Upstate Transit Agencies are Starving As State Slows Funding - Streetsblog New York City

"The state government allocates transit funding to municipalities under the State Operating Assistance program, which receives dedicated funding through such things as the petroleum business tax or state car registration fees. Alas, that funding has lagged; in the last budget cycle, advocates sought a 15-percent hike, but got just a 3.4-percent increase, bringing total State Operating Assistance funding to $344 million for upstate transit."

""We have to switch over to non-fossil fuels in the relatively near future [and] that puts more pressure on the Upstate [transit] systems as well," Magnarelli told Streetsblog. "The idea of mass transit becoming even more important with new businesses and entities moving into the upstate area, including our area Central New York, with Micron [a chip maker], only exacerbates this whole problem that the need for mass transit is definitely there.""

Upstate transit systems face a funding shortfall that is harming cities with growing ridership and hindering recovery from the pandemic. State Operating Assistance (StOA) provides dedicated funding through sources like the petroleum business tax and vehicle registration fees, but recent increases have lagged: advocates requested a 15% boost and received only 3.4%, bringing StOA to $344 million for upstate transit. Elected officials warn that insufficient funding risks service reductions amid rising operating costs, emerging economic growth such as new employers, and the transition away from fossil fuels, increasing pressure on transit agencies like Rochester-Genesee RTA.

Read at Streetsblog