After a week in which any bailout plans out of Albany flopped and the MTA finally made official its proposal for a fare hike and service cuts, legislators are finally sounding like they are close to a deal that will alleviate the strain put on straphangers. The long-discussed raising of driver registration fees and MTA payroll tax are likely to be central to any plan to avoid the proposed $103 monthly Metrocard. Senate Leader Malcolm Smith says that "all options are on the table."
After a passionate response from commuters following the MTA's announcement earlier this week, it sounds as if Governor Paterson might be most desperate to see a deal worked out. Paterson told reporters yesterday, "We are now on the verge of service cuts and fare hikes that are life-threatening and with a situation like that everything is on the table."
While a deal would not come within the state budget that's due Tuesday, Smith sounded confident that the bailout would not be far behind. He said, "Based on the conversations we've had of late, I think it won't be in the budget bill but I think we'll be passing it around the same time."
How big of a dent state money could make in softening the fare hike blow remains to be seen. Chariman Dale Hemmerdinger summed up the agency's position succinctly yesterday saying, "We don't have any religious belief in a particular plan. We just need the money."
