Spoke Too Soon….
Yesterday, I had to meet my sister during her lunch break to conduct some business. We decided to meet by the Bowling Green train station so it would be a quick 2 train ride for me. The ride was quick & uneventful which is a good thing when riding the subway.
So I am standing outside the train station waiting for her to arrive. She finally arrived & started to talk to me when I interrupted her. She thought I was listening to some music since I had my ear buds on. I informed her that I was not as I was listening to my scanner. Before she left, I told her how the day was uneventful so far when it came to transit transmissions. However I would eventually learn that I spoke too soon!
After I was done with my business in the area, I decided to head back home since I still had plans to meet a friend later in the day. The commute was going to be the 4 or 5 to 125th Street with a transfer to the 6 to Parkchester. I was hoping for a 5 train since it was still midday service which guaranteed me a seat on the 5. My wishes came true as a train pulled in within 2 minutes of my arrival & it was the 5 train (7815).
I boarded & made my way to a corner seat in the back of the last car. I was just lounging around although for the first part of the ride I was annoyed at an elderly woman who was obsessed with staring at me. Anyhow I was still listening to my scanner & still heard nothing but basic transmissions. While gazing out the windows, I noticed that we blew by a 6 train in Harlem which meant a quick transfer at 125th Street. The train pulls into 125th Street about a minute later so I got prepared to depart. As usual someone was ready to board the train & was blocking the path for departing passengers. So yes we had a typical asshole straphanger.
Anyhow as I stand up at the doors ready to depart, I noticed that the doors were not opening. I started to wonder what was going on as it was going on almost a full minute with no doors being opened. I decided to sit back down & when I did, I started to hear a transmission over my scanner. It turns out the train I was on was ordered to not have their doors opened by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) due to a fight aboard the train.
As the communication continued between the control center & train crew, passengers on the platform & train grew restless. I also noticed the 6 train I planned on transferring to had pulled into the station. Unfortunately as the passengers grew restless, the 6 train pulled off. Eventually the doors opened & we were free from our cages. I never saw any police on the platform or heard any other details from transmissions other than that the train was free to depart.
So yeah, I spoke too soon………
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While I was taking a shower, I was engaging in a typical activity. I find myself looking out my window as I’m taking a shower. Yesterday was no different when I noticed something that made me think of this blog. While I was looking out the window, I noticed a car idle in the BxM6 express bus stop. As soon as I noticed the car, a BxM6 pulled up trying to pull into the bus stop.
Usually when a bus creeps up on an idle car, the driver will move. However this driver did not give a damn that the bus was trying to pull into the stop as he or she stood their ground. The driver eventually pulled around it & blocked the car in. The car wanted to pull out a short while later but was trapped. I was glad to see the bastard blocked in as it should teach them not to break the law. While all of this was going on, I thought about this entry, & what NYC councilwoman Gail Brewer would think!
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Round 2 Is Set!
Two days ago I wrote about the possibility of a second round to the NYC taxi strike. Round 2 has been changed from a possibility to actual reality. The Taxi Workers Alliance is requesting 40,000+ taxi drivers to turn off their engines for 24 hours. The 24 hour strike is set to begin at 5 a.m. on October 22nd. This round of the strike plans to focus on more than just the mandated installation of credit card terminals & GPS machines. The Taxi Workers Alliance plans on demanding health care benefits & the right to unionize as part of round 2 of the strike.
According to the Taxi Workers Alliance, current hack stands will turn into picket lines. They also plan a huge rally outside the headquarters of The Taxi & Limousine Commission at 12 p.m. the day of the strike. Bhairavi Desai; executive director of The Taxi Workers Alliance had a strong statement for city officials which she hopes “will come to their senses and scrap this technology.”
I have a strong hunch that this round of the strike will be quite nasty & might spill out into the transit system, especially the subways.
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According to a report released on Monday, the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) has shown improvement. The detailed report contains a 3 month evaluation which was lead by former Metro North Railroad boss Donald Nelson. The report stated that the system is in excellent shape. However not all the news was good!
The report also states that gap accidents are up an astounding 145% over the same 6 month period in 2006 & 2007! The report also points out problems with unreliable diesel engines & overgrown vegetation along the tracks. Next to nothing was discussed about the LIRR’s response to customer safety.
Mr. Nelson held a press conference at the Jamaica Station. He commented on such issues as the LIRR bring service into Grand Central Station which prompted him to say how the next few years “are going to be hell on this railroad”. He also went on to explain why he did not examine the gap issue as it “had already been examined top to bottom. I don’t know what else the railroad can do.”
The sad state of the LIRR diesel fleet was brought up because of their lack of reliability. The LIRR only has 45 diesel engines out of 1000+ cars but they have proven to be the least reliable. According to Mr. Nelson they break down quite often & need to be replaced. Their future was pretty much sealed based on this quote: “It is obvious that the entire diesel fleet is in serious trouble”.
Mr. Nelson also noted how 182 railroad bridges are “not in a state of good repair” although he went on to say that the bridges are “functional and safe”. His recommendation called for the hiring of 30 more workers. He also had a problem with the current maintenance of stations especially regarding platform repairs & electrical upgrades.
He says that the LIRR only addresses these issues “as needed” instead of being proactive about them. He feels this also translates into the vegetation problem which prompted him to say how it “is all-pervasive and exists on all lines”. He claims that little has been done to deal with vegetation in the last 5 years. According to LIRR President Helena Williams said the agency has been tackling the issue since the summer & is seeking funding to continue working at it along with station maintenance.
The Long Island Railroad Commuter Council President Gerard Bringmann had mostly compliments for Mr. Nelson’s report saying that it “makes a lot of valid points”. However he had one slight against the report & that was in regards to a comment Mr. Nelson made in regards to customer information. Mr. Nelson’s comments were that customer information at stations & aboard trains was “very good”. Mr. Bringmann strongly disagreed stating that “They still leave us in the dark way too often.” He also questioned Mr. Nelson’s anonymity while riding the LIRR saying “I just wonder how anonymous he was when he went around”.
Now I have to chime in & ask a few questions. My main question was what did this report accomplish outside of stating the obvious. Also where can I get a 6 month $100,000 contract to make “obvious” suggestions & helping implement these “obvious” suggestions? This is the reward that Mr. Nelson received from LIRR President Helena Williams. Sometimes you wonder what are people thinking when they first step into a new powerful position. The choices they make at first leave you wondering how they got the job to begin with. No, lets not make a quiet entrance in our first few months on the job, lets throw away $100,000 on a pointless assignment!
I rode the LIRR almost daily for 6 years & saw the growing of bushes, trees, & vegetables along the track. I could have told you that they needed to be dealt with. I also could have told you how many stations needed to be maintained on a more consistent basis & upgrades be made. I could have also told you your diesel fleet sucked considering how many times I heard of people getting screwed by a broken down diesel. The sad part is I could have done this for much less than $100,000! If you gave me an unlimited pass to ride the LIRR 24×7 for an entire year, I would have called it even!
I need to send in my resume as I clearly am in the wrong field!
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Gov. Spitzer To Support The TWU
It seems the transit strike of 2005 did not cause ill will between Elliot Spitzer & the TWU. According to a labor leader familiar with his intentions, Gov. Spitzer plans on supporting the Transport Workers Union Local 100 if it chooses to reacquire their checkoff power.
The planned support from Gov. Spitzer will most likely lead to some sharp criticism from critics but a union leader has a theory on why Gov. Spitzer will support the TWU. The union leader had this to say; “The governor is trying to position himself to see a productive collective-bargaining season in 2008. He’ll take the public relations hit now because at the end of the contract, he doesn’t want to go through that kind of problem again. He’s positioning himself, putting himself and the MTA in a better position for the future.” For those wondering, the current 3 year TWU contract expires at the end of December 2008.
The reason why the TWU would have to reacquire the rights to deduct dues is because they lost checkoff power as of June 1. The penalty was a part of the strike penalty package approved last year by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Theodore Jones. Mr. Jones has since been elevated to the state’s highest court by Gov. Spitzer. This obviously is considered a blow to the TWU who sees Mr. Hones as nothing more than a “union buster”.
The TWU Local 100 could definitely use their checkoff power back as they have been in a financial crisis since the strike. The checkoff status had brought the union approximately $1.5 million dollars a month. However without the checkoff power at their disposal, they were forced to ask members to pay their dues directly. Unfortunately for them, only about 16,000 of their 34,000+ member base paid their dues.
The TWU has had the option to reacquire the checkoff power since August. The law dictated that they had to wait 90 days before they were eligible to petition the court to have its checkoff power reinstated. So one might question why the cash strapped union has not done so as of yet, well lets just say a huge stumbling block is in the way. If they were to reacquire their checkoff power, they would be forced to guarantee they will never strike again. This is a huge sticking point for the union as giving up that option would be like giving away your “ace in the hole”.
Lets just say that this stalemate will be quite interesting!
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