NY Public Transit Association suggested $25 annual fee on upstate car registrations

BUFFALO, N.Y. — As state budget hearings continue in Albany, a suggestion to provide more funding for upstate transit systems is drawing criticism from some Buffalo area lawmakers.

Governor Hochul and some state lawmakers from Western New York are seemingly closing the door on this idea for upstate mass transit funding which surfaced again during a February 3rd state budget hearing on transportation.

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New York Public Transit Association President Miguel Velazquez, who is also the CEO of the RTA transit system in Rochester and Genesee County told lawmakers, “What we’re proposing is a DMV fee that is currently in place downstate. We’re just asking for equity and parity so that’s extended to upstate. It’s a DMV fee which is $25 a year.”

To clarify from the New York Public Transit Association, their suggestion is to add a $25 dollar annual surcharge on your DMV fee to register your car.  Velazquez pointed out “There’s about $5 million registered cars in upstate so it would raise around $125 million.”

The association says this additional funding similar to what is now collected from New York city metro area drivers for that city’s MTA transit system.  A NYPTA spokesperson sent this statement: “The proposed $25 DMV fee is a modest investment that helps keep our entire transportation system moving. Every bus or train removes cars from the road, reduces congestion, and helps workers get to jobs that keep our regional economy running. This funding would help ensure transit systems remain affordable, reliable and accessible, and are able to avoid service reductions and support the workforce, businesses, and communities that New Yorkers depend on every day.” 

A Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority spokesperson also replied: “The NFTA and transit agencies across the state are asking leaders in Albany to increase transit funding this year to keep up with rising costs to avoid service cuts and other negative impacts to passengers. NYPTA, the trade association for the state’s transit agencies, issued a white paper pointing out that over the last 15 years, downstate agencies had received significantly larger increases than upstate agencies and is calling for new revenue from a DMV fee. While opposition to such a new fee is certainly understandable, the need for enhanced transit funding upstate is undeniable.”

But for state lawmakers from Western New York who sit on the legislative transportation committees this extra fee on car registration seems to be a non-starter.

NYS Senator Patrick Gallivan told 2 On Your Side, “We carry the highest tax burden in the country. We have obstacles to our businesses, to the cost of living for our families for eating, for playing, for working in New York state and we just can’t keep taking more from people.”

Gallivan added, “As a state we disproportionally send more money downstate in support of that system (the MTA) than we do upstate transit systems. Which I think needs to be re-balanced. But taking more money out of peoples’ pockets is not the answer.”

Assemblymember Karen McMahon stated: “The Legislature is committed to making New York more affordable. This is not the time to impose an additional fee on millions of New Yorkers. As a member of the Assembly Transportation Committee, I recognize the importance of strengthening transit systems in every region of the state. However, this proposal places an undue burden on residents when our focus should be on prioritizing increased transportation funding through the state’s annual budget process.”

State Assemblymember Patrick Chludzuinski says would also reject this idea: “In the midst of New York’s ongoing affordability crisis, I am opposed to imposing any new fees or taxes on upstate motorists and will not support this proposal. New York drivers already pay the highest auto insurance premiums, and they are being hit with a new punitive violation point system from the Department of Motor Vehicles that will drive these rates even higher. Continuing to nickel and dime our residents to death is not the answer. Instead, we should focus our efforts on ensuring that state support for upstate transit systems is equitable with dollars committed to downstate systems.” 

2 On Your Side did hear from the office of Governor Kathy Hochul with this statement from a spokesman “The Governor has made historic investments in public transportation and has proposed a 5.75% increase in upstate transit funding in her budget. The Governor is laser-focused on affordability and has no plans to implement an additional fee on drivers in the region.”