$12 Billion for New Subway Cars: Breaking Down the LinkedIn Debate on MTA's Biggest Investment

I spend too much of my free time building Commutely — an app that helps NYC subway riders check train times faster. So when the MTA announced a $12 billion program to replace 1,500 subway cars, I was curious: what do people who actually work in transit, finance, and infrastructure think about it?

LinkedIn turned out to be the best place to find out. Deputy MTA Chief Jessie Lazarus posted about the announcement herself, and the comment section became a surprisingly rich focus group — 64 professionals from climate investing, transit operations, accessibility engineering, and tech all weighing in on whether this money will actually make the subway better. Here's what I found.

Key Takeaways

• The MTA's new $12 billion Rolling Stock Program will replace 1,500 subway cars, 2,200 buses, and 500+ commuter rail cars — the largest fleet investment in the agency's history.
• Deputy MTA Chief Jessie Lazarus, who led the MetroCard-to-OMNY transition, will run the program through a new ~10-person unit.
• LinkedIn reaction was broadly supportive (~40% optimistic) but engagement-weighted sentiment skews skeptical — the most-liked comments raised concerns about corruption risk, signal infrastructure, and station accessibility.
• Professionals across finance, climate investing, transit operations, accessibility, and tech weighed in with 64 comments, 460+ reactions, and 19 reposts.

How Did Professionals React to the MTA's $12B Announcement?

Lazarus's post drew 460+ reactions, 64 comments, and 19 reposts from a cross-section of professionals — climate investors, CFOs, accessibility engineers, transit wonks, tech founders, and everyday commuters. I sorted the comments into five camps:

Engagement-weighted sentiment skews more skeptical than the raw comment count suggests. The most-liked comments all came from the realist or skeptical camps. The optimistic comments tended to be shorter and less engaged-with. Three stood out:

Evan Kaufman, Principal at TPG Rise Climate, asked the sharpest question in the thread: "Beyond replacing fleet, will you be upgrading signals / sensors into the modern digital age to improve the efficiency?" Another commenter called WW2-era signals "10x more important than new cars."

Brad H, a component engineer, delivered the most-liked comment (7 reactions): "10 people managing 12 BILLION. No chance for corruption there, no sir."

And Sheri Byrne-Haber, an accessibility engineering leader who identifies as disabled, offered the most pointed critique: "12B for new cars, but stations won't be accessible in my lifetime. Awesome. Thanks for making your priorities clear."

What This Means for NYC Subway Riders

The fleet replacement will roll out over several years, and the improvements won't be immediate. For daily commuters, the calculus hasn't changed: you still need to know when your train is coming, whether it's an R46 from 1975 or a brand-new R211.

While the MTA works through its modernization plan, I'm going to keep helping with the here and now. So a quick plug! Just long-press on Commutely and find out when your train is coming. Or set up a schedule to get notifications for when you normally leave where it is you're commuting from. Super easy!

The Takeaway

LinkedIn's professional class is broadly supportive of the MTA's $12 billion investment but deeply skeptical about execution. The conversation reveals a consistent pattern: people don't doubt that the money should be spent — they doubt that it will be spent well, on the right priorities, with adequate oversight. Signals, stations, accessibility, and operational culture came up repeatedly as concerns that new rolling stock alone won't solve.

The fact that Jessie Lazarus engaged by posting directly — and that the thread drew substantive commentary from finance, climate investing, transit, operations, accessibility, and tech professionals — suggests this announcement landed with the right audience. Whether the MTA can convert that initial goodwill into sustained public confidence over a multi-year procurement cycle is the real test.

Source: LinkedIn News, "NYC transit system set for upgrade with $12B infusion," edited by Megan McDonough. Comments collected February 3, 2026. Original reporting by Michelle Kaske, Bloomberg.