After Governor Kathy Hochul paused the implementation of congestion pricing, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority cut about 10% of bus service in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan, according to a lawsuit filed by a officials from a transit workers union, a city official and a Brookyn resident.
A lawsuit filed in the state Supreme Court by two officials from the TWU Local 100 union, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and a Brooklyn resident said that cuts to the bus services began without public notice on or about Friday, July 12.
To cut its operating budget, the MTA started to shave between 5% and 10% the number of bus runs running out of each depot to save bus driver pay, according to the lawsuit that is seeking to halt the reduction in services.
In addition, the New York State Public Authorities Law requires the MTA to give 30 days notice of any non-emergency bus service reduction to the mayor and City Council. The MTA failed to provide such notice or public hearings on the move, seemingly in its haste to account for the revenue lost by delaying congestion pricing, a press release about the lawsuit said.
This is one of the first of a series of lawsuits to be filed in coordination with a coalition of transit riders, disabled commuters and environmental advocates, according to City Comptroller Brad Lander, an organizer of the lawsuit.
“Today’s lawsuit on behalf of transit riders is the first stop along our legal suit journey," he said. "For years, elected officials at the city, state, and federal levels fought to enact congestion pricing and remain committed to moving forward on the implementation of this transformative policy to alleviate gridlock, unlock capital dollars for accessibility and modern signals and reduce carbon emissions for cleaner air."
Lander also announced new legal partnerships with attorneys from Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, Earthjustice, and Mobilization for Justice, who entered into a joint defense agreement to explore legal action.
