Assemblywoman Fights Cross Bay Bridge Toll
Last year when talks first began about potentially damaging fare hikes & service cuts, one particular aspect did not get much press. The aspect I am referring to is the hotly contest battle over the Cross Bay Bridge toll rebate program. I covered the issue on numerous occasions including when drivers promised civil disobedience.
During the recent stretch, the elimination of the rebate program seemed set in stone until Albany supposedly “rescued” the MTA. In doing this, the MTA decided to keep the program going. However this is not good enough as Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer plans to continue her fight to abolish the toll completely. Brendan Brosh of the New York Daily News has more in this report:
Rockaway and Broad Channel motorists are renewing their fight to abolish the Cross Bay Bridge toll – only a few days after the MTA saved the community’s toll-rebate program.
“We believe the bridge [toll] is really illegal, unwarranted and unnecessary,” Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer said at a rally Friday at the bridge. “The fight’s not over.”
The largest hurdle to removing the toll is bonds linked to bridge revenue, Pheffer said.
The rebate program charges E-ZPass drivers from Rockaway and Broad Channel $1.03 to cross the bridge – and then immediately remits it to their account. Drivers without E-ZPasses must pay.
The program was in danger of being cut during the recent Metropolitan Transit Authority budget crisis, but was spared during last-minute negotiations between the state and the MTA this month, officials said.
Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith said Pheffer’s diligence saved the toll rebate program when she uncharacteristically threatened him and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
“She was steaming,” Smith recalled. “She just barreled through everybody and said, ‘We are not going home until that rebate program is back.'”
Toll revenues brought in $12.2million in 2008, says MTA spokeswoman Judie Glave.
“The Cross Bay resident toll rebate program will continue to be funded through money set aside in a special MTA fund,” Glave said, adding that the MTA spent $3.6 million on the program in 2008.
Click here for the complete report.
I have stated in the past that I do not support this toll rebate program. I feel that their is no need for a rebate program because their should be no tolls on this bridge. I find it ridiculous that drivers should have to pay to access other parts of their borough. Where else do you know of where drivers from one borough have to pay to reach the same borough? The thought of that alone is preposterous especially considering driving is by far the best transportation option available in these specific neighborhoods.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA Looking To Cut Train Conductors
One of the biggest inner battles in the world of mass transit in this region is between the MTA & its workforce. One of the specific battles within the bigger picture is the MTA’s desire to cut back on the amount of train conductors. The agency looked to do this in the past but was met with fierce opposition from union leaders & transit advocates who both used safety as a primary concern. The agency backed off on the program at that time.
Now with the agency looking to cut costs in anyway possible, they are once again looking into this program which is sure to get the same critics up in arms & ready to fight. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more in this report:
The MTA has quietly revived efforts to run more subway trains without conductors – a controversial cost-cutting move it shelved three years ago, the Daily News has learned.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials have recently discussed expanding the use of a reduced-staffing scheme – called One Person Train Operation, or OPTO. The practice of running trains with a crew of one has been limited for years to a handful of shuttles or lesser lines, like the G, during off-peak hours.
Union officials and some transit advocates contend conductorless trains on busier lines would put riders at greater risk in emergencies, including situations requiring evacuations through tunnels.
“Axing the conductor may save the MTA money, but it comes at the expense of the safety and security of the rider,” Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign said.
Rishat Aziz, an 18-year-old student from Astoria, agreed.
“It doesn’t work well together, raising fares and also cutting staff,” said Aziz, after exiting the A train on 34th St. “It will definitely make the subway more dangerous.”
The MTA took conductors off the L line in 2005, but had to put them back after an arbitrator ruled that its contract with Transport Workers Union Local 100 required approval by the union. The following year, the same arbitrator stopped the MTA from taking conductors off G trains on weekdays.
After the second ruling, the MTA stopped putting OPTO plans in its annual budgets and four-year fiscal plans.
Sources told The News that the MTA is again seeking the staffing change as a way to save money.
Click here for the complete report.
The MTA will most likely not get this plan through as the union will fight it tooth & nail. This is one battle where they might have the edge in the court of public opinion depending on how they sell it to the public. While I am for the MTA saving money where possible, I feel they should look elsewhere for cuts before cutting back in this area.
I can already picture those who support this idea as spewing the same anti-union rhetoric that comes from their mouths when things like this are proposed. With people like that, they see MTA workers as being lazy & undeserving of what they get or ask for in terms of financial compensation & health benefits. The outright disrespect of them is evident when you read their reasons as to why programs like this are good for the MTA.
While the potential danger of a conductor-less train might rarely play out if at all, it is not worth risking that chance just to save money. The MTA is bloated & could find legitimate savings elsewhere before resorting to eliminating jobs just to save some cash. Real change has to come from sacrifices from within before asking others to do the same. This is true in all facets of life & the MTA is no different.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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NYDN Editorial: MTA Needs Stellar Leadership
As you know by now, one of the big stories I have blogged about lately is the possible appointment of Marc Shaw as the replacement to the recently resigned MTA CEO/Executive Director Elliot Sander.
State Senate Democrats have spoken out against his possible appointment. Gov. Paterson shot back with a warning to stop trashing his potential choice. The latest opinion comes from an editorial that appeared in Sunday’s New York Daily News which tells Gov. Paterson how he must find “stellar leadership” to lead the MTA:
Gov. Paterson is on the verge of filling a post vital to the lives of millions of New Yorkers: chief of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. This one he has to hit out of the park.
Having forced an MTA shakeup, Paterson must find a superstar – someone capable of keeping the trains and buses running while charting the future of mass transit.
The governor’s likely candidate appears to be Marc Shaw, a senior adviser who ran the authority in the 1990s. Shaw has much to recommend him, but Paterson must consider talent from across the country.
Only the best will suffice.
The MTA needs a leader who can manage a sprawling bureaucracy that provides 8.5 million rides on a typical weekday.
Who can hold the budget line and avoid service deteriorations that would wound the MTA’s credibility.
Who can maintain good relations with 70,000 workers while achieving labor savings.
Who can envision a bigger, better, more modern transit system – and lead the way in making it a reality.
Click here for the complete editorial.
This was a very well written editorial which focuses on the true need for Gov. Paterson to chose the best possible replacement to Elliot Sander. While the best person for the job was Elliot himself, it is a given that the worst choice would be Marc Shaw from the potential candidates. The successor must be chosen based on who would produce the best results & not by political favors. Will Gov. Paterson realize that & make the right choice? If his tenure is any indication, not likely.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Service Diversions 05-15
I have just updated the service diversions page with the latest scheduled diversions for the weekend & upcoming week (and beyond in some cases). Don’t forget to check in for any changes to the page. I also suggest printing out a copy of the page to use while riding the system. Have a safe & wonderful weekend!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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New LIRR Timetables Start May 18th
Yesterday afternoon, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) sent me a press release to announce that new timetables will go in effect on May 18th. Here are the complete details:
New MTA Long Island Rail Road timetables take affect starting Monday, May 18. The new schedules include adjustments to train service on various branches to allow track work and construction to be performed. The branches affected include: Long Beach, Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Port Washington and Ronkonkoma. Additionally, some trains – two peak and three off-peak – are being canceled.
Track Work and Construction Programs:
• Long Beach, Far Rockaway and Hempstead Branches: One of two tracks between Valley Stream and Island Park on the Long Beach Branch will be out of service midday weekdays for a track tie replacement program. Six eastbound midday Long Beach Branch trains will depart 26 minutes later, eight eastbound Far Rockaway Branch trains will depart up to 31 minutes later and seven Hempstead Branch trains (connecting at Jamaica) will depart up to 30 minutes later.
• Main Line (including Ronkonkoma, Port Jefferson, Oyster Bay and Montauk trains): One of two tracks will be out of service midday weekdays for renewal work on the Covert Avenue grade crossing in New Hyde Park. Affected trains will operate up to 13 minutes later.
• Port Washington Branch: One of two tracks will be out of service between the Mets-Willets Point and Bayside Stations to allow for third rail protection board replacement and retaining wall maintenance. Twelve midday weekday eastbound trains will depart ten minutes earlier and twelve midday weekday westbound trains will have operate five minutes earlier.
• Port Jefferson Branch: One of two tracks will be out of service on weekends to accommodate renewal work at the Oakwood Road grade crossing in Syosset. Eastbound trains to Huntington will depart between three minutes earlier and one minute later and westbound trains from Huntington will depart up to seven minutes earlier.
Other Service Revisions:
• Hempstead Branch: The 7:23 AM train from Hempstead to Flatbush Avenue is canceled. Hempstead, Country Life Press, Garden City, Nassau Blvd. and Stewart Manor customers will have service available 11 minutes earlier or 13 minutes later. Stops will be added to the 7:26 AM train from East Williston to accommodate Queens Village customers at 7:42 AM and Hollis customers at 7:44 AM.
• Babylon Branch: The 4:21 PM train from Penn Station making stops at Rockville Centre, Baldwin and Freeport is canceled. These stops will be added to the 4:12 PM train from Penn Station. Customers can also take the 4:32 PM train from Penn Station and change at Jamaica for service to Rockville Centre, Baldwin and Freeport.
• Montauk Branch: The 10:29 PM train from Babylon to Patchogue and the 12:39 AM train from Babylon to Speonk are canceled. The 11:27 PM train from Patchogue to Babylon is canceled. Service will be available one hour earlier or one hour later to all affected stations.
• Freeport Summer Service: Weekend eastbound morning summer service that is usually added to accommodate Jones Beach customers will not operate this year. These trains also served as connections to Montauk service in Jamaica that will be accommodated by existing Babylon Branch trains from Penn Station.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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