The transit lockbox bill is now in the hands of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Assembly bill 8511, which would require that funding dedicated to public transportation systems be used for transit purposes, was delivered to the governor's desk Dec. 17.

Cuomo now has 10 days—not including Sundays—to sign or veto the legislation.

The bill, which has been championed by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, requires express legislative consent to divert transit funding for other purposes.

"However we decide to fund our mass transit system, one thing is clear: We need this money to actually be spent on tangible improvements to subway and bus infrastructure in our neighborhood," Dinowitz said in a statement. "Nobody wants to pay more in taxes or tolls or fees, and especially not when they can't be certain that the money collected from them is actually going to be spent appropriately."

The bill would help add several layers of transparency to the diversion of transit funding. If funds were to be diverted with the approval of the Legislature, the governor's administration would be required to submit a diversion impact statement reflecting the effect on service, maintenance, security and the capital program.

This legislation is delivered to the governor during a period in which many straphangers have denounced the transit system because of poor service and moved toward ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft.

Earlier this month New York City Transit President Andy Byford pitched three strategies to get trains to run on time, requiring tens of billions of dollars, at a Crain's forum.

But in order for Byford to lure back riders, he will first have to figure out how he will allocate the $40 billion to fund his Fast Forward plan.

Proponents of increased funding for mass transit have discussed congestion pricing, a millionaires tax, lifting the cap on the gas tax and a multitude of other possible sources.

The bill already passed unanimously through both chambers of the state Legislature in the spring.