The Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee is the coordinating body and funding mechanism for the three riders councils created by the New York State Legislature in 1981: the Long Island Rail Road Commuter's Council (LIRRCC); the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council (MNRCC); and the New York City Transit Riders Council (NYCTRC).

The councils were created to give users of MTA subway, bus, and commuter rail services a say in the formulation and implementation of MTA policy and to hold the MTA Board and management accountable to riders.

In order to accomplish these ends, the PCAC and councils hold regular public meetings and forums, undertake frequent research projects, and maintain a support staff of transportation planning professionals.

Further, since 1995 the PCAC has held a non-voting seat on the MTA Board. Each council selects a representative to the MTA Board. These representatives sit on the relevant MTA agency operating committee at all times, and share the PCAC Board seat in turn.

The 38 members of the PCAC are required to be regular users of the MTA system, and serve without pay. Members are appointed by the Governor's office, upon the recommendation of county executives and, for New York City, the mayor, public advocate, and borough presidents. There are currently 12 seats on the LIRRCC, 11 seats on the MNRCC, and 15 seats on the NYCTRC. (For names of individual members and the bodies which they represent, please see the individual Council pages for the LIRRCC, MNRCC, and NYCTRC).

Chair: William K. Guild
First Vice Chair: James Blair
Second Vice Chair: Ira Greenberg
Executive Director: William Henderson
Webmaster: William Henderson

Associate Director: Jan S. Wells
Transportation Planner: Ellyn Shannon
Research Associate: Karyl Berger
Administrative Assistant: Deborah Morrison

2007 Calendar of Meetings

Browse the meeting agenda for location.

Next Meeting Agenda

Reports

PCAC Annual Reports

The PCAC reports to the public on an annual basis on its recent activities. You may browse our latest annual report, or view an archive of all previous quarterly and annual reports.

PCAC Research Reports

The PCAC undertakes annual research reports on topics of interest to MTA riders. All PCAC reports are available on request, and the most recent are available for download in PDF format. Please see our research reports page.

PCAC Fact Sheet and Retrospective Report

For a better understanding of the PCAC, we have created a Frequently Asked Quuestions pamphlet. You may download our most-recent FAQs pamphlet in PDF format.

We have also created a retrospective report, Track Record, which looks back at the first 25 years of the PCAC from 1977 to 2002. Follow the link to download the report in PDF format.

PCAC and Council Bylaws

Revised Bylaws for the PCAC, LIRRCC, MNRCC, and NYCTRC have recently been adopted by the PCAC and Councils.

PCAC and Council Goals

Goals for the PCAC, LIRRCC, MNRCC, and NYCTRC have been adopted by the PCAC and Councils.

Member Roster

A Member Roster detailing the backgrounds and appointment information for all PCAC members is available for download in PDF format. The roster is updated as necessary.