Time to buy walking shoes, kids.
Gov. Paterson tossed a paltry $18 million back into the account for free student fares in his budget presentation today, well below the state’s original $45 million funding agreement and a long way away from the $214 million needed to rescue the program.
The state will now contribute a total of about $25 million.
The MTA said it would cut the program after Paterson twice reduced the funds last year in an effort to tighten spending.
In a 1994 funding agreement the city, state, and MTA each paid $45 million annually to send about 500,000 students to school for free.
But since then, costs have risen. The MTA paid the difference as the city and state decreased or kept their contributions unchanged.
In recent comments, MTA CEO Jay Walder said that it’s the government’s responsibility to pay for the fares, and that the MTA just provides the transportation service.