For over a year and a half during the pandemic, the MTA saw fare revenues plummet. For months, the agency was losing $200 million dollars a week. Relief bills signed last winter and last spring, ensure the agency will get more than $10 billion in support.

New York’s Senate is holding a hearing Wednesday to make sure that money isn’t squandered and that it’s being spent in ways that improve mass transit.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins says New York’s economic recovery depends on it.

While the MTA has seen record-high ridership recently, it’s still only about half of what it was before the pandemic.