The MTA's proposed budget presented new and sobering details Wednesday, as the agency faces massive deficits that could lead to sweeping service cuts and thousands of layoffs.
Under the proposal, roughly 930 workers across the LIRR and Metro-North would be laid off. Commuter rail service would also be slashed by up to 50%.
Transit officials say these cuts, though, are still months away.
"If this were to happen because we are not receiving the federal aid we so desperately need, the board would have to take action ... so we believe the earliest this would take effect is May of next year," says Patrick Foye, MTA chairman.
Also on the table are potential fare and toll increases. For the LIRR, some options include increasing the price of one-way and 10-trip tickets or distributing mail-and-ride tickets though a mobile platform.
Altogether, the MTA's proposed cuts would save almost $1.3 billion per year, but that's still not enough to close the budget gap.
MTA officials are holding onto hope for a federal bailout once President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
Ridership isn't projected to rebound quickly -- consulting firm McKinsey is projecting ridership will return to just 80 to 90% of pre-pandemic levels by 2024.