User:Epicgenius/Tabs/sandbox Metropolitan Transportation Authority (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S. state of New York, serving 12 counties in Downstate New York, along with two counties in southwestern Connecticut under contract to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, carrying over 11 million passengers on an average weekday systemwide, and over 800,000 vehicles on its seven toll bridges and two tunnels per weekday. It was founded in 1965 as the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority (MCTA) in order to take over Long Island Rail Road service from the bankrupt Pennsylvania Railroad. The MCTA grew to include the New York City Transit Authority, the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, the Staten Island Railway, Long Island Bus, and much of the present-day Metro-North Railroad. In 1968, the MCTA was rebranded as the MTA.
Soon after, the MTA experienced financial problems, and in response, increased fares multiple times across all its systems. Various loans and subsidies from the federal and state governments failed to help the MTA's financial situation. The 1975 New York City fiscal crisis resulted in a shortage of funds for the MTA. Across the system, delays rose while maintenance and ridership fell. The MTA declared a state of emergency in 1981, after a series of mishaps involving defective equipment. The agency released its first five-year capital program the same year.