Federal Transit Administration again threatens MTA funds over safety risks
Retrofitting the platform at the Broadway Junction L train station. Photo courtesy of MTA/Megan Armas on Flickr
President Donald Trump’s administration is once again threatening to withhold funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on Tuesday accused the agency of using “flawed analytical approaches” in a safety plan and said it fails to reflect actual safety risk to subway workers. The FTA required the MTA to develop a new safety plan after a subway track worker was struck and killed by a train in 2023 and another worker was seriously injured the following year. The feds are threatening to withhold up to 25 percent of the financial assistance given to the MTA if safety is not improved for workers.
An audit in June 2024 of the New York Public Transportation Safety Board’s State Safety Oversight Program, which oversees safety for the New York City Transit rail system, found “significant safety deficiencies” in the Rail Transit Roadway Worker Protection (RWP) program and a noted increase in “near-miss events involving transit workers.”
According to the FTA, NYCT experienced 38 potential employee-near misses in 2023, a 58 percent increase from 2022 and a 65 percent increase from 2021.
After the feds ordered the MTA to develop a safety risk assessment (SRA) report to account for the rise in risk level, they found the plan did not address the problems adequately. The first plan was rejected by the Biden administration, and the second was rejected under Trump.
“I am disturbed by MTA’s failure to reinforce safety measures following serious accidents—one resulting in the death of a transit worker,” FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro said in a statement.
“Secretary Duffy has said time and again, safety is USDOT’s top priority, and we will not accept anything less than full accountability. Let me be very clear: We will not accept being jerked around on safety and security issues any longer. By anyone, anywhere.”
The agency gave the MTA 30 days to submit a revised plan that addresses the “acceleration in worker contact incidents,” measures that “accurately reflect” actual worker risk exposure, and updates the likelihood rating to change it from “improbable” classification.
John McCarthy, chief of policy at the MTA, told the New York Post that the letter is an attempt to retaliate against the agency for the congestion program. The feds under Biden rejected a subway safety plan initially submitted by the MTA. And regulators under President Trump in January rejected a second safety plan submitted by the agency.
“Clearly this was not urgent for Washington until it was decided it was time to fire off yet another letter and press release in what is a pattern of threatening letters and punitive actions by US DOT following New York’s successful implementation of the first in [the] nation Congestion Pricing program,” McCarthy told the newspaper.
“A Federal Judge has made it absolutely clear that punishing New York for maintaining Congestion Pricing is a violation of his injunction, which remains in effect,” McCarthy added. “We are reviewing this latest letter to determine any appropriate legal action.”
The Trump administration previously threatened to pull federal funds for transit projects if the MTA didn’t end the congestion pricing program, which began in January. That move was struck down by a federal judge. A lawsuit against Trump’s order to shut down the program won’t be resolved until at least October.
The Transport Workers Union International, which represents MTA transit workers, said the FTA “rightfully rejected” the SRA for a second time.
“This is an epic failure from MTA leadership,” TWU International President John Samuelsen said. “The FTA, in a letter to the MTA, said the MTA’s safety assessment ‘fail[s] to accurately reflect actual safety risks to workers.’ MTA CEO Janno Lieber could care less about safety.”
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