But last year MTA workers went on strike, and the unions assured the governor that the strike would end once the bill passed; so Mr Davis signed a new version in September.Just west of the MTA's territory, in Santa Monica, another public-transport authority offers an example of good service without the enmity of unions.
Prices for the Abarth 500 start at £13,975, with convertible and MTA versions costing more.
We'd also like to big up an album that is on the cusp of being released on our own imprint MTA, Welcome To Reality' by Nero.
That's above and beyond the call of duty.It is a good thing, too; the MTA needs some effective PR.
On the other hand, the MTA is not without blame for the general frustrations of commuters' lives.
The plan, the work of a commission headed by Richard Ravitch, who guided the MTA out of a crisis in the 1970s, was well-received by the lower house but failed to please the Senate.
The MTA now faces a deficit of $2 billion, and some 20% of its operating budget is now dedicated to repaying its debt.A "Doomsday" budget, unveiled in November, envisaged cutting services and staff as well as increasing fares by up to 30%, by June 2009, to close the deficit gap.
Last July, the state government approved a $600m security budget for the MTA.
The MTA has said that this phase of the project, which includes new tunnels and stations between 63rd St. and 96th St. on the east side of Manhattan, will "probably" finish under budget.
The MTA ultimately concluded that the storm resulted in some $5 billion in damage.
