At a meeting with New York City students who are angry about the MTA's cost-cutting plan to abolish student MetroCards, MTA chair Jay Walder said he will postpone his agency's vote on the controversial measure. "We'd like to have as much time as possible for discussions with the state and city and hopefully find a way through this difficult situation," Walder said. According to the Post, he added that he hopes "students can make a decision about what school they would like to attend without them worrying about how they will get there."
Facing a budget deficit of about $750 million, the MTA board is expected to vote on a package of bus and subway service cuts in the coming weeks. However, the vote on whether or not to charge students half-priced fares this September and full-priced fares next September has been delayed until June at the earliest. That delay might give city and state officials enough time to change their minds about covering the $214 million cost of student transportation. According to the Daily News, other New York municipalities use state money to cover student transportation costs, but last year the MTA got $45 million from the city and only $6 million from the state.
Mayor Bloomberg has cast himself as an opponent of abolishing student MetroCards, but he says the city can't afford to pay any more than it already does. "The state cut back the subsidies and cut back the monies they give to the MTA. The MTA, Jay Walder—I'm sympathetic. He's got to balance his budget," Mayor Bloomberg told NY1. Also somewhat sympathetic is 15-year-old Francis Lewis High School student Khaair Morrison. "This isn't just the MTA's problem," the Fresh Meadows student said. "It's the state and local officials' problem."
