Our region’s political infrastructure stifles growth and prosperity, and keeps our 21st century economy from reaching its full potential.
As a public authority, the MTA is a quasi-private corporation, with boards of directors appointed by elected officials, and it is exempt from many state and local regulations. The MTA is allowed to issue more debt than the State of New York, and akin to other public authorities, it was created so that elected officials could defer risky capital and infrastructure investments to independent authorities, without putting the credit of the State or municipalities on the line.
The MTA’s independence should allow it to be less risk-averse, but in reality, it is still controlled by the Board, by the Governor, and by labor unions, and has few incentives to improve service, speed, efficiency, or seek profit from, say, real estate development. Unlike privatized subways, such as the Hong Kong MTR, the MTA does not make a profit, and does not have the incentive to seek profit. As a result of our agencies focusing on politics rather than results, and arguably especially as a result of New York’s uniquely unaccountable public authority model, costs rise.
Public authorities are generally designed to be relatively impervious to the whims of politicians meddling in their affairs; the Port Authority receives no tax money and, when under a strong leader, can accomplish a lot as a bi-state authority founded to regionalize interstate commerce. But if left without any strong leadership, these institutions breed incompetence and have little accountability or incentives. If they were properly incentivized, perhaps the large vaults underneath the Brooklyn Bridge would be rented out to a club, and the MTA would also be quick to rent out the Williamsburg Bridge railway terminal, as well as the South 4th Street station shell in Brooklyn and many other abandoned assets (or sell these properties). The MTA could even have tour buses for tourists; in Dublin, Dublin Bus even has ghost tour buses, complete with branding and marketing.
Function must come before fame, and practicality before politics. Our transportation agencies should be concerned with their customers, not only with politicians and their reelection campaigns. The MTA is structured to invite tension between Mayor and Governor, City and State, Manhattan and outer boroughs, even New York and New Jersey. Unification in theory streamlines, but only if done right. Penn Central struggled with different operating cultures, equipment, regulations, and work rules – it wasn’t truly a unified organization that could cut costs. The NYPD and NYCDOT (not NYSDOT) are both NYC agencies, but the NYPD has a history of blocking bike lanes. And of course, there are plenty of tensions solely within both departments.
Authorities like the MTA still can’t seem to get much built on-time and on-budget. Mass transit allows people, goods, services, and ideas to flow efficiently, and allows for denser, more dynamic, sustainable, healthy, and prosperous cities. But it can only produce these positive externalities if it is operated successfully, requiring proper management and healthy incentives.
In Boston, North Station and South Station, both terminal union stations for various railroads, are not connected. But if they were connected by a tunnel, the MBTA would surely commence through-running services, investing in an electrified tunnel with hybrid locomotives. After all, the region is almost entirely within Massachusetts, and MassDOT is the umbrella organization for the MBTA and most of the Commonwealth’s transportation agencies, with the self-sufficient Massport a notable exception. Plus, Boston is the capital of the Commonwealth, and the Governor surely pays more attention to the region than Governor Cuomo, in Albany, pays attention to New York City, or than Governor Christie, in Trenton, pays to attention to Hudson County. (Even though Long Island, the longest and largest island in the contiguous United States, is 40% of NY’s population.)
In New York, we already have the tunnels for through-running, but politics interferes. Why would New Jersey want to pay for a NJT service to booming Sunnyside/LIC or Jamaica/JFK? Why would New York want to pay for an LIRR service to Newark Airport? It will end up benefiting everyone as a whole, but it’s hard to organize because the region today is relatively bad at solving problems if the answer has to do with working together, sharing, collaborating, and trusting each other beyond boundaries. To be fair, there are track and power constraints, but these could be overcome along with the balkanized terminals and signage confusion at Penn Station. New York is a region, and infrastructure crosses jurisdictional boundaries along with environmental, economic, and cultural relationships.
Yet, we do have ample precedents. MNR contracts their services to Port Jervis and Spring Valley to NJT, while ConnDOT also works with MNR for New Haven service. Amtrak runs most of its services on host railroads’ tracks. These are complicated agreements, and they require a lot of time and energy to coordinate, putting our region at a disadvantage compared to regions within single states. Everything from operations and maintenance to capital improvements needs to be detailed, from the crew, the union(s), and the equipment, to fare collection, station signage, and so on and so forth.
Coordinating beyond political boundaries is necessary. To build a dedicated bus lane, for instance, requires the MTA, DOT, and NYPD, in order to enforce it. Then, to get it built politically, requires working with City Council districts, Community Board districts, NY State Legislature districts, and maybe, even school districts, police precincts, and federal congressional districts. But at least bus lanes are cheaper than the BQX and can provide similar levels of service if operated as true bus rapid transit. The 14th Street Busway took too long to happen, but now it’s a success and similar projects should be implemented throughout the city – starting with 42nd Street. Much can be done without even digging up any ground for a new subway or pedestrian tunnel to fight car culture.
In other industrialized countries, regionalization is rather normal. But the United States was only founded because the former colonies agreed to limited federal powers, in order to unite. Most power remained in the state capitals, and in turn, a lot of that power was delegated to municipalities. Moreover, American polarization is often split between liberal urban and conservative suburban interests, with race playing a role that is largely irrelevant in relatively homogenous Europe.
In the U.S., our political system comes to a halt when we’re not able to compromise, because power is separated, and because states and municipalities have a lot of power. This was less of a problem when private companies were building our railroads and roads; Pennsylvania Railroad was fine with building under the Hudson River between two states. But since private companies aren’t building our railroads or our roads any longer, governments are responsible for providing service. And they’re not doing a good job.
The Big Apple runs the world, and its transportation infrastructure keeps it humming, so it’s important for it to be renewed, enhanced, and expanded. Transportation connects people, and hopefully, it does so quickly. But in order to do this effectively, transportation infrastructure itself should also be connected, not just physically, but politically.
Note the PlaNYourCity address is now PlaNYourCity.nyc
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