NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) — New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the largest mass-transit provider in the US, anticipates paying an additional $95.6 million for fuel this year after the war in Iran disrupted oil supplies and sent prices soaring.
The MTA oversees New York City’s subways, buses and commuter rail lines. It buys more than 5 million gallons of fuel every month to operate nearly 6,000 buses and run about 10,000 subway and commuter rail trips each weekday, according to MTA documents.
The MTA’s fuel-hedging program helps reduce costs when prices rise sharply. The agency would need to pay $146 million more this year for diesel and compressed natural gas compared with the 2026 budget adopted at the end of last year. But $50.8 million in savings from fuel hedges will reduce that additional cost to $95.6 million, according to a report released Monday.
“The program has been really helpful for us to manage fuel price volatility and improve budget certainty,” Olga Chernat, the MTA’s deputy chief of financial services, said Monday during a finance committee meeting.
The transit agency has budgeted a combined $291 million in 2026 on ultra-low sulfur diesel, gasoline, compressed natural gas and other fuel types, according to the report.
The MTA typically hedges 50% of its future diesel purchases over a 12-month period. The agency has locked in an average diesel price of $2.28 per gallon during that time frame, according to the report.
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