"We'll look at it over the course of the next couple of months," said Kruger. ... "After that, we'll finish our vetting process, which hasn't even begun yet, and we'll have a better idea about the timetable (for a confirmation vote)."

When Liz Benjamin informed Kruger that Walder has already spoken of restoring public trust in the agency -- a task that will be much more difficult thanks to shameless hucksters like Kruger himself, the senator replied:

"I come from Missouri; don't show me, tell me. I mean, everybody says they're for oversight and accountability. What does that mean? What does it mean?"

I swear, this blog just writes itself sometimes.

While in London, Walder earned praise for putting the transit system on sound financial footing. (Note that the city's congestion charge took effect in 2003, while he was finance director at TfL.) To do the same for the MTA, he has his work cut out for him. He assumes the chairmanship at a perilous time for the agency's finances. The state legislature's latest transit funding package left a huge hole in the MTA's capital program, a shortfall of at least $20 billion which Albany will have to address very soon.

"Jay Walder has the experience and credibility that the MTA will require to survive these challenging fiscal times," said RPA President Robert Yaro in a statement. "He'll need all of his many skills to navigate the roiled political waters in Albany."

Transit riders will be well-served if Walder can manage to drive the media narrative about the MTA more successfully than his predecessor, Lee Sander. It's a tall order. Casting aspersions on the MTA is a favored tactic for legislators looking to deflect blame for their own lack of leadership on transit policy, and the press corps often appears to serve as a willing accomplice. The riding public needs someone who not only manages the agency capably, but also shapes the MTA's public image as deftly as possible.

Photo: AP/Post-Standard

In politics, reputation matters. The scapegoating of the MTA has undermined the political case for transit funding and given cover to the hypocrites in Albany who blame the MTA, instead of themselves, for the agency's funding woes. Looking forward, it is critical that the MTA burnish its reputation as an effective and accountable public agency and excellent investment for public funds. There are many political forces that benefit from keeping the MTA as a scapegoat, its reputation besmirched. So, a clean bill of health for the MTA requires an unimpeachable, politically formidable force far above the gutter of the New York political fray. How about President Obama?

The president has spent enormous energy restoring public confidence in the banking system. A key part of his efforts has been the Treasury Department’s careful scrutiny of bank management and finances. Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Paterson should ask President Obama to help restore public confidence in the MTA by ordering the Federal Transit Administration to send in a team of management, finance and policy experts. The MTA receives millions in federal support and the U.S. government has a strong interest in seeing that money well spent. The FTA team would definitively and publicly assess the state of the MTA, detailing both its good and bad management practices while clarifying and vetting agency finances.

Most transit experts believe the MTA is a relatively well run public agency which compares favorably with other big American and foreign transit systems. The agency’s biggest problem is that the state and city have spent the last two decades reducing their financial support, loading the agency with debt, and making it overly dependent on volatile, cyclical funding like the mortgage recording tax. The FTA's assessment would bring these facts to the fore and lay the political groundwork for a stronger case for transit funding.

Governor Paterson today accepted the resignation of MTA Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Elliot G. Sander. Mr. Sander offered his resignation to the Governor earlier this year in anticipation of yesterday's passage of legislation that joins the Chairman and CEO positions at the MTA. Mr. Sander's resignation is effective May 22, 2009, ending a tenure that began January 1, 2007.

It's no surprise that Sander would be sacrificed, as rumors had been circulating for months that Governor Paterson was looking for a change. Regardless of Sander's achievements during his two-year tenure, WNYC is reporting that Paterson earlier today announced the need for a "leadership shake-up" due to the public's lack of confidence in the agency.

Despite the feckless performance of Paterson and his Albany cohorts during the doomsday debacle, and the short-sighted deal that resulted, we assume the governor managed to keep a straight face.

Follow the jump for the rest of the MTA release.

MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot G. Sander said: "It has been a great honor to lead the 70,000 hard-working men and women who run the world's greatest public transportation system. I am tremendously proud of our accomplishments making the MTA a leaner, more efficient and effective organization. Each of the MTA's agencies is performing at peak levels, the relationship with our employees is dramatically improved and we communicate more frequently with our customers. The integration of the MTA's three bus companies, the merging of back office functions across 7 agencies and the introduction of line general managers on the subway system will save the MTA millions and improve the agency's performance. New innovations like rider report cards, text message alerts and Select Bus Service have improved the customer experience. There is more work to be done, but I leave confident knowing the MTA is headed in the right direction. I am grateful to Governor Paterson and Governor Spitzer for this wonderful opportunity. I wish Governor Paterson the best of luck in choosing a successor who will build on the progress the MTA has made over the past two and a half years." 

Now that Governor Paterson has backtracked on his pledge to secure a long-term solution to New York's transit funding crisis, the push is on to spin the slapdash result as a responsible outcome, not a capitulation to Albany's lowest common denominator.

Courtesy of Liz Benjamin, here's Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith emerging from last night's closed-door session with the two Long Island legislators who will presumably give him the 32 votes needed to pass a bill:

I think it is a tribute to them, and a tribute to this Democratic conference. Reform is what everybody wanted. Everybody said that you should have a legislature where the rank-and-file members have a right to speak their mind, and have input -- and not only have input but get some results.

Never mind that all the negotiating for this deal took place behind closed doors. Or that the plan Smith's conference concocted does not reduce the MTA's dependence on debt financing. Or that the band of senators who derailed the viable plan drawn up by the Ravitch Commission are the same group who held the Democratic takeover of the Senate hostage last year, in return for more lucrative and powerful committee chairmanships.

Sure, rank-and-file legislators need a more open, transparent process in Albany, but letting the Fare Hike Four dictate the agenda hardly qualifies as reform, or sound policymaking.

Fortunately, the city's editorial boards aren't buying it. The Times, the Daily News, and the Post unanimously slammed the framework that Smith, Paterson, and, one assumes, Sheldon Silver will now sign off on, because it doesn't fund the MTA capital plan -- the vital maintenance and improvements necessary to the transit system's long-term health.

Under the Ravitch framework, the payroll tax would have funded those long-term investments, and car commuters would have helped to plug the MTA's operating deficit through bridge tolls. The Smith/Paterson framework uses the payroll tax to plug the deficit, asks nothing of car commuters (who benefit enormously from a robust transit network), and leaves the capital plan unfunded.

Our transit system risks collapse, in other words, because Albany can't muster the will to charge drivers. That is the core storyline in the ongoing MTA funding saga -- not "reform" -- and it has to change.

As discussions for a permanent funding plan for the MTA continue, stop-gap measures that kick the big problems down the road must be rejected. For any plan to truly meet the needs of the metropolitan region’s people and our economy, it must include stable, reliable funding for capital projects.  Our transportation infrastructure is aging, and expansion projects are absolutely critical to keep New York City and the surrounding counties moving forward. We must invest in the system, even during economically difficult times, or buses, railcars, stations, signals and tracks will fall into disrepair and commuters will suffer -- just as happened in the 1970s.

There is no painless option, but the issues will be no simpler a few months from now than they are today, which is why Albany must find a permanent stream of funding for capital projects -- not next fall, but right now.

I called the mayor's press office, and they don't appear ready to get more specific than this. It's fairly clear, however, that Bloomberg does not approve of Governor Paterson's new direction.

He also raises a good point about timing. With contractors competing intensely during the recession, state DOTs across the country are getting deep discounts on stimulus-funded road projects. Shouldn't New York City's transit system get in on the construction bargains while we have the chance?

If you want to pass that message on to our leaders in Albany, follow the jump for some key email addresses.

• To contact Governor David Paterson: governor@chamber.state.ny.us
• To contact Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver: Speaker@assembly.us.state.ny.us
• To contact Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith: masmith@senate.state.ny.us
• To contact Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Martin Dilan: dilan@senate.state.ny.us
  

Seeking a quick resolution to the MTA funding crisis, Governor Paterson lobbied over the weekend to get a Band-aid fix through the State Senate. The problem is, Paterson's plan provides no resolution at all. Fundamental details of the proposal are still sketchy, even as the governor pushes for a vote as soon as today, but there's no doubt that the numbers don't add up to a healthy transit system. Consider:

• The revenue streams in Paterson's plan keep shrinking while the MTA's operating deficit keeps growing, meaning that further fare hikes and service cuts will be necessary in a matter of months.
  
• All indications are that the latest proposal would direct zero dollars to the MTA capital plan, the five-year package of maintenance and expansion projects that is still completely unfunded.
  

By pushing for a stopgap measure on the Senate Democrats' terms, Paterson has effectively abandoned the framework laid out by the Ravitch Commission. His proposal does not share the funding burden equitably -- car commuters pay nothing to keep congestion-busting trains and buses running. Nor does it address long-term funding needs, risking system-wide decline by leaving even routine maintenance unpaid for.

Observers are in the dark about the most basic aspects of the governor's proposal, like how much it would raise in total. Does the plan still fund upstate roads and bridges with a surcharge on New York City cab fares? Will service cuts still be necessary even if this plan passes? It's hard to tell when all the discussions take place behind closed doors.

Advocates aren't pleased. The Empire State Transportation Alliance -- a coalition representing business, labor, and environmental groups -- released a statement yesterday stressing the importance of funding the MTA capital plan now, not just passing a temporary fix. 

"In light of what has transpired as well as what has failed to happen to date, we have little confidence that the Governor and Legislature will be able to come together to address the urgent capital needs of the MTA once such a band-aid is applied," said ESTA co-chair Kevin Corbett in a statement.

Delaying action on the capital plan will also affect transit service down the line, because debt payments come out of the MTA's operating budget. "The two are very closely related," RPA's Neysa Pranger told Streetsblog. "A good part of the reason they're in the operating deficit now is that they had to borrow to pay for the capital plan. By 2012, debt service will eat up 20 percent of the MTA's operating budget. If you don't do the capital piece now, you run the risk of driving the system into the ground, or the MTA continues to borrow a lot of money which puts additional pressure on fares and service. It's all part of the same picture."

Politically, passing a sound plan will only get tougher from here on out, as the 2010 elections draw closer. "The MTA will be very constrained by the election cycle," said Pranger, noting that the agency will soon have another budget shortfall on its hands, but the money to cover it probably won't come from fare hikes. "It's happened before, Pataki would give the MTA these one-shots -- payments out of the general fund. The legislature has got to be wary of the fuzzy math right now, and demand some answers about where the money's going, before voting on anything."

MTA CEO Lee Sander, MTA Board Chair Dale Hemmerdinger, and Governor Paterson at a March press conference.

Well, now it's the governor himself who's left everyone in the dark. He's been dropping hints for days that he has some plan that will win enough votes to clear the Senate, giving no specifics. This is ominous, to say the least. And it makes all those Paterson barbs about statehouse dysfunction seem like so much hypocrisy.

The leaks that have dripped out so far don't inspire confidence in the governor. Desperate for some development that he can claim as a victory, might he opt for "Deferred Armageddon" -- financing even the MTA's day-to-day operations with borrowed money? If so, the doomsday disaster unfolding today would pale in comparison to what such a plan would set in motion, as more and more of the MTA's budget gets swallowed up by debt payments. Sounds crazy, right? It also sounds like the kind of "plan" that someone itching for a comeback in the polls would try to keep under wraps as long as possible. 

A year ago, Paterson signaled that he was serious about putting the transit system on solid footing when he chose Richard Ravitch to head the commission on MTA financing. When Ravitch's commission unveiled its proposals last November, Paterson said, "The ways in which responsibility may have been shirked, or ignored, in the past, to live for another day -- that day has come, and we're going to have to make those tough choices."

Now is no time to walk away from that commitment.

The governor's "new" solution is to cave to the Senate Dems.

According to multiple reports, Paterson is prepared to accept the framework laid out by Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, and dilute the proposed revenue streams even further by granting some payroll tax exemptions and halving the surcharge on cab fares.

How it all adds up to a healthy transit system is a complete mystery. Even without the watered down provisions, the plan on the table in the Senate only generates $1.76 billion per year. That sum was supposed to cover the MTA operating deficit, its five-year capital plan, and a five-year road and bridge program for all of New York State. Well, now we know that it will take more money than that -- $1.8 billion -- just to keep the trains and buses running. So what's it going to be?

One option -- let's call it "Armageddon" -- would be to spend all the revenue to plug the MTA operating deficit. No money for maintenance or expansion. The system spirals into 1970s-style decrepitude and the region's economy goes in the tank for the foreseeable future.

Another path -- how about "Deferred Armageddon" -- puts it all on a giant credit card. The MTA capital plan, roads and bridges, AND transit service. Bond every cent of the new revenue streams and borrow to pay for everything -- even the day-to-day operations of the MTA. Taxes and fees collected in the MTA service region pay for the whole state's transportation system, and in five years, we face the mother of all transit crises. (The Post thinks this is where we're headed.)

There are other ways to go about funding transportation, of course. We could ask downstate car commuters to pay into the system that keeps traffic from totally clogging up New York City streets. We could ask upstate drivers to pay for roads and bridges through higher vehicles fees and gas taxes. Assuming that Republicans in the State Senate would bargain in good faith, these solutions are politically feasible.

I haven't even reached the scariest part of Paterson's recent pronouncements, which is that he wants to vote on a rescue deal Monday. With Mayor Bloomberg's staff deeply involved in negotiations with the State Senate, the endgame could very well play out over the weekend. Is that how the most important transportation policy in New York State will get resolved -- while no one is paying attention to the news, and Pedro Espada, Ruben Diaz, Sr., and Hiram Monserrate enjoy sunny Puerto Rico?

Photo: Brad Aaron

While making the seemingly obvious argument that maintaining a healthy transit system is vital to the region's economy, the piece (behind the Crain's pay wall) lays blame on the Pataki administration -- during which Shaw previously served as MTA CEO -- for having "loaded up the MTA with debt that’s now coming home to roost."

[Sander] has become a target for those who believe the MTA is bloated and wasteful. In truth, Mr. Sander has wisely streamlined operations and cut costs in his two years in the post. He hasn’t solved all of the MTA’s problems. Who could in such a short time? And he hasn’t been the most effective politician in selling what he has done. But is that really a fault? Shouldn’t the job go to a seasoned transportation professional rather than a politician?

We asked MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan about cost-cutting measures initiated under Sander. The list is pretty extensive. Donovan points to the following efficiencies imposed "even as demand is at levels not seen since the early 1950s": elimination of 410 administrative positions; establishment of Regional Bus Operations, merging three companies into one; creation of a Business Service Center to "consolidate duplicative back office functions"; assignment of managers to oversee individual subway lines; formation of a blue-ribbon panel to "encourage competition and increase bidding on capital construction projects"; and increases in advertising revenue "from $38 million in 1997 to $125 million in 2008."

In addition, says Donovan:

Budget increases in recent years have come from uncontrollable factors like increases in debt service, which cost the MTA $793 million in 2002 and is projected to rise to $2.3 billion by 2012. But we are successfully trimming the expenses that we have control over. From 2004 to 2007, the MTA reduced its controllable costs by five percent. Building on that reduction, Lee Sander called on the MTA and its agencies to cut our budgets by six percent over four years. As the economic picture has darkened, he accelerated that six percent cut so that it is now required to take place over three years instead of four. All told, these cuts will result in a cumulative 11 percent budget cut.

Crain's editors also called on local business leaders -- Republicans in particular -- as well as the Real Estate Board of New York, to get behind the "fair and equitable" Ravitch plan to bolster MTA finances.

Do the likes of, say, Carl Kruger, care about Sander's streamlining efforts as long as they can continue to cast the MTA as the villain of the funding debacle?

At a meeting later in the afternoon with Mr. Paterson, a group of senators from suburban districts told him they would not support the payroll tax.

The senators were Craig M. Johnson of Nassau County, Brian X. Foley of Suffolk County, and Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Suzi Oppenheimer, both of Westchester County.

"I’m very uncomfortable with the proposed payroll tax," Mr. Foley said later in an interview. "Suffolk County is in the outer ring of the service area. Our businesses would be paying into a system that they don’t get much out of."

Both the Times and Daily News point out that opposition to the payroll tax is not unexpected. Now that it's out in the open, however, lawmakers are reportedly scrambling, with Sheldon Silver suggesting that a "little time out would be helpful." Before the breakdown, everything from higher vehicle registration fees to a 50-cent cab surcharge was said to be under consideration.

Amid the chaos, one thing appears certain. Said a spokesman for Malcolm Smith to the Times: "Everything [is] still on the table 'except tolls.'"

Photo: The Politicker

David Paterson, legislative leaders and top staffers just emerged from a 90-minute meeting on an M.T.A. bailout package and declared that it will not include bridge tolls.

"The framework I see is that the Senate has really eliminated what my choice would be, which would be to have the tolls. If that's the case, then we're going to have to try to find alternative ways to come up with several hundred million dollars that would replace what would have been the revenues generated by the tolls," said David Paterson, who made a rare appearance at a press scrum outside his second-floor office.

The possible alternatives Paterson spoke of include a gasoline tax, increased automobile registration fees and parking fees -- though Paterson said he considered a gas tax hike "out of the question." 

For his part, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver characterized the still-secret plan as a righteous rebuke of last week's MTA board vote to raise fares and cut service -- which state lawmakers failed to prevent despite years of warnings. Said Silver:

"I think what's most important is we're dealing with the one thing the three of us agree [on]—the actions of the M.T.A. board cannot be allowed to stand. We have to get together and provide the revenue and ensure these 31-percent fare hikes do not stand."

Now that Shelly's own $2 toll plan has succumbed without ever coming up for a vote: New York State Legislature, what are you smoking?

Photo: The Daily Politics

Newsday filed this report on the MTA Finance Committee meeting (as live-blogged by Second Avenue Sagas), where members voted to recommend revenue-saving measures to the full board, now set to make its decision on Wednesday:

MTA board chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger urged the agency's finance committee to adopt the fare hikes and service cuts even though he called them "horrific."

"This represents as good a job as human beings can do to divide the pain as equally as we can," he said.

The vote took place as state lawmakers in Albany sought to reach a compromise on a bailout plan that would avoid the worst of the planned fare increases and service cuts.

At a news conference after the committee vote in Manhattan, Hemmerdinger was asked if he had any message for Albany. He said, "How about: 'Help!'"

In Albany, Governor Paterson engaged in what Liz Benjamin of The Daily Politics described as "a game of political chicken" when, flanked by a silent Malcolm Smith and Sheldon Silver, he urged the MTA to go ahead with higher fares and service cuts without waiting on assistance from the legislature.

"Delaying action, to me, would just ring too true to what's gone on in Albany too many times," Paterson said. "I'm not in favor of delaying any action that was scheduled."

In Fare Hike Four news, Senator Hiram Monserrate was indicted for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend with a drinking glass last December. If convicted, Monserrate faces seven years in prison -- and, says one City Room commenter of today's developments, "will probably guarantee his re-election."

The governor, who went on the offensive today criticizing Smith's chamber, might find more favor among Daily News readers, judging by this poll that asks what people think of the Senate Dems' MTA proposal:

Red light cams have been proven to increase safety on New York City streets. Photo: mwilkie/Flickr

Red light cams are a proven life-saving technology, but one that is circumscribed by Albany. Previous attempts to expand automated enforcement measures -- including cameras to monitor red lights, speeding, and bus lane violations -- have been blocked by Rochester Assemblyman David Gantt, who chairs the transportation committee. That won't necessarily be the case this time around. "Putting it in the budget says the governor is firmly behind it," said Russ Haven, legislative counsel with NYPIRG. "That may mean it's more likely to happen."

It's still unclear how much New York's program would expand, but if the proposal survives the budget negotiating process, the final version will almost certainly extend the current red light camera "demonstration," which is due to sunset in December 2009. Advocates also hope that new red light cam programs proposed for Buffalo, Syracuse, Long Island, and yes, Rochester, will build more of a constituency for automated enforcement measures throughout the state.

Big questions remain about whether the expansion proposal will emerge intact from the Albany sausage grinder. As the state legislature works on passing a budget, members of the Assembly and Senate could try to sabotage the cams by substituting other measures. "If the governor's proposal is going to raise revenue then legislators need to come back and find other ways to replace that revenue if they don't like the idea," said Haven. The negotiation process is famously opaque, taking place largely behind closed doors.

Gantt, who ran for re-election unopposed this year, could still play the role of obstructionist. "He’s a formidable guy, he’s been around for decades," said Haven. "Unless he has a change of heart or unless he starts to see things in a different way, the governor and speaker may be the only figures who can move him."

Here is the budget language in question, in all its glory.

• Provide New Local Revenue and Financing Flexibility for New York City. Along with substantial mandate relief savings, the budget will authorize an expanded red light camera program and a range of local fee increases such as fees for birth certificates and marriage licenses worth $109 million in total. To enable New York City to better manage its finances during the current credit crisis, the City will be allowed to fund more of its capital program through the Transitional Finance Authority instead of general obligation debt, and Bond Anticipation Note (BAN) financing terms will be lengthened consistent with those allowed for the state.
• Provide Additional Targeted Revenue Flexibility for Municipalities Outside New York City. The cities of Buffalo, Yonkers, Rochester and Syracuse, as well as Nassau and Suffolk counties, will be authorized to establish red light camera programs to enhance public safety, while generating an estimated $48 million in local revenue. Cities outside New York City, as well as villages, will also be permitted to levy a gross receipts tax on cellular phone services similar to that currently charged by New York City, thereby raising up to $12.5 million in new revenue.

Photo: New York Times

• Bridge tolls would be cashless, using E-ZPass and license plate capture technology, not toll booths. The city would transfer ownership of East and Harlem River bridges to the MTA. Ravitch described this process as "very complicated" and said discussions were ongoing, but did not specify which legislative approvals would be required.
• The payroll tax, expected to generate $1.5 billion yearly, would be used to finance bonds for the MTA capital program. Ravitch described this as a lockbox structure that would keep farebox revenue separate from capital funding. (The underlying principle is that straphangers should pay for operating the system, not the capital program.) An exception would be made during the first year the tax is in effect, when it would be used to stave off deep service cuts and hold down the fare hike to eight percent, as opposed to the 23 percent hike that was unveiled last month. The state legislature will have to approve the tax.
• Bus service would be extended before the bridge tolls take effect. Ravitch endorsed BRT as a vital component of the rescue package, but did not give specifics about the number of lines to be added. He referred instead to the city's plan for pilot routes in every borough. "The more we're able to demonstrate to the public that this is a good thing, the better," he said.
  
• Expect action in the state legislature soon. "Time is critical because the MTA is required by law to adopt a balanced budget in December," Ravitch said. The fare increase process will start in January if the legislature does not act by then.

Paterson and Bloomberg gave the plan full endorsements, with the governor portraying its release as a day of reckoning. "The delays, the ways in which responsibility has been shirked if not just ignored in the past, to live for another day -- that day has come," he said.

City Room has a good run-down of the press event and some early reactions from advocacy groups and local pols. Looks like many of our electeds see the commuter tax and car registration fees as their preferred alternatives to bridge tolls.

Former MTA chief Richard Ravitch stood with Governor David Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg this morning to discuss details of his commission's plan to keep the cash-starved MTA afloat both in the short-term and in years to come. Streetsblog's Ben Fried attended the news conference and will have more later. For now, here are a few highlights:

• The Ravitch plan would bring a "mobility tax" of 33 cents per $100 that would be levied on payrolls across the region, expected to raise $1.5 billion annually.
• As expected, the proposals include tolls on East River and Harlem River bridges, projected to bring in net revenues of $600 million per year.
• Ravitch described the plan, to be translated into legislation immediately by the governor's office, as "a major stimulus bill for New York State," which would generate up to $15 billion in wages.
• The plan recommends the MTA be allowed to impose fare increases not more than every two years, pegged at the rate of inflation, without public hearings. 
• Ravitch described his commission's work as "an effort to spread the burden among the largest group that one possibly can." 
• Governor Paterson expressed full support for the recommendations. Echoing Ravitch, Paterson described the proposals as "holistic." Said the governor: "The ways in which responsibility may have been shirked, or ignored, in the past, to live for another day -- that day has come, and we're going to have to make those tough choices."
• Oddly, perhaps, MTA head Lee Sander did not participate in the announcement.

Here's some of what was said in advance of the report's release.

From the Times, "Paterson Voices Support for M.T.A. Rescue Plan": 

The governor said he was still reviewing the plan, but was "quite pleased with what I see so far." "As an alternative to a fare hike,” he said, "I think it’s very viable."

The governor said at a news conference in Manhattan, "The message we keep trying to deliver is that we are in a very difficult fiscal time, and so it’s either going to be fare hikes or it’s going to be tolls and a combination of payroll taxes, but it’s the only way."

"Those who are upset about this, what I would urge them to consider is, it’s the inaction in the past that’s led to this overwhelming deficit," he said. "This is a very difficult endeavor, but we are trying to show leadership."

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said that he had not seen the final report, but that he favored keeping the fare affordable. "I am not afraid of reasonable tax proposals that will provide the revenues that are necessary to do that," he said.

"Even the businesses that might be called upon to pay it would be better served by having that affordable revenue stream there, and an affordable fare," Mr. Silver said. "We can’t afford service cuts that make the subways and buses inaccessible."

Asked about tolls on the bridges, however, he reiterated that he was waiting to see the report.

Some of the difficulty that proponents will face in winning approval for the plan could be seen at a meeting of Democratic members of the Assembly in Brooklyn on Wednesday, some of whom voiced misgivings about both tolls and taxes.

"This proposal is the beginning, not the end, of a process, and there’s going to be a tremendous amount of deliberation before a final product is acted upon," said Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn. "We have to make sure that the outer boroughs don’t bear a disproportionate share of the pain."

From the Daily News, "Gov. David Paterson: Panel to suggest much smaller MTA fare hike":

The commission "found a way to reduce the fare increases to 8% by distributing the responsibility among all those who use the service," Paterson said.

From Newsday, "Panel touts 8% fare hike, city bridge tolls for MTA":

"I think the MTA had a certain number of options, and what the MTA had done was to raise fares by 23 percent," Paterson said yesterday at a news conference in Manhattan about judicial appointments. "What the Ravitch Commission . . . did is they came in and found a way to reduce the fare increases to 8 percent by distributing the responsibility among all those who use the service."

From the Post, "Gov: $ave MTA":

"Let's not make the bridge tolls be the center of the proposal," said Assemblyman Micah Kellner (D-Manhattan). "There's been widespread opposition to it for decades. I'd hate to see Ravitch make that the centerpiece of a proposal and watch it go down in flames because of it."

Kellner said that even though he's in favor of the toll proposal, the panel should focus on options that are more politically possible.

From AMNY, "Familiar fix for budget crunch — Raise fares and toll bridges":

"They’re coming up with the same old tired solutions that the public has rejected already," said City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside). "We have too many bureaucrats who can’t think out of the box."

Another critic of fare hikes, state Sen. Bill Perkins, (D-Manhattan), suggested the MTA sell some of its real estate holdings to raise money.

"I want to see some creativity," he said. "I’m very concerned about that old idea that keeps coming back: Raise the fares."

Perkins, a member of the Transportation Committee, called the East and Harlem River tolls a "Quixotic" idea that’s "been around for a while and never gone anywhere."

Gene Russianoff, an attorney for the Straphangers Campaign who has been sharply critical of the MTA, said the Ravitch Commission appears to have struck a good balance.

"(It’s) asking everybody who benefits from the subways, buses and commuter lines to help contribute to their maintenance," he said. "That includes drivers, riders and businesses."

The service covers MTA subway and bus lines, along with PATH and New Jersey Transit routes. New Yorkers (including yours truly) who have been frustrated in the past by Google Maps' assumption that all users were looking for driving directions will be pleased to see that it now offers walking directions as well, eliminating glitches caused by one way streets.

Google isn't the first to offer transit mapping here (see HopStop and onNYTurf). But as City Room notes, few entities can rival its name recognition and economic clout, which should make it possible for the company to upgrade and innovate more quickly. The MTA has endorsed the tool with a link from the agency's web site, and Google's ubiquitousness should make the service popular with tourists.

Google Maps already feature transit routes in other cities in the US and beyond. Apparently the scope of the New York system presented a challenge to company programmers.

As for functionality, the transit tool worked seamlessly with Google Maps on my desktop. I could not access the function on my iPhone, though that could be because I don't update my software every 20 minutes. Let us know how you think the service stacks up.

After the jump is a comprehensive list of features, courtesy of the MTA.

In-depth information about a destination:

• subway, train or bus stops serving the destination
• next scheduled departures from the station or stop
• search of nearby businesses, restaurants, attractions, and amenities (e.g. “delicatessens near City Hall Station”)

Unique, user-friendly features:

• 360-degree street-level views of the destination with Google Maps Street View, which can be rotated by the user with their computer mouse
• “My Location” feature triangulates the user’s approximate cell-phone position on Google Maps for mobile and indicates distance from the destination
• Still photo entries for popular destinations
• Icons for Wikipedia entries for places of interest at stations
• Trip planning also accessible via many portable devices

Helpful links:

• Ability to instantly share a trip plan with friends via email
• A link on the Google Transit page will take visitors back to www.mta.info to access additional MTA information each time MTA data is shown on Google Maps