{"id":120759,"date":"2026-02-03T00:15:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T00:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/120759\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T00:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T00:15:09","slug":"mta-boss-janno-lieber-taps-jessie-lazarus-to-oversee-mtas-12b-purchase-of-new-trains-and-buses-amnewyork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/120759\/","title":{"rendered":"MTA boss Janno Lieber taps Jessie Lazarus to oversee MTA\u2019s $12B purchase of new trains and buses \u2013 amNewYork"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"MTA\t\t\t<\/p>\n

MTA Chief of Rolling Stock Jessie Lazarus, portrait at Whitehall St station. Monday, Feb 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

Marc A. Hermann \/ MTA<\/p>\n

MTA<\/a> Chair and CEO Janno Lieber on Monday directed agency veteran Jessie Lazarus to oversee the $12 billion replacement of aging subway cars, bus fleet, and commuter rail liners.<\/a><\/p>\n

Lazarus, who has served since 2023 as the MTA\u2019s deputy chief of commercial venture, will be the head of the agency\u2019s Rolling Stock Program. In the role, she will work with Lieber and MTA leadership across its various agencies around the acquisition of new rail cars and buses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith billions of dollars set aside for new subway cars, commuter trains, and buses in the new capital plan, we need strong leadership driving the decision-making,\u201d Lieber said in a statement. \u201cJessie\u2019s no stranger to big projects and complex commercial negotiations, and I have total confidence in her ability to deliver the best deal for the MTA and our millions of daily riders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right away, she will manage a $12 billion portion of the MTA\u2019s $65 billion 2025-2029 Capital Plan<\/a> devoted to purchasing new rolling stock.\n<\/p>\n

The plan calls for ordering 1,500 new subway cars to replace a slew of 40-year-old cars, about 22% of the system\u2019s fleet, according the agency. It also plans to purchase 2,220 new buses and 500 new commuter rail cars for the Long Island Rail Road and Metro North Railroad.<\/p>\n

The oldest subway trains must be replaced because they are six times more likely to break down than newer ones, the MTA says. Additionally, they are not compatible with the new digital signal systems that the MTA is currently installing throughout the subways.<\/p>\n

The new trains also have wider doors, brighter lighting, digital signage, and security cameras.\n<\/p>\n

Lazarus and her team will focus more on performance metrics of new trains and buses than design, she told Bloomberg News<\/a>. Her team will also work to boost competition among suppliers and focus more on domestic manufacturers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe subway cars, buses, and commuter trains that New York grew up on belong to a different era,\u201d Lazarus said in a statement. \u201cThe new Rolling Stock Program will make sure the MTA\u2019s multibillion-dollar commitment to the future of our transit system gives New Yorkers a smoother, greener, faster, more cost-efficient ride to explore the amazing places the MTA can take them for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her previous position, Lazarus played a \u201ccritical\u201d role in transitioning subway and bus riders from the MetroCard to the OMNY tap-and-ride program, according to the MTA. She also helped perpare agency prepare for ending MetroCard sales on Dec. 31.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prior to joining the MTA, Lazarus worked for the car company Toyota after it acquired her previous employer \u2014 the spatial AI firm CARMERA. Before that, she was the city\u2019s chief digital officer under former Mayor Bill de Blasio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MTA Chief of Rolling Stock Jessie Lazarus, portrait at Whitehall St station. Monday, Feb 2, 2026. Marc A.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120760,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[52974,1209,52975,52976,141,28897,9,24,63,122,124,123,52977],"class_list":{"0":"post-120759","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-2025-2029-capital-plan","9":"tag-buses","10":"tag-commuter-rails","11":"tag-jessie-lazarus","12":"tag-mta","13":"tag-mta-chief-and-ceo-janno-lieber","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-queens","18":"tag-queens-headlines","19":"tag-queens-news","20":"tag-subway-cars"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}