In my prior post, I examined the cost of MTA and other New York metro area transit services in 2012. In this post, I’ll examine the trends in those costs during the 2007 to 2012 period, a time when most Americans and most New Yorkers were struggling with the Great Recession and its aftermath.
The data shows that while private sector workers have struggled, with wage gains below inflation, transit costs have soared far in excess of inflation. The result has been fare increases, service cuts, and increases in subsidies. Based on other information I have compiled for other public services, the cost of retired transit workers probably accounts for the majority of the rising burden on taxpayers and transit riders, as shown by operating costs (the soaring cost of debt service is another factor related to the capital plan). As transit workers demand even more, it is worth reviewing how much the transit systems have already taken. Commentary and a series of charts may be found on “Saying the Unsaid in New York.”