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Severe Transit Cuts Would Cripple U.S. Economy, Experts Warn

New York’s MTA plans to slash subway service, and other cities have proposed brutal budget cuts if federal transit support doesn’t arrive.  

Light at the end of the tunnel? New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans for drastic cuts to subway, bus and commuter rail service unless federal aid arrives. 

Light at the end of the tunnel? New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans for drastic cuts to subway, bus and commuter rail service unless federal aid arrives. 

Photographer: Gabriela Bhaskar/Bloomberg
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Like a tree without roots or a body without a spine, New York City would collapse without its subway system. That kind of dire outcome is a real risk if transit cuts proposed in New York and elsewhere come to pass, experts say, as the pandemic wreaks havoc on agency budgets.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority faces a $16.4 billion deficit through 2024; officials have asked for $12 billion in emergency relief by the end of 2021. Without that aid, the agency warns that it would be forced to make severe service cuts. In a plan presented on Wednesday, the MTA proposed to slash service on subways by 40% and on two commuter rail lines by 50%. Up to a quarter of bus routes across the city face service cuts and more than 9,300 jobs would be eliminated in 2021.