NYC & NYS Comptrollers Announce Joint Audit
Earlier this morning, the New York City Comptroller John C. Liu & New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced a joint audit. The audit is scheduled to look into the impact of service diversions on multiple levels along with how effective the MTA was in planning these changes. Here is the press release that was released this morning:
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and New York City Comptroller John C. Liu today announced their offices would conduct a joint audit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The comptrollers said the audit would review the fiscal and community impact of subway and commuter rail service disruptions, as well as how effectively and efficiently the MTA managed the planned service changes.
“New Yorkers need the MTA,” Comptroller DiNapoli said. “But they don’t have a lot of confidence that the MTA is doing its best to provide the service the city needs. Today is the first day of a new partnership. Comptroller Liu and I are going to make sure the MTA is doing everything possible to keep the city moving. These are tough fiscal times, but tough times make it even more imperative that the MTA step up and do better.”
“It often seems that the MTA is most reliable for its perennial shutdowns of subway service, citing necessary track work,” said Comptroller Liu, former Chairperson of the City Council Transportation Committee. “There’s little question that repairs and upgrades are needed throughout the system. But people need far greater assurance that the MTA is planning the shutdowns and actual track work tightly so as to minimize the disruptions to riders and the economic impact to small business owners. Our examination of the MTA will shed light on whether ‘necessary track work’ has become an overused black hole of an excuse.”
The audit partnership announced during a City Hall press conference today is the first joint effort between the City and State Comptrollers in more than 10 years.
In addition to addressing the fiscal impact upon communities directly affected by MTA service disruptions, the audit will also answer the following questions:
* Is the maintenance and capital work scheduled to promote efficient, cost effective maintenance?
* Is the maintenance and capital work scheduled to minimize service disruption? And,
* Is the riding public adequately informed of potential service disruption?
The audit period will cover January 2009 until the end of the audit field work, scheduled to begin next week.
DiNapoli’s office has several other MTA audits underway, including a review of the MTA’s use of overtime, its salary compensation, and its cash management practices. DiNapoli’s office is now authorized by the recent Public Authority reforms to review the MTA’s big-ticket contracts, which will serve the public interest by providing greater oversight, accountability, and transparency.
Let me start off by saying this is a complete waste of time. I feel the MTA does a solid job in planning out the service diversions to impact as few riders as possible. The system is unlike most in our world which as it runs 24×7. There is no “quiet” time in where they can get work done & effect zero passengers. There is no perfect time for the agency to do the work.
This joint audit is nothing but a complete waste of time. I must say it is shocking that Mr. DiNapoli would waste his time on such an audit. He seems to focus on legitimate critiques of the MTA & how they run things. This is a definite reach for him & takes away from what should really be done. How about looking into why the city & state continue to rob the MTA of the funding it not only deserves but needs? How about focusing on the agency which promised x amount of dollars in a commuter tax but fell hundreds of millions short? Overall focus on what matters & not trivial stuff like this!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Taxi Surcharge Revenue Comes Up Short
When the New York State Legislature passed a “rescue bill” last year, it contained different funding mechanisms which were to help the MTA have a source of revenue to use. One of those funding mechanisms came from a 50 cent taxi surcharge that the majority of taxi drivers were against. This past Tuesday, the New York Post had an extremely brief report on how the surcharge funding fell short of expectations by $1.4M. Tom Namako has more in this report:
The city’s 50-cent additional charge on every cab ride in the city — money that’s supposed to be sent to the state to support the MTA — came in about $1.4 million short in the first quarter, records show.
Taxi medallion owners were expected to fork over about $14.2 million from November 2009 to March 2010, but instead only sent about $12.8 million to the state’s tax man, the department of Taxation and Finance said.
The money goes to the MTA’s operating budget, part of the 2009 bailout package that is supposed to keep the subways and buses running day-to-day.
Officials said the reason for the shortfall is likely compliance issues, as taxi owners are still getting used to the new charge.The rider automatically pays the surcharge. If the driver doesn’t own the medallion, he then passes on the collections to the owner, who then passes it on to the state.
Collections of the tax did rebound in recent months, though.
Net collections starting at the beginning of April were $20.3 million.
By year’s end, the state is expecting the surcharge to bring $85 million to the agency’s coffers.
This is not exactly surprising or alarming considering the amount in question is a drop in the bucket as compared to the overall deficit the MTA faces. However something needs to be done to verify all the money is being collected as it should be. Even if the overall amount is small, the last thing the agency needs is to be shortchanged. They have experienced way too much of that over the years.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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NYDN Editorial: Unions Should Follow MTA Lead
It is extremely clear that the saga between the MTA & Transport Workers Union Local 100 will continue to dominate this blog for quite some time. The latest in this saga stems from an editorial in today’s New York Daily News about how it is time for the unions to follow the MTA’s lead by cutting costs & jobs:
The chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is laying it on the line to the agency’s unionized labor: Now is the time to increase productivity for the good of both the public and the workforce at large.
Confronting an $800 million budget deficit, Jay Walder has slashed headquarters management personnel by up to 20%, renegotiated vendor contracts, imposed service cuts and begun to eliminate 3,000 jobs. Some 1,500 will be laid off.
Now he is seeking cost savings by rewriting contract rules that, for example, bar the MTA from consolidating maintenance tasks, such as locomotive or air conditioning repair, in single shops.
Meeting with the Daily News Editorial Board, Walder was characteristically blunt: “We should have a well-paid and well-compensated workforce. I’m not actually taking anything away from that, but I think the quid pro quo of that is we should have a productive workforce, and I think we have a series of work rules and practices that have developed over many years that are all about how people effectively get paid for not working, and I think that’s really where the shame of the system is, and if we want to really attack what has to be changed today, we have to be attacking this.”
Right he is.
At a time when riders are paying more for less and the MTA is throwing station agents and others out of jobs, featherbedding and restrictions that promote idleness are unconscionable.
Transport Workers Union President John Samuelsen said Walder has yet to provide a list of proposed work rule changes. Which should be all the invitation Walder needs to open, it is hoped, a fruitful dialogue. The two men have a great deal to discuss, because there are many inefficiencies in the depots and workrooms of the MTA’s subway, bus and commuter line operations.
Click here for the complete editorial.
Some of the proposals listed make some common sense. Don’t get me wrong, I tend to defend unions when it is called for, but I will also admit that they too could play a role in helping out with the budget deficit while not hurting their members.
I do take a bit of an issue with whomever wrote this editorial though. He or she seems to be blindly defending the MTA in thinking the unions are a big obstacle for solving these budget woes along with thinking the MTA has done enough. Believe me, they have not done all that they could do. There are still layers upon layers of unnecessary management positions & redundancy that could be eliminated.
It should be interesting to see how long it will take for MTA Chairman Jay Walder to sit down & communicate with union leaders instead of fighting the battle through the media. If real solutions are to be found, real dialogue needs to occur. Anything less is doing a disservice to both sides.
Lastly, I am getting sick & tired of the idiotic comments or beliefs rather that MTA workers do not possess much intelligence or skill sets. Some of the smartest people I know happen to work for the MTA & not because it was the only job they could do. This notion that driving a bus, train, etc… is so easy that anyone could do it is ludicrous.
When having such a job was the “in thing”, where were all these experts lining up for what they feel is higher than average pay for such easy work? These same clowns who write such idiocy are the same people who probably could not change their oil or a flat tire properly much less operate a bus or train.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA Goes Ahead With 250 Job Cuts
The saga of am I laid off or not continued on Tuesday with an unfortunate end for 250 employees. As you know the MTA had plans to lay off hundreds of workers starting a few days ago. However this past Thursday, a judge issued a temporary restraining order barring the MTA from closing the booths.
Fast forward to Saturday where the MTA announced that even with the temporary restraining order in place, they were still going to lay off 250 workers as they were not needed to keep the booths open until the litigation is finished. Tuesday was the unfortunate end of the road for those 250 workers as they were forced to hand in their uniforms. Pete Donohue of the New YorK Daily News has more:
Hundreds of token booth clerks were laid off Tuesday – essentially for the second time in a week.
The 250 clerks were hours from turning in their uniforms and badges last Thursday when NYC Transit was forced by a court order to slam on the brakes.
Over the weekend, transit officials issued another round of pink slips – and this time, a judge refused to intervene.
“It’s like a yo-yo,” said Laurenia Jarrett, 27, carrying a plastic garbage bag holding her uniforms into a NYC Transit building in Brooklyn.
Jarrett, who is seven months pregnant and has an 8-year-old daughter, is her family’s sole breadwinner, she said. She plans to file for unemployment and look for work.
“It’s a horrible situation to be in,” she said. “I took this job for security, and that security is now gone.”
The MTA was set last week to lay off 475 clerks and close 42 token booths. The union, however, filed a lawsuit alleging state law requires additional public hearings to shutter booths, and a judge issued a restraining order to stop the closures.
But over the weekend, transit officials decided that 250 employees were not needed to keep the booths open and moved forward with those layoffs while the lawsuit proceeds.
Click here for the complete report.
This was an unfortunate end for these workers who I hope are not unemployed long. On a different note, I just want to say that it is pretty ridiculous that some workers & union leaders feel that the MTA is not in a financial crisis. The agency has some major cleaning up that they can do but even with that aside, they are clearly in a financial crisis.
The numbers are there for everyone to see. The problem for those in denial is that they refuse to see. If these are the kinds of leaders in charge of representing me as a transit worker, I would be highly concerned. They obviously are clueless about the current financial reality.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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New MTA LIRR Schedules Start May 17th
Just a short time ago, the MTA Long Island Rail Road sent me a major press release to announce that new schedules will start May 17th. These new schedules are significant as they not only contain adjustments due to planned construction but service cuts as well due to their budget woes. Here are the complete details:
LIRR customers are advised to pay special attention to the new May 17, 2010 schedules as they include train cancellations and other adjustments related to budget reductions. Additional timetable changes are necessary to accommodate spring and summer track work and construction projects.
The service reductions included in the May 17 timetable change were required to address the MTA’s nearly $800 million budget shortfall for 2010. The LIRR developed reductions that will improve efficiency while attempting to minimize the adverse impact to customers. Further budget-related service reductions are scheduled to take effect in mid-September. A news release detailing those changes will be issued later this year.
These service reductions were proposed in December 2009. After a series of public hearings were held in early March 2010 on the proposed changes, the MTA Board approved the service reductions on March 24.
Babylon Branch:
• The 7:40 AM train from Seaford to Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn will be canceled. To accommodate customers from this train, the 7:33 AM train from Babylon to Atlantic Terminal will depart four minutes earlier at 7:29 AM, and stops will be added at Wantagh, Bellmore, Merrick, Freeport, Baldwin and Rockville Centre.
• The 4:39 PM train from Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn to Babylon will be canceled. To accommodate customers, the 4:37 PM express train from Penn Station to Wantagh will have added stops at Jamaica, Lynbrook, Seaford, Massapequa and all stops to Babylon. Brooklyn customers can take the 4:34 PM train from Atlantic Terminal and change at Jamaica.
• The 4:57 PM train from Penn Station to Wantagh will be canceled. Customers can take the 5:03 PM train from Penn Station with added stops at Merrick, Bellmore and Wantagh.
____
Long Beach Branch:
• The 5:40 PM train from Atlantic Terminal to Long Beach will be canceled. To accommodate customers, the 5:55 PM express train from Penn Station to Long Beach will have a Jamaica stop added. Brooklyn customers can connect with this train by taking the 5:49 PM departure from Atlantic Terminal and changing at Jamaica.
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Oyster Bay Branch:
• The 4:54 PM peak train from Long Island City to Oyster Bay will leave 10 minutes earlier at 4:44 PM and add a Hunterspoint Avenue stop at 4:59 PM.
• The weekend 1:35 AM train from Jamaica to Oyster Bay is canceled. Customers can take the earlier 11:45 PM train.
• The weekend 7:20 AM train from Oyster Bay to Jamaica is canceled. Customers can take a train an hour earlier at 6:20 AM or later at 8:20 AM.
____
Port Jefferson Branch:
• The 5:11 PM train from Hunterspoint Avenue will be partially canceled. It will instead originate in Huntington at 6:15 PM. Customers can connect with this train by taking a new 4:59 PM departure from Hunterspoint Avenue, and the 5:06 PM train from Penn Station to Huntington, which will have added Jamaica and Mineola stops. The new 4:59 PM departure is available by
re-scheduling the 4:54 PM peak train from Long Island City to Oyster Bay to leave 10 minutes earlier at 4:44 PM and adding a Hunterspoint Avenue stop at 4:59 PM.• The 4:05 PM westbound train from Port Jefferson to Jamaica will now terminate in Huntington, where customers can connect with train service to western terminals.
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Port Washington Branch:
• The 4:43 PM train from Penn Station to Port Washington will be canceled. Customers can instead take the 4:22 PM train from Penn Station. Later options include the 4:46 PM train for those heading to Great Neck. Customers traveling to stations Manhasset, Plandome and Port Washington can take the 5:11 PM departure from Penn Station.
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Belmont Racetrack:
• The LIRR is no longer providing daily service to Belmont Park during racing season. Racing fans traveling to Belmont Park can take the LIRR to Queens Village Station and connect to the free shuttle bus provided by NYRA. Racing fans can also take the LIRR to Queens Village, then take the Q27 bus and transfer to the Q2 at Springfield Blvd. & Hempstead Ave. to Belmont; or take the E train to Parsons Blvd. and transfer to the Q110 bus to Belmont.
• Special LIRR train service will be provided to Belmont Park on Friday, June 4 and Saturday, June 5 – the day of the Belmont Stakes.
__________
Track Work & Construction Programs:
Port Washington Branch:
With the completion of track tie replacement work between Woodside and Bayside, half-hourly midday service has been restored on weekdays. Departure time will be moved 10 minutes earlier to accommodate track work between Bayside and Great Neck. However, beginning September 13, 2010 as part of the service reductions being implemented for the 2010 budget, the half-hourly weekday off-peak and weekend Port Washington branch service will be reduced to hourly service.
____
Babylon Branch:
One of two tracks will be out of service between Valley Stream and Wantagh during midday weekdays as a track tie replacement program gets underway. One Babylon local train will operate in each direction each hour. The second local train will originate and terminate in Freeport every other hour. Express service to and from Babylon has been increased to hourly with added stops at Merrick, Bellmore, Wantagh and Massapequa.
Train departure times will be adjusted between two and 22 minutes. The work on this stretch of track will continue until September 10. Additional work, and its associated affect on midday service, will be performed on another stretch of track on the Babylon Branch beginning with schedules that take effect September 13, 2010.
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Brooklyn:
During the overnight period, one of two tracks will be out of service for track work. This requires later departure and arrival times (up to 8 minutes later) for three overnight trains.
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Ronkonkoma Branch (east of Ronkonkoma):
The single track between Ronkonkoma and Greenport will be out of service midday on weekdays May 17-21 to accommodate a grade crossing modernization project at Horton’s Lane in Southold. While the work takes place, buses will replace two eastbound midday trains and two westbound midday trains.
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Port Jefferson Branch:
Some midday weekday trains will depart seven minutes earlier or three minutes later due to a track work program between Hicksville and Cold Spring Harbor.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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