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LIRR Data Subpoenaed

Posted by
on September 23rd, 2008 at 1:45 am

A little under 24 hours ago I wrote an entry about Gov. Patterson giving New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo the power to investigate the Long Island Rail Road for possible manipulation of disability & pension benefits. Since that entry, Mr. Cuomo has decided to get right on the case. Jeremy W. Peters of the New York Times has more in this report:

The state attorney general’s office has issued subpoenas to the Long Island Rail Road seeking personnel records as part of an investigation into whether employees filed questionable disability claims and manipulated work rules so they could retire early and collect generous benefits.

Starting as soon as Tuesday, investigators from the attorney general’s office will meet with officials from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the railroad to begin sorting out how so many employees apparently took advantage of the system.

In addition, state parks officials have begun a review of the requirements and distribution of Access Passes, which give the disabled — including the railroad’s retirees who receive disability payments — free use of sports facilities in state parks, said Erin Duggan, a spokeswoman for Gov. David A. Paterson.

The subpoenas to the L.I.R.R. went out one day after Mr. Paterson granted Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo broad powers to investigate the matter.

“This begins what will be an aggressive and expeditious investigation into troubling allegations of wrongdoing,” Mr. Cuomo said in a written statement.

Helena E. Williams, president of the railroad, has said it planned to hand over whatever was requested of it.

Click here for the complete report.

More on this as it becomes available.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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3

LIRR Might Get Investigated For Manipulating Benefits

Posted by
on September 22nd, 2008 at 5:22 am

For many years the speculation has existed that longtime LIRR employees might have benefited from the manipulation of disability & pension benefits. However the speculation might turn factual if Gov. Patterson gets his way. He has chosen to give New York State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo the power to investigate the Long Island Rail Road for possible manipulation of disability & pension benefits. Danny Hakim of the New York Times has more in this report:

Gov. David A. Paterson said on Sunday that he would give Andrew M. Cuomo, the state’s attorney general, broad powers to investigate the Long Island Rail Road as part of a wide-ranging review his administration would seek of how disability and pension benefits were potentially manipulated by L.I.R.R. supervisors, workers and retirees.

The governor’s action comes after The New York Times reported that virtually every career employee of the railroad applies for and gets disability payments soon after retirement at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal disability money. The disability claims are paid by an obscure federal agency called the Railroad Retirement Board.

“To say that this is outrageous is probably an understatement,” Mr. Paterson said in an interview. “It’s one of the most surprising developments in my tenure as governor and even in my long service in government.”

The attorney general has limited criminal jurisdiction — criminal cases are more typically brought by district attorneys — but the governor has the authority under state law to empower the attorney general to investigate any indictable offense, with the discretion to empanel a grand jury and issue subpoenas.

Click here for the complete report.

I will have more on this at a later time. I will say one thing for now, get the popcorn ready as this drama will be good!

P.S. Kudos to Gov. Patterson for looking into ending any potential loopholes that cost honest people in the long run.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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3

MTA Gets Price Gouged On Bus Fuel

Posted by
on September 22nd, 2008 at 5:10 am

The story is well known around these parts & other likewise places, the MTA’s finances are in horrible shape. The agency finds itself trying to find any & every way possible to cut costs & save money to help starve off $1+ billion dollar budget deficit. While this daily battle continues, news has come out that the agency is getting price gouged on the bus fuel it purchases. The MTA’s bus fuel costs will rise by $26 million, triple what it payed last year. New York Daily News’ Pete Donohue has more in this report:

The MTA’s bus fuel costs are skyrocketing by $26 million – more than triple what the cash-strapped authority paid last year – after it got caught in a no-win contract negotiation, the Daily News has learned.

Not a single company had submitted bids to supply fuel to city bus depots by the Aug. 21 deadline, leaving only three weeks until the existing contract expired, according to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority staff summary obtained by The News.

Faced with the possibility of running out of fuel, the MTA asked Sprague Energy Corp., its existing supplier, to agree to a contract extension.

Sprague, of New Hampshire, saw an opportunity.

The company demanded that the MTA more than triple its pay rate – and commit to buying a full year’s supply of the hard-to-get fuel, according to the summary of a contract signed by Sprague and the MTA subsidiary, NYC Transit.

Click here for the complete report.

This news is absolutely disturbing on many fronts. The MTA is in hot enough water as it is financially, it can not afford to get gouged like this & hope to make any dent in its budget deficit. I also have to question the individuals responsible for assuming they would get bids for their fuel contract just because it is the MTA. This backwards thinking has just helped them inch ever so closer to the poor house.

In Pete’s report, he notes that the MTA is looking into a more popular & cost efficient fuel to use on their bus fleet. I advise them to look & look hard into switching fuel types as this kind of price gouging can’t continue to happen if they ever hope to get out of the financial black hole they currently reside in.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA Will Extend Line Manager Program

Posted by
on September 22nd, 2008 at 4:49 am

Last December the MTA announced their plans to shake up the management structure of the NYC Subway. One of the plans to do this was to implement individual managers for each respective line. They would be in charge of every facet of a line from track repair to the station cleanliness & everything in between.

The program was implemented on 7 Train & L Train as part of its initial trail basis. After nearly 10 months the MTA feels the program has been a success & have announced their intention to expand parts of it throughout the entire system. William Neuman of the New York Times has more in this report:

Declaring a 10-month experiment to improve service on two subway lines a success, transit officials said they plan in the coming months to extend parts of the program to the rest of the system.

At the heart of the experiment is a new approach to managing trains and workers by appointing a general manager for each subway line with the power to make decisions quickly over train schedules, the cleaning and maintenance of stations and many other areas that directly affect riders.

But some of the more expensive aspects of the experiment, like putting cleaning crews in every station around the clock, will not be part of the systemwide push. Officials said last week that they lack the money and admitted that the transit system’s budget crunch will limit the ability of the new line managers to make improvements that will be immediately felt by riders. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is facing a deficit next year of close to $1 billion.

Making an impression on harried subway riders is always a tough task.

In interviews last week with dozens of riders on the two lines that have had general managers since December, the L and the No. 7, many said they were unaware of significant changes. Some, however, said they had noticed small improvements like trains arriving at stations with greater regularity, easing rush hour crowding in the cars. And many said that stations and train cars on the two lines were noticeably cleaner than elsewhere in the subway system.

Click here for the complete article.

As I had mentioned last December, I first had my doubts about this program. However when I sat down & thought about it, I saw it had some negatives attached to it but the positives outweighed them. While the program has not set the system on fire, it clearly has made at least a glimmer of progress which has been noted by riders. While the response from riders has not been out of this world, it shows that the idea has some legs & can make a difference in the long haul if handled correctly. You know the old saying that this is a marathon, not a sprint, well it clearly applies in this case.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA Buses Set Reliability Record

Posted by
on September 22nd, 2008 at 4:21 am

This past August was very kind to the buses in the MTA’s ever growing fleet as it set a record for reliability for the month. New York Daily News transit reporter Pete Donohue has more in this very brief report:

MTA buses set a reliability record last month, traveling more miles without mechanical problems than any other August on record, transit officials said.

Buses in the MTA’s biggest division, NYC Transit, traveled an average of 4,500 miles before needing repair.

The feat is especially impressive because the average age of the fleet is the oldest since 1996, said Joseph Smith, vice president in charge of buses.

Buses take an unusual beating, moving slowly due to traffic even as key components – such as cooling systems – require a faster pace to operate at peak efficiency and to endure as designed, Smith said.

The record was achieved through an aggressive preventative maintenance program, Smith said.

“If I had said, 25 years ago when the system was on its knees, that we would be able to achieve the record mechanical reliability we have accomplished today in the MTA’s bus operations, I would have been accused of engaging in fantasy, or worse,” MTA CEO Elliot Sander said.

“This is an extraordinary testament to the investment the public has made in our system.”

Lets hope the MTA can keep up this line of quality while dealing with the current & future rough financial roads.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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