Estimating that as much as $950 million in infrastructure damage may not be covered by insurance or federal aid, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority nonetheless pledged on Wednesday that riders will not be asked to bear the cost of rebuilding its transportation system as a result of Hurricane Sandy.
With a fare increase already scheduled for March of next year and a system still operating at less than full strength, officials said riders had already paid for the storm indirectly, sitting on more crowded trains and often waiting longer for them to arrive.
“This will not be a burden upon our riders,†Joseph J. Lhota, the chairman of the transportation authority, said of the storm costs during a news conference.
The authority incurred an estimated $5 billion in losses from the storm, including $4.75 billion in infrastructure damage.
After drawing from its insurance policy, with a maximum coverage of a little over $1 billion, the authority estimated that the Federal Emergency Management Agency would cover at least 75 percent of the remaining infrastructure costs, leaving about $950 million that the authority may need to cover itself.
The authority planned to begin up to $4.8 billion in external borrowing over the next few years, before some reimbursements are likely to trickle in. This strategy, outlined in the authority's November Financial Plan for 2013-2016, calls for the authority to pay as much as $29 million next year in interest and $48 million in both 2014 and 2015. To offset these changes in the financial plan, the authority said it would need to engage in significant cost-cutting from sources that have not yet been identified.
Since facing a deep budget shortfall in 2010, the authority has already undertaken an aggressive series of cuts, including the elimination of some subway lines and buses. Mr. Lhota emphasized Wednesday that service reductions were not expe cted this time around.
He also faced - and refused to answer - questions about his interest in running for mayor, an idea that has been floated in the news media and by an aide to former mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, for whom Mr. Lhota served as deputy mayor.
“This is an MTA press conference, it's not a political press conference,†he said. “Unfortunately for all of you, I'm not going to answer any questions whatsoever about politics.â€
Still, Mr. Lhota does not appear to mind the attention paid recently to him and the authority, which has been widely praised for restoring service so quickly after the storm. He pointed to a recent Quinnipiac poll in which 75 percent of voters called the authority's overall storm response “excellent†or “good.â€
At the agency's full board meeting earlier on Wednesday, one member proposed that the group “formally congratulate†Mr. Lhota and his team for “bringing honor†to the authority after the stor m.
“All in favor?†Mr. Lhota asked, to laughs.
