The owner of the Hampton Luxury Liner bus fleet has filed a lawsuit claiming an MTA tax is unconstitutional, because by shelling out, he's being forced to bolster the competition. "This is the first time that I ever had to pay a subsidy directly to my competitor," William Schoolman tells City Room. "That’s the thing that really bothers me." Sure, businesses including his have paid money to the authority for years, but a new payroll tariff has the 64-year-old transportation veteran red in the face. "Boy, it makes me angry to give extra money to the M.T.A," Schoolman gripes.
According to a law enacted last year, Schoolman and most other businesses in the New York City area are required to pay out 34 cents on every $100 in payroll costs to fund the struggling city agency, which in recent days has instated fare hikes and service cuts. He told City Room he hates the tax not only because he's handing his profits to his main rival (the LIRR and Metro-North service the same areas as his buses), but because he thinks the MTA is inefficient and corrupt. “Why should someone support a government-funded corporation that operates as inefficiently as the M.T.A.?” he asked.
Schoolman cites high salaries, overtime costs, and raises for transit workers as some reasons for his contempt. And he says he's not alone in his moral and professional outrage; he's made a website for his cause, and says he's received "tons and tons" of support.
