The MTA insists that Gov. Hochul's resurrected $9 congestion pricing money grab is absolutely vital revenue for the cash-hemorrhaging agency. But just look to Staten Island for one example of the agency's real problem: completely out-of-control budgetary bungling.
Residents barely had time to celebrate: Five of the brand-spanking-new cars got yanked from service after just a month on the tracks and are now rusting in a maintenance yard, awaiting repairs for a signal issue.
The entire process up to this point has been expensive and riddled with delays. First, the cars' debut was already nearly three years behind schedule: The MTA inked an eye-watering $1.4 billion with Kawasaki in January 2018 to produce a total of 535 R211 cars, but delivery was stalled by COVID-related production delays, then by technical concerns.
It sure looks like the MTA is blowing billions on train cars that will either require repairs immediately after being deployed or get stuck in maintenance because of ongoing technical problems.
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