![\"MTA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55145739768_d843b2d03a_c.jpg\" "\\"Claiming")
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MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber standing with Gov. Kathy Hochul touting her proposal to lower car insurance premiums as a boon for New York City transit riders. Friday, March 13, 2026<\/p>\n
Marc A. Hermann \/ MTA<\/p>\n
MTA<\/a> Chair and CEO Janno Lieber stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday to tout her controversial proposal aimed at lowering auto insurance premiums as a boon for New York City\u2019s millions of subway and bus riders.<\/p>\n The governor and the MTA boss, during a Friday news conference at the Mother Clara Hale Bus Depot in Harlem, both highlighted the agency\u2019s new finding that the measure will save it approximately $50 million that it spends on personal injury insurance payouts annually. The announcement comes as the proposal has\u00a0drawn controversy<\/a> over reports that it is being backed by big tech spending and may, if enacted, make it harder for crash victims to get compensated for their injuries.<\/p>\n Hochul \u2014 who is running for reelection this year \u2014 has mainly pitched the proposal as a way to lower costs for New Yorkers by reigning in \u201cskyrocketing\u201d car insurance premiums. She claimed rates have gone up dramatically in recent years due to \u201cjackpot payouts\u201d to those she said are fraudulently scamming the system.<\/p>\n Hochul insists auto insurance reform is about saving drivers money<\/p>\n The state\u2019s top executive said city residents, a large portion of whom take public transit instead of driving<\/a>, should support the proposal because the MTA could be using the money it spends on payouts toward improving service instead.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re sometimes forced to pay some really outrageous jackpot legal settlements, even when their own drivers are not at fault,\u201d Hochul said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s costing us millions and millions of dollars. So who loses in this? All the transit riders. Because the money that we\u2019re spending on these payouts is money that\u2019s not being spent investing in this system.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet\u00a0the news site\u00a0Streetsblog has reported<\/a> that the proposal is being pushed by an Uber-backed<\/a> group, Citizens for Affordable Rates (CAR), which has spent millions on ads in support of it, according to state filings.<\/p>\n The governor on Friday denied that special interest spending on the proposal is motivating her to push to get it over the finish line.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a high priority of mine,\u201d Hochul said. \u201cAnytime I can find a way to put more money back in New Yorkers\u2019 pockets, I\u2019ll be at the front line of that fight. \u2026 I don\u2019t know how you can say that one company that has an interest in this has any influence over the fact that everybody has an interest.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Concerns about shift in liability, and financial responsibility<\/p>\n Additionally, safe streets advocates argue the legislation will shift the financial responsibility for crashes from drivers and insurance companies to victims by narrowing the definition of \u201cserious injuries\u201d to leave out non-permanent injuries that prevent victims from working for over 90 days.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want any sort of attempts to quote, unquote, cut down on fraud [to] actually end up just being something that screws over crash victims even more,\u201d said Alexa Sledge, spokesperson for the safe streets advocacy group Transportation Alternatives.<\/p>\n The governor is attempting to pass the proposal as part of the state budget, which must be delivered by an April 1 deadline to be considered on time. But both chambers of the state legislature left the proposal out of their budget resolutions<\/a>, unveiled earlier this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n Under Hochul\u2019s proposal, the current system \u2014 which awards payout amounts based on the percentage of responsibility a jury finds those involved in the crash to have \u2014 will be scrapped and replaced with one where those found to be more than 50% at fault will get no compensation.<\/p>\n Lieber takes aim at \u2018billboard lawyers\u2019<\/p>\n Lieber said that under the current system, the MTA ends up shelling out large payouts in lawsuits where its bus drivers were found to be less than 50% responsible \u2014 a phenomenon he blamed on personal injury attorneys, whom he labeled \u201cbillboard lawyers.\u201d<\/p>\n He said there are instances where the MTA has been found not to be at fault in a crash but has still been forced to pay out massive sums.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe MTA ends up being liable, even though we are found to be 1% responsible for an accident,\u201d Lieber said. \u201cWhat\u2019s happening now is, if they can get a jury to say the MTA was 1% responsible, we\u2019re responsible for the entire damages. And frequently the other guys don\u2019t even have insurance, so it\u2019s a huge number.\u201d<\/p>\n The MTA chair said those massive payouts mean the agency must also set aside more dollars in its budget reserve each year to satisfy its actuaries.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n