New Regional Plan Association report assesses benefits of MTA’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan

The Regional Plan Association (RPA) has released a report assessing the benefits of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) proposed 2025-2029 Capital Plan. The new report, “How MTA’s Next Capital Plan Benefits All New Yorkers,” emphasizes the significant role the capital plan will play in ensuring the MTA is made even more reliable to the 2.1 million commuters who rely on its services daily for work. 

The capital plan is estimated to generate $106 billion in economic output and create 72,000 jobs on average over the five years across New York State. According to the RPA, by upgrading vital infrastructure, riders will experience fewer disruptions and delays and will experience travel that is safer, more comfortable and often faster than it is now. RPA says modernizing the signal system can save riders on modernized lines up to 12,000 cumulative hours each weekday. 

“It’s no secret that New York’s transit system is the largest in the nation, supporting the most job-dense region in the U.S. Having a plan in place that addresses its most pressing problems that impact rider experience and economic output should be at the top of our region’s priorities,” said Rachel Weinberger, co-author of the report and RPA Peter Herman chair for transportation. “The MTA’s Capital Plan is good for the economy and will allow a safer and comfortable experience for every transit user.” 

RPA notes the capital plan is the largest proposal of repair investment in MTA history, with 90 percent of the budget prioritized for system reconstruction and structural improvements. RPA’s analysis underscores the vast scale of ridership on the MTA transit system, with 37 percent of the region’s workers and 22 percent of all New York State workers making up the MTA ridership. RPA says the report emphasizes the millions of riders who utilize the MTA public transit system are a diverse group that reflects the New York region’s diversity. According to the report, there is a relatively even distribution by race/ethnicity and across low, moderate, middle and high- income riders. 

“Funding the MTA Capital Plan is not simply an investment in the MTA,” said Co-author of the report and RPA Senior Research Fellow Chris Jones. “It is an investment in the people that rely on it daily and in everyone who is part of the region’s thriving workforces and economy. This capital plan is one that recognizes and respects the time of its riders, remains committed to increased safety and reimagines what the experience for those visiting, working and living in New York could look like.” 

RPA says the capital plan is expected to address customers’ priority transit needs, including safety, reliability, frequency, waiting times and crowding. The capital plan seeks to first address system components that directly impact the rider experience by: 

• Installing at least 75 miles of entirely new signal systems to replace old systems, many of which were installed in the 1930s. 
• Reconstructing or creating new substations in the subway and commuter rail systems that are most at-risk of power failure. 
• Purchasing of 1,500 new subway cars, 500 commuter rail cars and 2,500 new buses across the region. 
• Upgrading subway and commuter rail lines most impacted by major weather events. 
• Improving ADA-accessibility, enhancements of station safeguards to increase safety and overall advancing station functionality. 

In a statement, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “This report underscores what we’ve been saying all along – the aging $1.5 trillion transit system that keeps millions of New Yorkers moving and the regional economy humming must be preserved and upgraded. Starving the patient to death by underfunding is not an option.” 

A full copy of the report can be accessed on RPA’s website.