New York City : Gov. Cuomo’s Subway System

Editorial

Gov. Cuomo’s Subway System

Published: July 31, 2011

For two years, Jay Walder, an internationally known transportation expert, has been running the antiquated New York City mass-transit system with quiet efficiency. He has limited the failures dramatically, started new countdown clocks in subways and cut costs — $500 million last year, more than $600 million in 2011.

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• Times Topics: Jay Walder | N.Y. Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Now, after serving only two years of his six-year contract, Mr. Walder is deserting New York City for the sleek new system in Hong Kong. And that means someone has to take ownership of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the largest public system in the country.

You can be forgiven if you think the official with ultimate responsibility is Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but it is actually Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The governor, who, incidentally, commutes from Westchester to Albany by car or plane, doesn’t talk much about the system. Now he has to take charge. He can start by hiring — and supporting — the best, independent-minded transit professional to do the crucial, if often thankless, job of running the authority.

Persuading a noted expert to take on the burden will not be easy. Besides the noticeable problems — from dirty subway corridors to century-old tracks and tunnels — there is a general failure in New York and Washington to recognize the importance of public transit. Albany’s bailout for the authority in 2009 provided short-term stability, but a five-year, $24 billion capital plan is fast going broke.

To keep the operating budget balanced and to deal with a $9 billion gap in the capital plan over the next three years, the authority plans to borrow heavily. The Walder plan depends on $2.2 billion in federal loans and $4.7 billion from other sources, bringing the authority’s total debt to more than $36 billion. Operating funds now being used for capital expenses would be used to service the debt.

This borrowing would save the Second Avenue subway in Manhattan, the link between the Long Island Rail Road and Grand Central Terminal and $18 billion in work on tracks, stations and other basics. But what happens in later years, when the cost of this debt rises?

A better solution would be more financial support from the city, the state, as well as car drivers and businesses that benefit from the system. Another fare increase should be a last resort.

The $12 billion operating budget proposed for 2012 makes risky assumptions: More than 60 unions will have to agree to pay freezes; fares will automatically go up 7.5 percent in 2013 and in 2015; Albany would keep the authority payroll tax that suburban legislators bitterly oppose.

Mr. Cuomo’s choice to manage the system will tell a lot about how he governs. Until recently, governors picked loyalists or political favorites. Mr. Cuomo’s choice should have the strongest possible résumé and a clear mission: to provide the best service for 8.5 million commuters.