BUFFALO, NY - New York State Assemblyman Sean Ryan says people who depend on the NFTA for their transportation should not have to shoulder the burden of the Authority's $15 million deficit. On Friday, he announced what his office is doing about this.
Ryan told 2 On Your Side its time that the State's Authorities Budget Office step in, and start both a financial and operational audit of the NFTA to see if they're on the right track.
The Assemblyman has been critical of the NFTA's money woes and said their proposed plan to reduce their bus service routes by 22-percent starting in April is a "wrong headed approach."
Ryan tells us the State has already cut about $4 million of funding from the NFTA, but $2.9 million has been restored. He's hoping the transportation leaders will go back to the drawing board and figure out how to do things differently for the sake of their riders, who he calls their main priority.
He hopes some positive recommendations can come out of this audit process.
"The Authorities Budget Office is a top flight office in New York State. They've done reviews of the Albany Airport, the Syracuse bus lines, the Rochester Bus lines. So one of my concerned with the NFTA is they're stretched thin," said Ryan.
Besides the Erie-Niagara County Bus lines, the NFTA runs both International Airports, owns waterfront property, and also operates the small boat harbor. Ryan says their core mission should focus more on public transportation.
2 On Your Side asked Ryan could the State could bail out the NFTA? His reply, "If that happened the Authority would find itself in the same exact position again."