that the MTA has identified come to pass. A faster-than-expected return of ridership remains one of the key means for improving the fiscal stability of the system and highlighting the importance of continued investment in the assets of the system.

Transportation costs for households in the New York City metropolitan area grew by about 56% between 2012-13 and 2022-23, less than in the Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco metropolitan areas. Transportation made up the second largest cost for New Yorkers, behind housing. It remains critical to maintain MTA service at affordable levels, so that transportation costs remain relatively affordable and offset housing costs, especially for lower- and middle-income households.

The MTA must find billions in new funds even as the State tries to resolve the $15 billion gap in revenue created by the pause on congestion pricing. This report lays out possible sources to fund the MTA’s substantial capital needs and emphasizes areas of capital work expected to receive funding in its next capital program.

As the largest commuter railroad in the nation, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is making a steady recovery from the pandemic with growing ridership, increased service routes into the Grand Central Madison terminal and on-time performance in 2023 that was better than in 2019. Still, the LIRR had 31% more delays from train car problems last year than in 2019, showing there are still areas that can improve, such as increasing preventative maintenance of older train cars.

Motor vehicle fatalities in New York State have risen 25.8% since 2019, with fatalities in 2022 at the highest level in a decade, even as the number of vehicle miles travelled, licensed drivers and traffic accidents have declined. State lawmakers recently enacted “Sammy’s Law,” which allows New York City to reduce speed limits in certain “safety zones” that are prone to pedestrian traffic injuries and fatalities. Such discretion could be provided to other local governments looking for ways to make their roads safer.

With the loss of $15 billion in congestion pricing revenue, the MTA has to reprioritize its 2020-2024 Capital Program. This report identifies over $21 billion in projects that potentially relied on congestion pricing revenue and are under review and suggests the Authority prioritize keeping the system in a state of good repair.