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Like Governor Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg expressed his dismay over the MTA's plans to raise subway and bus fares next year. He gave his usual spirited (and sort of annoyed) thoughts to reporters yesterday, and the Observer's Azi Paybarah took this video, that includes Bloomberg's proclamations the city can't afford to give the MTA any money (the city gives the state $12 billion each year and doesn't get much in return) and that the MTA isn't being run well. Hey, Mayor Bloomberg--why don't you buy out the MTA and privatize it? That could be your big philanthropic endeavor!
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Whats with the complaining? The base fare hasn't been increased in years and obviously is well behind inflation and minimum wage increases.
I agree that its not run as well as in other cities/countries, but with increased costs, not to mention all the capital projects in progress, the bill has to be spread out somehow.
Its a 25 cent increase per ride correct? If you can't afford that, panhandle in front of the station for 10 minutes and you'll more than make up for the hike.
What's with the fare is; they can't manage the money they get now. More money will just be pissed away as well. They need to improve their financial practices, no other business gets bailed out everytime they fuck up year in and year out. The MTA makes millions. Daily. They spend like drunken sailors at port, nothing goes towards projects or improvements (I don't care what anyone says, I've been riding the trains for years, AC was the only improvement and that was a decade ago), therefore there should be money left.
Though it's just great to see another politician who won't do a damn thing, pretend they care and pretend they think it's wrong.
I'd pay $12 a ride if the service was good, but for what we get, I think $2+ is a gross overestimation of the services' worth.
instead of going whole hog and privatizing, let's just actually fucking fire some people
@Kojak: This isn't just about who can afford a fare hike. It's about the fact that the MTA IS WASTING OUR MONEY. There is so much ridiculous waste in their organization, and the average subway rider sees it every day. So, while service gets worse, construction projects get cut, and we wait longer for trains, they ask for more money from riders like us when they could save just as much money if they got rid of their bloated bureaucracy.
Perfect example: fire ALL the "token booth agents," who make $50K+ a year to sit on their asses and do NOTHING. Find four other cost-saving measures like that, and you've closed half the budget gap.
one of the biggest problems with the MTA aside from total mismanagement is the unionized labor making large salaries and doing little for them (track workers aside) I agree with the [4] fire all booth agents, automate the trains completely, have an NYPD (whose officers seem to have a lot of time on their hands to chat on cell phones) on the trains for security, etc. The faster you get rid of people with fat lifetime pensions and benefits the more money there will be.
also don't forget to fire the MTA execs with balloon salaries.
He brings up a good point in that Albany takes in tax revenue from NYC and doesn't give it back. That's been a gripe Bloomberg's had for a while, made worse by them nixing his congestion pricing plan.
I partially blame the 2nd Avenue line and the 7 extension which isn't going to be completed either apparently. They're money pits. They've tried building the 2nd avenue line and abandoned it several times. They sink millions of dollars into it, then times get hard and they abandon it. Tons of money gets spent and not a single person gets any good out of it. Why are labor costs the only thing people complain about?
[7] because long term labor costs are the biggest piece of their budget pie... they should be expanding the system and at the same time modernizing and automating it.
Fire everyone and have no employees at stations? Great idea...get back to me when the MVMs are all busted, your swipe gets taken by the turnstile, and everyone jumps the turnstiles.
"your swipe gets taken by the turnstile"
do you even ride the subway?
Bloomberg said that with the MTA's $10 billion budget it should be able to cut five percent somewhere without affecting service.
Has a truer statement ever been spoken?
People in NYC should be glad the subways are still not distance based fare unlike the commuter railroads - MN and LIRR.
A monthy MN pass from Yonkers to GCT costs $170. Yonkers is just 15 miles from GCT as well.
some of you clowns think like the mta, you blame the workers & the unions because there are a lot of them & that's what you clowns see every day. when in fact the executives are all overpaid & they are wasting money on things that are not transit related. the things you don't see, that's where the waste is happening.
i dont think anyone is excluding management. they should fire as much of those layers as possible. its just that they cant fire the union guys even when they have no work for them, that not right and we all have to pay for it (and for years down the line with the long term benefits)
Privatize it.
Thank you, TWU.
S'funny...I know someone who works for the MTA. He works two jobs, and tells us how he sleeps most of his time at the 'TA. He actually complains on days when they make him do something.
The MTA needs to clean house, unions or no.
MTA workers move like Jen on Hells Kitchen.