Public Transportation Preservation Act Introduced in Congress

“New York’s mass transit system has been devastated by a consistent lack of funding by the City, State, and the Federal government,” Samuelsen said. “The Public Transportation Preservation Act would correct that, and reverse the service cuts and layoffs that are taking such a huge toll on transit systems around the country. I urge every New Yorker to congratulate our Senators Schumer and Gillibrand on their important stand.”

Keep America Moving (www.keepamericamoving.org), a national coalition of members of transit unions, environmentalists, and faith-based groups, has lobbied hard to see the Act introduced in Congress, sponsoring a major rally in Washington on April 27th that brought 3,000 transit workers to Washington, DC. That rally featured the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who proclaimed that “mass transit jobs are green jobs.” Dan Miner, of the Sierra Club, told another Keep America Moving rally in New York City that environmentalists and transit workers must make common cause to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil by taking cars off the road.

In a press release, Sen. Schumer said that “Mass transit is the very lifeblood of the New York and our ability to rebuild the economy and get people back to work is linked to a fully funded and affordable system.”

Sen.Gillibrand said: "This emergency funding is badly needed to maintain strong and affordable transit systems that get workers to work, students to school, and keep our economy moving."

The MTA’s service cuts have begun to be phased in over the last several weeks and additional cuts are expected to continue into June.

“This is a last and best chance to reverse these service cuts,” Samuelsen said. “With the leadership of the New York delegation and aggressive support and action from members of Keep America Moving around the country, we’ll get it done – not only for New York, but for every other major urban mass transit system.”