Jchambers2120

1 hour ago, Schecter said:

Uh oh we got a team mate already!!! How hard would you say the test were? Were they pretty much common sense?

By the time you take your exams you shouldn’t have a problem as long as your keeping up with the material. At first things will seem complicated because there’s so much material to go over in such little time, but your instructors will be drilling it into your heads everyday. You’ll be fine just pay attention, study, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. 

25 minutes ago, Riku said:

Yeah my mom’s friend used to be a conductor just gotta manage being a extra extra for the time being. Forgot to ask him how long are you a extra extra before u can pick jobs

There’s no set timeframe. I’ve met people who were able to pick jobs while they were still on probation, for me I’ve been out for 11 months now and I’m still xx. I *might* be able to pick later this year depending on how many people retire/promote/quit, etc... 

@NewbieCR @Schecter look on the bright side, atleast you’ll get to see me!

19 minutes ago, Schecter said:

Apparently the B division was the most popular choice, everybody took it and left most people with the A division. I was part of that group unfortunately 

It sucks not getting the division you wanted, but you’ll be able to switch divisions eventually when you’re able to pick a job. 

19 minutes ago, MarkGuy said:

Hm but doesn’t the t/o have to follow your instructions and seldom the other way around? You can decide to take the train oos on your own or you need excuse to do that?

 

and have you personally had a harder time with family and friend outings since starting? I know you said you aren’t much of a social person but has that aspect changed much?

In certain scenarios such as stopping short of the marker, or if something unsual happens on the road in a station yes we can give them insturctions like pull up to the proper marker or give them two buzzes to proceed, and yes t/o's can give us 'instructions' also like when to keep the doors open in a station. The only scenarios that I can think of off the top of my head where you yourself are taking the train oos is if you get assaulted and even then you would have to inform the RCC and be governed by their instructions. 

To the second question I'm not that close with my family to begin with so I'm not sure how to answer that lol. I did miss events that took place out of NY, but that's about it. I'm AM's so provided I'm not too tired I'm sure I'd be able to make it to a family event.

12 minutes ago, Conductor2015 said:

Actually it's not all too bad as you may think.  Look I was able to pick a job as a conductor when I was about 8 months into the job and still probation . Back when I started they were just starting out hiring hundreds of people so many jobs where available to pick.  I picked vacation relief and ever since I've been vacation relief for about 4 years.  I love it and plus who goes on vacation during holidays? People with time meaning holidays off. I have not worked a holiday in transit in 4 years . Christmas , new years I'm home . I only work the b.s. holidays because I choose too . Yes that won't be everyone's luck but for example this past holiday memorial day I think it was . If you are extra extra there are some people they just randomly give the day off too . My friend Is extra extra and was told to stay home. They gave him off without him requesting it.  With that being said your experience will be your own and everyone's experience is different.  In the b division living in the bronx for me worked wonders cause b division is geared towards Brooklyn.  Extra extra almost all my jobs where close to home and they try to keep it that way . Here and there yes you will travel at times . But it'll all be worth it . And yes there are temporary bids that one can bid on after the picks go into effect . Trust me it ain't so bad . I work 6 days cause the overtime is available and i have a 6 year old son and sadly I dont spend much time with him but I'm a single parent so it must get done.  In the end it'll be hell of a worth it when I'm buying him our own house and stuff like that 

8 months? Sheesh. I'll have a year and some change by the time i pick and if i miss this upcoming fall pick it'll be close to two years of being XX. And you're right about XX not being the worst thing ever. I live in Brooklyn and on Thanksgiving they have me a trip & a half job that started in the BX and ended in BK, gave me Xmas off(paid), New Years I sat on board all day brought the T/D food and put up calendars inside the terminal lol, and they switched my RDO's to S/M for Memorial day. Plus I've had weekend off or part of the weekend for 11 months now. Seems like the B div crew office is kuch friendlier than here in the A, sometimes i think ours is run by satan himself.

I hope im not drifting too far off topic just trying go give everyone an idea.

21 minutes ago, MarkGuy said:

On a small off tangent til more updates come in, we know that transit takes a toll on workers’ personal lives, at least for a time and even beyond (ie no holidays or weekends off for years and the xtra list). 

 

Im mentally preparing for that change in my life, working some overnight shifts at my floating front desk job. For current t/o’sand c/r’s, how did you/how do you adjust to having such reduced time for other things? Or maybe you still find time? Just wondering 

 

and on another tangent, I kinda feel it sucks that c/r’s are the bosses of these trains but get paid substantially less than t/os. I know t/o training is longer and more challenging but being a c/r isn’t a walk in the park either. It would be nice if they got paid more in the new contract.

For me personally it’s a somewhat easy adjustment since I don’t have kids and I’m young so my body can adapt to the crazy schedule. I’ve always wanted to operate a train since I was a kid so that helps keep me motivated to keep pushing. Plus I’m not really much of a social person anyway so the weekends part doesn’t bother me.  This job can be rough for someone who has a wife/kids though.

And that C/R being in charge of the train thing is BS IMO. Yes, I know there are bulletins about that (which I’m not going to post in here) but in reality RCC is in charge of these trains. When anything goes wrong one of the first things you’re doing is calling them anyway. Me & my partner are a team out there I’m not the boss of anything. Yes, as a C/R you have certain responsibilities and must obey such, I just think at face value in charge seems to be a stretch. 

8 hours ago, Jay0989 said:

Hey everyone. I was sworn in today. List number 138X. Good luck everyone and thank you all so much for any guidance you have given me. Question for those who have gone to school car - what boots are most comfortable? Lol and also are Dickies navy blue pants okay for the first day? Thank you in advance!!

Congrats & welcome. For boots I would suggest the caterpillars. I had the timbs at first and they’re really heavy and uncomfortable, the cats feel like sneakers.

You can find some cheap pants at target that match what they tell you to wear on that packet. You might want to get a duffle bag too since you’ll be getting so much stuff that you must carry everyday. 

9 hours ago, Imhim said:

This is subject to opinion, to me. The only good thing about being promotional is that if you fail or it’s not for you, you can go back to prior title! But in terms of operation and signals, I honestly don’t think being a conductor means anything compared to being open competitive (I hate that off the street term). I seen a conductor barely make it through the mid-term, then there was the conductor that split the switches in CIY, just put in the time studying and ask questions if you don’t get something! If the job is for you, it’s for you, if not, it will show! 

I agree that if the job is for you or not it will show and that it depends on the person, but I can’t agree that the only benefit you have is the ability to go back to your previous title. Someone who started as a conductor will be familiarized with the system and how things work compared to (sorry I have to use it) someone coming fresh off the street. Like I said before there is a lot you have to learn and T/o is a very serious title. Reading GO’s/supplements, points of no returns, lingo used down here/how to use the radio, getting used to being XX and adjusting to the hectic schedules, experience on the road, etc... just some of the things that someone starting as a C/R will have under their belt as opposed to someone brand new to transit and having to learn all of that on top of how to operate a train. 

Just because someone started as a C/R doesn’t mean they will be a better T/o than someone fresh off the street that I can agree on, but someone who started from the middle will have an easier transition to going up front than someone brand new to transit. 

@Schecter 2d- employees whose duties are concerned with the actual operations of the rapid transit system must be conversant with the rules governing the duties of other employees similarly engaged.

On 5/17/2019 at 7:01 PM, Schecter said:

So I need people's opinion if you don't mind... should I give up on waiting for t/o to call me and just stick with conductor or should I give up on conductor and try going for t/o when ever they reach my list number which might be by the fall of this year? I'm having a hard time deciding which to go to.

Coming in as a C/R will help you as a T/O. As of recent there were some new T/O's who got semt back to schoolcar for reinstruction because of too many incidents happening with new T/O's. It's very serious title and there's so much you have to learn in such a short amount of time. You'll be familarized with the system in terms of Reporting locations, how to read GO's/supplements, lingo, etc... and be in a better position than someone from off the street.

Both lists won't expire until 2022, why not give C/R a shot until you finish probation and then go up front. 

Oh yeah rule 2d is another reason.

1 minute ago, Imhim said:

lol yeah this isn’t an exaggeration! Again they tell you at orientation, this job is 24/7 365, seniority based. If you think it’s a game, it’s not, I live in Brooklyn and spent most of my YX in the Bronx. You’re at the discretion of the crew office, so be prepared to be sent all over the division on any tour! You’ll get used to it by the time you come out and if you get lucky enough you might be able to get a job during the vacancy bid, if not, extra extra list it will be. 

Caught up your last post, congrats on your bid. I didn’t win ish off the bid, but it’s all good the crew office been showing me love since this pick started with these *cough cough* 1 trippers. You in the A div also?

@acabral136 I’m not trying to beat a dead horse here, but yes what everyone is saying is true she’s not over exaggerating. I’ve met some T/O’s with 4-5 years on the job who have weekends off on the PM tour and one guy with S/M on the midnights, but to get AM’s with weekends it’ll take close to a decade. Seniority is everything down here. 

4 hours ago, MarkGuy said:

Hope I'll get to pick when its my time. I wanna stay on the xtra xtra list as little as possible--less money but more stability. I know am's with weekends will be impossible at first, but if I can pick at least Thursday/Friday, Friday/Saturday, or Sunday/Monday off with pms (or even ams), I'd settle for that. How long is an average day? 10 hours?

Every line/job is different there is no average day when you’re XX. 

Also being XX isn’t the worst thing in the word I’m still XX and I’ve had ams/weekends since I’ve finished schoolcar and that’s going on over10 months now. 

On 5/2/2019 at 4:44 PM, Schecter said:

What are trippers and rods I'm not a c/r yet so just curious lol

RDO = regular days off. 

A trip (some people call them trippers as slang) lets use the 5 line as an example. Going from DYRE to FLA is considered half a trip. Going back up to DYRE from FLA is considered 1 trip.

On 5/2/2019 at 3:54 PM, Bmpo7 said:

I agree with this. I was also at corporate and took a huge paycut to come to transit. This is a cake walk compared to corporate. MOST people feel the same way about their jobs as Yk does.

Perception is everything in life and the grass is always greener on the other side. I know NYPD officers and DSNY workers who feel the same way about their jobs. You absolutely absolutely absolutely do not have to ever take your job home here at transit, ever. Come in, open and close your doors safely, make your annoucements, collect your paycheck, go home. You really shouldn't take anything personal. That goes for any public service job.

The whole "lifespan" thing is b.s. Statistically yes its true. However, working here at transit, have you seen in what shape these guys/gals are in? Obesity is crazy here and because the job isn't physically demanding, plus people don't take care of themselves, of course lifespan will be short. Also, how many transit workers you see here that just WONT leave even when they can? Its understandable, when you have the senior jobs they have and some of them are literally doing 1 trip, or cleaning out trains, etc. People don't retire at 55 like they should plus don't take care of themselves, so of course the whole "lifespan after retirement" numbers will look scary. 

My advice to new guys: this can be a great career for anyone, most of it is under your control. Come in with the right attitude.

Great post some people are just full of it If that person really hated their job so much and believed "life is too short" they would've quit a long time ago.

I don't get how someone can claim the majority of transit workers hate their jobs when they haven't even met half of the population that works here. EVERY JOB has BS that comes with it no matter where you go, the beauty with this job is you don't have to stay a C/R forever there's ample amount of promotional oppurtunities within transit and it increases if you have a post secondary education. I started at 21 and there's no way in hell I'm going to remain a C/R for the 33+ years I have to do down here shoot one TSS I've met told me I better since I'm going to "live down here" lol.

Like you said there's people here that get paid 8 hours and they're only on the train for maybe 4 hours tops, with weekends and holidays off. Or those trip and a half jobs where you're only at work for 6 hours and they pay you dead head time. Yeah this job is sooooo terrible. Obviously stuff like that takes time to be able to pick, but keep in mind C/R is probaboy the fastest moving title in transit.

There's a reason over 30k people took this test.

BTW speaking of 1 trippers, guess what I have tomorrow right before my RDO's?

On 5/1/2019 at 3:13 AM, RTOMan said:

Man over here in the B Div im hearing chit usually once a week about Incidents..

There was one yesterday...

Some of these folks are listening to these crew room lawyers with their nonsense telling them "oh you'll just get sent back to Schoolcar dont sweat it"... So they think its all good they gonna find out...

Gibbs is losing her patience...

Some people have to learn the hard way, unfortunately the hard way might be too late. Then the tears fall...

On 5/1/2019 at 4:26 AM, Elfamoso2020 said:

She better have lots of patience then. If the mta wanna keep pushing out T/O on to the road that’s not ready yet then mistake will happen. It is what it is. 

What imhim is saying is 100% truth. Shoot I agree with you and i'm a C/R. There's alot that I had to learn on my own that they didn't teach in schoolcar, but the bottom line is they're not going for that and at the end of the day we're just a number. Don't give them a reason to can you.

I heard a *rumor* (i don't believe it at all) that they were planning on bringing a promo to T/O exam out this summer, plus the rumor that the test out now was going to be the last O/C. Though I don't believe it remember this agency is a reactive agency hence all the bulletins that come out.

I hope they do though I remember when my TSS took us in the cab to show how to read the air guage and I got hooked on that beautiful sound SMEE equipment makes when you charge up a train, plus I'm tired of these damn passemgers haha. 

On 4/29/2019 at 10:49 PM, J Cooper said:

Just curious, maybe you guys can help me out with these questions

 

1. In your opinion what division allows you to get the most OT? I'm 23 years old with no kids or big responsibilities, hoping to do tons of OT over my first couple of years

If you have the choice to pick your division your choice should be based on what's more convient for you the money will come regardless where you go. I live in Brooklyn & got forced into the A division and trust me it's rough commuting.  Very recently i fell to the board ended up picking up a whole job 3 hours later at another location and clearing later than I was supposed to because of some track circuit problem. When you're xx you're supposed to have 12 hours off between jobs and I cleared 3 minutes before i reached the 12 hour point plus I had a very early report the next day. Had ro rush home from the BX to BK didn't get enough sleep just to do it all over again. Sure the money was nice, but your health/rest is worth more than a couple of dollars.

I'm 22 years old in the same position, no kids/major responsibilities. Just be careful how you spend your money and stack it. No need to kill yourself, plus you want to stay away from voluntary OT when you're on probation anyway.

@kellgh If you don't want those jobs with S/S RDO's send them my way I'm trying to have a litt summer lmao. Just finished my bid sheet and the RDO's was the first thing I looked at. 

20 minutes ago, kellgh said:

One of my classmates bid on a B division job, and came back.

 

Bid sheets are out, so bid on a few B division jobs. You'll have to go to schoolcar to train in B division equipment and post on the B division lines if you already haven't, but yeah. You can get out. 

You’re in the A division also? When I asked the crew office how could I transfer over they told me you have to be able to pick a job first to transfer divisions. Don't know if it’s possible via bid shits, but I’ll ask around tomorrow. 

@Angel I missed the pick. Still xx this pick. 

3 minutes ago, AngelRC said:

As everyone said, there are different ways. Most notably would be the holding lights (Amber lights) will be illuminated. For places that don't have holding lights, be governed by the local tower, i.e. Kew tower for Briarwood, Sutphin, and Jamaica Van Wyck. They can also hold you because they gave you a push out of the terminal.

In most stations, you can see the signal at the leaving end of the station. If it's red, leave it open. Yellow you can close unless your partner gives you a buzz

Haven’t seen you post in a while, how have things been for you? I’m sure you’re relieved to be off probation now. I’m right behind you I hit 10 months in a couple of days. 

I can’t wait to get the hell out of the A division I really wished I didn’t get forced here. 

53 minutes ago, nipaaaa said:

which one? August's?

Well the people who I talked to who had them were in the August group, but like Imhim said they can call a probie back anytime since we still belong to school car. 

I’m a C/R and got called back last year (didn’t have any incident) for reinstruction on announcements and some other stuff. Was a nice 3 days off the road lol.

Tbh after hearing what some of them did they’re lucky to have a job. 

I'm hearing that some T/O's are being called back into schoolcar due to too many incidents going on. People don't realize how serious that title is.

49 minutes ago, Jsunflyguy said:

I roll my eyes at some co-workers who go through the trouble of changing into street clothes. Makes me second guess that opinion.

 

It’s just not worth it. I had some idiot yell at me because some dude was smoking at 125/lex and he started ranting about fare hikes and NYPD. Then recently some no life woman banged in a TSS for sleeping on the LIRR talking about he was taking up seats smh. Just not worth it to ride in uniform we’re always a target. 

1 hour ago, Toba817 said:

Hey I really appreciate your reaponse. Yea it does sound really overwhelming and stressful but that's natural I guess. How is your experience so far overall? 

The job has its days. The toughest part is dealing with the customers. Traveling is also hard for me since I live in Brooklyn and got forced into the A division. I won't lie there were times where i felt like giving up and finding something else, but I've met some dope senior people and supervisors that keep me going. Lately things have started to get better with all these classes coming out I've been getting some dope money jobs. I've had AM's with weekends off for going on 9 months now, and every major Holiday I finished in Brooklyn, and they gave me Xmas off (paid).

It's good job, but it can be challenging. I'm glad I started out as a C/R because of the knowledge that I've gained that I'll take when i move up front to T/O, but I honestly can't see myself doing this more than 5 years, let alone the 33+ I have to do due to my age. 

Like anything else you have to take the good with the bad. 

1 hour ago, Schecter said:

I would say go with what ever calls you first, that's what I'm waiting for but during the pre-employment for Conductor they told us we need to take exams as well and need at least a 70% and a 100% on last exam. If I remember correctly.

The Quizzes/Midterm and Final are 80% I believe. The Practicals are pass/fail. 

1 hour ago, Toba817 said:

Sounds doable 

It’s not hard at all. It’s going to seem overwhelming at first because of the amount of material you’ll be getting, but your TSS’s will be drilling it into your head everyday. The hardest part about the practicals are calming your nerves. The midterm/final exams were a piece of cake. 

17 hours ago, N6 Limited said:

.

They were providing the service passengers wanted.

Many riders hold doors because who knows when the next train is coming. Even now with the countdown clock, the next train can be a min or two away, but then gets held in the station "by the train's dispatcher" when it does arrive, many riders have connections to make down the line.

Also, I've heard C/O play the "holding doors" announcement only for the train to sit with the doors closed before leaving the station, or  crawl for various reasons, including workers on the tracks. Many times the holding is for a few seconds but the operational delays are much longer and frustrating.

Though, it's annoying when passengers don't step into the train , or step in like molasses and you're trying to get into the train and the C/O starts closing the doors.

And I’m sure the passengers at the stations behind them wanted some service at all, but now they’re forced to wait even longer because they’re running ahead of schedule.

You say the door holding is for a few seconds, but those seconds add up and create a domino effect. Let’s take a line like the  for example. If trains are scheduled to run every 4 minutes, but a S/B train starts falling behind schedule because riders aren’t boarding in a timely manner, or you have those who use their bodies to block the doors for their friends still swiping their metrocards. Their follower catches up and has to run at a slower speed due to the signals so they start falling behind schedule as well. Now Grand Central Tower notices this and they’ll give the train that’s falling behind a skip, but depending on how much of a gap in service there is they may also have to hold back a N/B train at the bridge which also creates a delay heading north. So please spare me with that few seconds mantra. 

Not sure what a C/O is (correction officer?) I’m sure you mean C/R...

14 hours ago, RR503 said:

TOs and CRs don't know if they're under or over performing

We are given schedule cards and they have to be carried with you while on the train (part of our ppe) plus the RCC will get on the radio and nag us about where did we lose our time if we start falling behind or running ahead of schedule and use holding lights. 

I agree wholeheartedly with your post about something needs to done about schedules. There’s plenty of employees who feel the same as well. 

6 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

If the T/O was on schedule  I fail to see the poster's complaint.  If the T/O barreled down the road and then had to wait at President St. for his lineup to come in I'd personally consider that piss-poor operation. I posted a situation I had when I was a brand new C/R and had a speed demon M/M. On our last trip from Flatbush to Lenox we would arrive at 145th St 9-10 minutes early every Sunday night. The tower operator at Nostrand Junction,  the ATD at Chambers St, and the Times Square TD finally got fed up with our operation and called the Lenox TD . The was the last time my M/M pulled that stunt.  The Chief Transportation Officer lived upstairs in Esplanade,  above the terminal.  He,  along with a Motor Instructor neighbor,  came downstairs and reamed my M/M out for improper operation ( excessive speed) and not keeping to schedule. I was criticized for allowing the speeding to occur by not slowing down my door operation. So the younger riders loved us because of the speeding but supervision and the older standees weren't too thrilled with our work.  The Chief reminded me of something I was taught in school car. A C/R operating mid-train with proper speed should never have to hold on to anything.  If he does that means those in the rear are being thrown around.  We were lucky that night because we didn't get written up. It still amazes me when the people criticizing the T/O for the operation are ignorant of the fact that the C/R and supervision are the arbiters of a train's speed. Except in OPTO the C/R is in charge. Same thing applies to the LIRR and MN last time I looked. Man told a class of us years ago that if you want speed maybe Nascar or IndyCar is a better fit for you. Carry on. 

 

Your posts are always informative TM! His complaint also stumped me that’s why I told him to take the test & find out. What’s the point of racing just to be held for time?

Or now the higher ups notice the runtimes start going down and now they want to start squeezing in more trips & keep the pay the same... I’ve heard rumors about the four and five trippers on the 6 back in the days uh uh.

I’ve heard RCC going off on people for running 5 minutes hot, I can’t imagine 9-10 minutes what were y’all doing? Lol. 

7 hours ago, brakethrow said:

Had a t/o that was running around 20-25 mph between stations from Flatbush to President. Its leader was roughly 10 mins away so I didn't understand why he was running so slow. He was even braking at the start of platforms at those speeds.. 

Maybe fresh out of school car ? Or traumatized by a 12-9 in the past ? I'm just trying to make sense of this..

 

Living near the Brighton as well I knew I should've just taken the . 

If you really want to understand take the next test and make it through school car. 

I’m sure if the T/O in question was moving at an ‘acceptable’ speed for you and overran a station or hit a signal you’d be questioning why was he/she running so fast.

2 hours ago, Dan05979 said:

 

4) Smiles...When I enter some busy stations, customers are smiling or surprised the A has some new stuff. The cameras come out, they stare, they mouth "is this an A?"

 

The bad:

1) The cab is smaller than the 160's On the 160's there was a cut out behind the seat so the seat can go further back. There is no cut out behind the cab seat on a 179. If the t/o is tall or big, it's a problem. Knees hit the console, of you're a big dude the t/o is so close to the console. 

2) The cab window sucks. Those cab windows should slide sideways like a 46 or straight down like a 68. Conductors have been complaining about the latch hitting their chins and making it harder for shorter people to see. 

. 

 

Your # 4 just made me get angry lol. I seriously hate when I'm on a tech train and customers come up to me and ask what train this is. 

#1 & 2 I pretty much accepted the fact that these trains are built with shorter people in mind. Sucks, but nothing we can do. Are the windows Atleast tall people friendly? Idk if you ever worked in the A division, but as a comparison the Bombardier R142's are HORRIBLE for anyone slightly taller than average. Literal pain in the neck trains.