Congestion pricing still on board as politicians resurrect plan to charge drivers entering city

[aemoreira81]

And how is contracting operations to external parties suppose to help if the agency can't get reasonable terms with things like bus repairs?

 

Many of the companies that contract aren't exactly small potatoes though. They have the buying power to negotiate better terms...and they will get things done, because the buses would be subject to semi-annual DOT inspections.

 

First Student and National Express (Durham School Services) in the USA are 10 times and twice the MTA's size...and Atlantic Express is almost the MTA's size. The big cost savings, however, would be with labor and fuel. The companies that bid for the since-pulled LIB contract are not exactly small either (two of them were First and MV Transportation).

[Shortline Bus]

Then they can be replaced with another contractor if they won't provide service up to snuff. There are many companies who would bid, including many of the bus operators around Metro NY, and other operators elsewhere, including Atlantic Express, Academy, MV, Veolia, National Express, Coach USA (which has abandoned almost all of its charter services), and First Transit/Student. That alone could extract savings; the average wage in the industry is about $18/hour. MTA workers (with all due respect) earn way above the industry average.

 

 

 

Veolia operates as a sub contractor to almost all of the public bus lines in Southern Calif. Including the San Diego (MTS) system.

[JAzumah]

The point of "traffic pricing" is to eliminate the city's subsidy for the MTA. The suburbs figured it out and stopped it last time. Turning the bridges over to the MTA would have generated just enough to cash the city out completely ($600M). Now, cutting the "regional mobility tax" for the suburbs in half will get this through, but there will be no improvement in the MTA fiscal situation. The state will use this to cut more money and authorize an increase in the fees to enter the core.

 

This is a variant of what happened in London.