Gov. Hochul’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget would keep the MTA from falling over the fiscal cliff, but the search for more transit service and a way to head off a pair of upcoming fare hikes is now up to the state legislature. But the bottom line? It’s all a gamble.

It's a story that will likely be repeated all over the country as cash-strapped transit systems have to figure out what to do as federal Covid relief money dries up ... and riders have not fully returned.