Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Uber & Lyft Could Cost The MTA $10 Million Per Year
By
Nathan Tempey
Published Nov 19, 2015
Modified Nov 19, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Spencer Platt/Getty
By
Nathan Tempey
Published Nov 19, 2015
Modified Nov 19, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
In 2009, state politicians tacked a 50-cent surcharge onto all yellow-cab rides as part of an MTA bailout, figuring it'd be an easier sell than something that could more dramatically shore up the agency's perennially shaky finances like, say, raising taxes, metering all parking, or congestion pricing. What they didn't see coming was ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft, which MTA finance head Bob Foran said on Wednesday will cost $10 million a year in taxi trips not taken.
The MTA rolled out its 2016-2019 financial plan at a board meeting, and in it they predict $68 million in lost aid, much of it from the rapid growth in use of the on-demand livery cab apps.
"It seems that market share is coming away from the medallion cabs, going to the app-based services," Foran said. "We were hoping that the whole pie would grow."
Uber charges sales tax on each ride, but only a small fraction of that goes towards the MTA, meaning a fare would have to top $133 to reach the 50-cent contribution mark. Uber spokesman Matt Wing argued to the Daily News that the company is contributing more to state coffers than taxis, and it's not Uber's problem where the money ends up.
"This imbalance has generated a total of $40 million in revenue to the city and state in the first half of this year alone to spend as they please," Wing said. "If the MTA wants to claim that revenue, they should take that up with the city and state."
Wing is former press secretary to Gov. Cuomo and was recently appointed by Cuomo to be a director of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation. Wing also spent time as a press aide to Bill de Blasio when he was public advocate. De Blasio's mayoral campaign was heavily funded by taxi-medallion tycoons and he has threatened to cap Uber's growth in the city. In October, Cuomo signaled he wants to pull rank on the mayor, with whom he has been bickering for the last year, and regulate ride-sharing apps at the state level.
As WNYC points out, $10 million a year is a lot, but in the scheme of the MTA's $15 billion annual budget, it's a wee little tidbit. For example, the introduction of a $1 purchase fee for MetroCards in 2013 made the MTA $10 million in its first five months.
Tagged
lyft
MTA
mta budget
surcharge
taxi
uber
Nathan Tempey
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .