One track mind: MTA train operator's top job is to keep New York rolling

[Harry]

As a child growing up in Brooklyn and Long Island, Alex Bowen Sr. never used the subway, preferring instead to travel on a unicycle.

 

Now, the 42-year-old father of three drives the trains he used to avoid.

 

A train operator for the Rapid Transit Operations department of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority since 2002, Bowen has driven dozens of types of trains on every line of the subway system.

 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2011/09/22/2011-09-22_one_track_mind_mta_train_operators_top_job_is_to_keep_new_york_rolling.html#ixzz1YgcEk0HN

[Xentor]

I havent read the entire article, but it's nice to see someone at RTO get some of the recognition they deserve. Its a ginormous responsibility and it's almost taken for granted that they do a nearless flawless job for years and years and without them people like me cant get anywhere on time. So heres to them!

[youngblaze]

Wow, did anyone else pick up when it stated that the average lifespan of a transit worker after retirement is 5 years :confused:

[Xentor]

Wow, did anyone else pick up when it stated that the average lifespan of a transit worker after retirement is 5 years :confused:

 

If you are reffering to their average tenure in Transit, then Ide care to associate that with people who didnt really wanted to work in Transit in the first place and never had any intentions to retire there. For example I worked a security job a long time ago, but I only did it because it was readily available to me and I couodnt find anything else, I didnt have any intentions to stay too long. People that really WANT to perform a certain job function dont quit, hardly ever make a mistake and rarely get fired.

[youngblaze]

If you are reffering to their average tenure in Transit, then Ide care to associate that with people who didnt really wanted to work in Transit in the first place and never had any intentions to retire there. For example I worked a security job a long time ago, but I only did it because it was readily available to me and I couodnt find anything else, I didnt have any intentions to stay too long. People that really WANT to perform a certain job function dont quit, hardly ever make a mistake and rarely get fired.

 

 

No, not at all lol. I'm referring to the aftermath of breathing in the steel dust on a consistent basis. They quoted the T/O saying "The lifespan (human lifespan lol) of a transit worker after retiring is 5 years" as in the damage has been done lol.

[Jamaica Line]

Read this article in the paper earlier today. After reading "...the life span of a transit worker after retirement is five years." I then remembered the time I saw a t/o wearing a dust mask. Which brings the question: why don't more t/o's do this?

 

Also, I thought the 160s has air filters. Do they not?

[Pelham Bay Dave]

I know that guy he really loves his job he can't stay in one place too long.

[LexAveExp5]

Also, I thought the 160s has air filters. Do they not?

 

according to the R160 wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R160_(New_York_City_Subway_car) , they have HVAC. i know the H is for heating, the AC is for air conditioning, and the V is ventilation. i hope ventilation means CLEAN ventilation!

[INDman]

Read this article in the paper earlier today. After reading "...the life span of a transit worker after retirement is five years." I then remembered the time I saw a t/o wearing a dust mask. Which brings the question: why don't more t/o's do this?

 

Also, I thought the 160s has air filters. Do they not?

 

You try wearing a dust mask all day, it's not fun.

 

Also, all subway cars have air filters in their A/C, but for them to really work they need to be changed about once a week and there not,

[youngblaze]

You try wearing a dust mask all day, it's not fun.

 

Also, all subway cars have air filters in their A/C, but for them to really work they need to be changed about once a week and there not,

 

 

SMH what an organization will do to save a couple of bucks...sad

[Xentor]

A few of the posts referring to the Daily News article complain about all the overtime T/O's get. I wonder why people think this is something that needs to be addressed. Sure it costs Transit more money but doesn't it cost even more money to have a guy waiting around on extra extra duty? And even that guy has the potential to make even more money on night differential, travel etc..

I don't see a way out of this, MTA will always have to maintain a somewhat short-handedness to save money in the present and the long run.

 

New Yorkers and Americans for that matter need to begin to understand that aside from natural disasters, the world is a stage and everything that happens in it is by DESIGN. All big organizations know dam well their risks and are able to tell when they will approximately get into trouble years before it happens, because under our current system the world is like Baseball, a numbers game. Except they control the numbers.

[Jamaica Line]

according to the R160 wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R160_(New_York_City_Subway_car) , they have HVAC. i know the H is for heating, the AC is for air conditioning, and the V is ventilation. i hope ventilation means CLEAN ventilation!

 

You try wearing a dust mask all day, it's not fun.

 

Also, all subway cars have air filters in their A/C, but for them to really work they need to be changed about once a week and there not,

 

Thanks guys. I guess you have a point, having to wear a dust mask for eight hours a day isn't the most comfortable thing to do.

[Locomotion69]

Wow, did anyone else pick up when it stated that the average lifespan of a transit worker after retirement is 5 years :confused:

 

And it isn't that much longer for a retired B/O as well.

Breathing in diesel fumes, kidney problems due to lack of hydration or not

having the chance to go to the bathroom, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.

 

I give this guy a lot of credit, he has a long commute into work, but is

making very good money(80k+yr)and most likely has a nice house up there.

[Xentor]

And it isn't that much longer for a retired B/O as well.

Breathing in diesel fumes, kidney problems due to lack of hydration or not

having the chance to go to the bathroom, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.

 

I give this guy a lot of credit, he has a long commute into work, but is

making very good money(80k+yr)and most likely has a nice house up there.

 

Arent we all exposed to steeldust riding the subway, or is that why the windows are always closed.

[Locomotion69]

Arent we all exposed to steeldust riding the subway, or is that why the windows are always closed.

 

That is true to a certain extent, but a T/O spends way more time on

the subways then passengers do. You would think track workers would

have the shortest life expectancy after retirement since they work on the tracks.

 

They have to take into account their lifestyle as well, smoking, obesity, etc.

Then you have the issue of longevity in your family, which is a main factor

in how long you are going to live. Some people just live forever, nothing is

going to kill them, nothing.