Shame on TWU Local 100

The MTA just got screwed. Again. Last Monday, an arbitration panel declared that the Transport Workers' Union, the union that represents train drivers, conductors, and bus drivers, would be able to receive a 11.3% raise in the next 3 years, for a total of $350 million, something that the MTA just cannot afford in these times. Their deficit is projected to be $10 Billion in the next 5 years. The Union claims that these pay raises are on par with some city workers' unions that got 4% raises. Mayor Bloomberg's rebuttal: "The city's finances are different than the MTA's finances, the city's workforce is different. So there's no reason to think that if one does something, the others automatically have to get it." To make things worse, they also won the right to not have to increase healthcare contributions for the next 3 years-currently at 1.5%, as well as not having to pay that cost on overtime pay. This was something that was negotiated out from the 2005 illegal transit strike. In addition, the MTA now has to postpone the initiation of One Person Train Operation (OPTO) to the year 2012, something where a train does not have a conductor on board but only the driver, already present on numerous train systems throughout the world. This would have saved the MTA millions in operating costs, not to mention the investment in new technology to make OPTO happen over the past few years. Now the MTA's future, as well as the economy of the city, is at even greater stake. Unions.

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MTA: 7 Line Getting CBTC and T Stands for Torture

Part 5 of Week-long Series on Mass Transit in NYC

After the relative success of computerizing train operations on the L line, the MTA is set to do the same with the IRT 7 line. Computer Based Train Control, or CBTC, allows new trains to sync with signals and a computer that better allows trains to run closer together while increasing safety and reliability. The technology also allows the feasibility of next train arrival information, currently in use on the L line. LED monitors display approximately when the next train will arrive, although my recent experiences with these monitors have shown that they are still a little off. CBTC also allows One Person Train Operation, OPTO, and worries about safety are offset by its common use throughout metro systems around the world. This helps save the cash-strapped MTA money without jeopardizing the safety of passengers, since the train driver/engineer can now take on the role of conductor without having to worry about driving the train as much. Of course, the Unions are always getting in the way of progress, and frankly they need to recognize that if they want to keep their jobs, then they should let the MTA save the money to do so.

And speaking of progress, the Second Avenue Subway is on its way!...after 70 years in the making. But will it be opened in my lifetime? I doubt it: Judge for yourself, with New York Magazine's timeline titled, "The Long, Tortured History of the Second Avenue Subway."

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