Tag: mta board members

BREAKING NEWS: The Subway is Dirty

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Further proof that the MTA is an embarrassing bureaucracy.

The MTA released the results of a comprehensive study that found the subway is dirty.  Folks, I wish it was a joke.  The MTA’s advocacy group’s 61 page [gasp] report said the stations are dirty aaaaaand many of them are literally falling apart.

Read the report for yourself.

Honestly, why do we need to study this stuff?  Can we just take a weekend, ride around to all the stops, and identify the ones that need the most work?  Oh wait, that’s all of them.

In other news, the new MTA Headquarters fire emergency plan was released:

(STEP 1)  Deny the existence of the fire as long as possible.

(STEP 2)  Ignore the first 100 emergency phone calls (min) related to this “alleged” blaze.

(STEP 3)  Mount a task force headed by an MTA Board member.  Call it the “Matchstick Committee.”

(STEP 4)  Hold a press release to announce the results fire existence study.

(STEP 5)  Hold emergency budget meeting to discuss fire extinguisher purchases.  Turns out, the ones in the building from 1932 are filled with seltzer water.

(STEP 6)  Increase fares.  New fire extinguishers won’t pay for themselves.

(STEP 7)  Perish in blaze.  Luckily, no MTA board members were actually in the office.  They were off hiding their government issued EZ Passes.

No More Free Ride (or Drive) for MTA Board Members

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The MTA vowed today to end the policy of allowing MTA board members to have free E-ZPasses and train fares for personal use.

However, it seems that they may still get a free ride if on official MTA business.  However, that seems to be a bit much in my mind.  They should have to pay out of pocket for that too.  If I am on official company business, I don’t get to ride for free.  I can expense the ticket and get reimbursed from my company.  However, the company is a private entity spending it’s own money.  The MTA is a publicly funded organization using our tax dollars.

And they should have to feel every penny of the decisions that they make.  So if they want to increase fares and tolls, they should feel the financial burden just like the rest of us.

Meanwhile, Former MTA board member Warren Dolny has assumed the roll of uber a-hole.

“There’s only 34 of us. That’s all there are. How many years is that gonna go? How many total dollars is it according to the budget? You heard the amount of moneys that are being spent. You know what the budget of the MTA is. What does this amount to? One tenth of one tenth of one tenth of one percent? It’s like a postage stamp on a football field,” said Dolny.  [WCBS TV]

I think he completely misses the point from high atop his pedestal.  It isn’t about the cash savings.  It’s the principle that in times where New Yorkers are being asked to pay more for public transportation, the very same organization should not be giving free perks to their multimillionaire board members.