September 23, 2008
MTA Considers Possible Service Cuts
Get ready for primal screams across the region, if the MTA decides to cut subway, bus, and rail service as it faces its nearly $1 billion-deficit next year. The Daily News reports that MTA CFO Gary Dellaverson said the agency "recently told its divisions to detail ways to cut spending by about 4.5% in the event the economy deteriorates beyond the MTA's latest budget projections - or if city and state funding isn't increased to levels sought by the MTA."
The MTA has already been working on skimming its budget--and planning for fare and toll hikes. MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin said, "This is an exercise in case of a hypothetical situation. It’s very preliminary," as did MTA transit committee chairwoman Doreen Frasca, who said, "Everything's going to be on the table - but service cuts will be the last thing on the table."
Still, with ridership continuing to grow and the city and state unlikely to chip in any more money, how the MTA will save any money seems pretty clear: Dellaverson said, "I think it's fair to say that it will be difficult for the agencies to find that much savings without affecting the service package."
Photograph by susiejulie on Flickr
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What the fuck is wrong with this state/country? Skyrocketing gas prices and jumps in ridership should be enough of an impetus to increase funding for public transport, yet transit authorities across the nation are having an extremely tough time finding money. Why aren't our city's politicians going to Albany and Washington and screaming about this?
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how about the mta consider how much they can save by dealing with the recent LIRR scandal..
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blame the Union. And there will be a big increase in unions once Obama is elected and passes the "Employee Free Choice Act".
Which should be renamed the Employee Unionization Act.
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The service and quality of the transit system is already embarassingly bad. If it gets worse, I'm leaving this city.
Why aren't the people of this city getting angry at city politicians?
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#4 because they don't give a shit about us.
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When was the last time the base fare for the MTA was raised? And can you say for certain that service has gotten worse since that last fare increase?
Even with a fare increase, this is one of the cheapest transit systems on the planet. Granted its not run as well as other systems and there are PLENTY of issues, but costs do rise and they have to be covered somehow, whether it be a revamp of the MTA's organizational structure, fare hikes, state aid, or all of the above.
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I think a more pertinent question is how many of the subway lines are at capacity. I can't see how there can be cuts on many of the lines based on the sardine-like conditions they currently have. Will the city publicly recommend to businesses that they should allow employees to arrive to work in off-hours?
It would be interesting to see what the ridership figures were during the budget crisis of the '70s. I'm sure it was much lower based on the much lower population.
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Last base fare hike was 2004.
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raise rates and cut services? sounds about right.
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lol @ blaming unions
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damn unions
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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/12/17/2007-12-17_news_finds_mta_waste_and_bloat-5.html
The bloat starts at the very top, where several agency presidents receive thousands of dollars in housing allowances even though they're in easy commuting distance from their jobs.
It continues in the duplicative assignment of the same tasks to different workers in the seven agencies, such as Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North, that are under the umbrella of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
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@Jen
The last base fare hike was in Spring 2003 when they got rid of the token with the fare hike to $2. It was not in 2004
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Congestion pricing, anyone?
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Here is an idea, cut a lot of management fat. There is a great deal that can be cut starting at the top.
Also there is no need to have MTA headquarters at 347 Madison. There is cheaper places in the city or suburbs to have the MTA headquarters.
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I think the MTA could bring in a lot of money by fining all the people who use the emergency exits in stations to leave the platform. They technically not supposed to be used unless it is an emergency. Everyday I see dozens of people use these exits. What dumbfounds me even more is the long line people wait to exit through an emergency exit, while I use the turnstile next to it and get ahead of everyone more quickly. Those people seem like they are both in a great hurry and lazy at the same time.
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So, someone please tell me... why was there a fare hike?
YOU PAID MORE TO WAIT MORE.
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Break out your bicycles, folks.
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I mostly agree marble but in some busy stations there is such a rush of commuters that those turnstiles create a massive bottleneck. Those emergency exits help a great deal. Its just annoying when the alarm goes off.
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Why lol at blaming them? Unions are un-American and hurt everyone.
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I'm always amazed that the city still gives away street parking for free, but continuously increases fares and cuts service for people who don't have cars.
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Cutting services cannot be an alternative- there are so many things the MTA should consider.
1. Make people pay to ride the Staten Island Ferry. Yes, it's wonderful to say that its free, but according to a recent survey it costs about $5 per passenger to operate. They could set up a metro card entrance gate and charge $2 just like anywhere else.
2. Have buses save gas by continuing to implement the pay before you board system.
3. Eliminate a few closely-spaced bus stations-- this will increase bus speed and cut down on wear and tear. On the B38 and B54 lines there are stops that are 1-2 blocks apart. It's simply not necessary to do that.
4. Cut out some top management pay and positions.
5. Stop settling slip and fall cases.
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How about privatizing each line, or at least starting the process of it?
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Why lol at blaming them? Unions are un-American and hurt everyone.
lol
i hope you enjoyed your weekend... thank the unions for that... and for the 8 hour day... and for child labor laws...
look up the word CORPORATION in the dictionary... a group of people who are legally entitled to operate/negotiate as a unit. that's all a union is. greedy fuckers hate unions because they eat in to corporate profits. GOOD. for a living wage and job security I'll take it.
my union job was the best I ever had, and the company was making money hand over fist, because the employees were GOOD employees, because they stayed on the job and knew it inside out. they stayed on the job because they had healthcare and a decent wage.
there's no more corruption in a union than in a US corporation, or a US administration, dem or republican.
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@goyogao:
Why should I have to join a "unit" to work in certain fields? Why should I have to give the fruits of my labor to a third party? Why should I have someone who I may not have voted for, representing my interests? Do I not give up individual liberty by joining a union, which is involuntary in many "open shops" here.
I never said corruption is why unions are un-American, btw.
Would child labor and long work days exist today even without unions? Probably not. The service industries which run this country are contingent on consumerism. If Americans were still enslaved like you imagine, who's going to Best Buy? Who's making the ads for Best Buy? Who's doing the shipping for Best Buy? The rise of the consumerism and the service industries is what continues to drive better work environments, not unions. Are Google's employee's unionized? Do they not receive great benefits and cushy hours?
Unions raise prices for the rest of us and anecdotally have proven to lower innovation, create worse products, and bankrupt their industry.
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"The service and quality of the transit system is already embarassingly bad."
I don't even care about a fare hike. What bothers me is the service cuts. It's already very difficult to get anywhere from where I live on the weekends (if I can get anwhere at all).
As for the union, I have never seen such a bunch of lazy, surly assholes in my life. Don't even THINK of asking an MTA employee for assistance.