MTA to make cash ban permanent

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 hour ago, bobtehpanda said:

No, if push comes to shove booth agents are literally supposed to stay inside and don't contact police directly even if something is happening within their line of sight. That's the actual policy, because booth workers are not actually police. What you want is actual police; why would you keep something around that is totally ineffective?

It's like getting a cardboard cutout of a guard dog for your house instead of an actual guard dog.

Actual police won't happen with this administration... We're talking de Blasio, an inept mayor that can't leave office soon enough, and take this "progressive" policies with him.

[NewFlyer 230]

To add my piece to the matter, I just see this as a way to eventually get rid of the token booth clerks. 

If you are no longer required to do the main task of your job then why should you still get paid. I know everybody has to eat and I don’t advocate job loss, but realistically speaking when the MTA inevitably is tight on cash again and is teasing budget cuts, token booth clerks will most certainly be one of the first positions they’d look at to cut. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got rid of a lot of them and replaced them with kiosk machines like a lot of fast food establishments have done. I wouldn’t use covid as an excuse to not handle cash because so many businesses still handle cash. A very sneaky move on the MTA’s part. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

17 minutes ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

To add my piece to the matter, I just see this as a way to eventually get rid of the token booth clerks. 

If you are no longer required to do the main task of your job then why should you still get paid. I know everybody has to eat and I don’t advocate job loss, but realistically speaking when the MTA inevitably is tight on cash again and is teasing budget cuts, token booth clerks will most certainly be one of the first positions they’d look at to cut. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got rid of a lot of them and replaced them with kiosk machines like a lot of fast food establishments have done. I wouldn’t use covid as an excuse to not handle cash because so many businesses still handle cash. A very sneaky move on the MTA’s part. 

Wasn't really sneaky per se, as it is clear from one of their recent board meetings that this was planned. COVID was just a convenient excuse.

[Trainmaster5]

4 hours ago, bobtehpanda said:

No, if push comes to shove booth agents are literally supposed to stay inside and don't contact police directly even if something is happening within their line of sight. That's the actual policy, because booth workers are not actually police. What you want is actual police; why would you keep something around that is totally ineffective?

It's like getting a cardboard cutout of a guard dog for your house instead of an actual guard dog.

I believe that many people don't understand what the station agent is there for. The primary concern is to safeguard the agency's money. The property comes second. The customer is a concern,  too, but that falls under the police responsibility. I was a Railroad Porter many decades ago and that's what we were told. When I went to RTO passenger safety was stressed but equipment (property) was also a priority. There were times when the Command Center would direct us RTO people to send or take a sick customer to the token booth to wait for help while we returned to the train and continued the trip. Later on the message was to discharge the train with the Conductor remaining with the passenger,  on the platform,  as I moved out running light. During the last blackout my Conductor and I discharged our train,  helped another train crew do the same,  and took all the passengers two flights up to street level where we flagged down two B44 buses for our riders. We then returned to my train and carried a wheelchair bound rider to the street level. All this time the Station Agent was confined to that hot booth because she couldn't leave by rule. She was in the booth until a supervisor and the police showed up to check on her and the money . That was 5 hours later. Money secured and she was free to go. We RTO folks had to remain with our trains to protect the property from 4:11 pm until 10:04 am the next day. It boils down to knowing your responsibility,  agent,  supervisor,  RTO,  and PD, and following them. Just my thoughts.  Carry on. 

[bobtehpanda]

2 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

I believe that many people don't understand what the station agent is there for. The primary concern is to safeguard the agency's money. The property comes second. The customer is a concern,  too, but that falls under the police responsibility. I was a Railroad Porter many decades ago and that's what we were told. When I went to RTO passenger safety was stressed but equipment (property) was also a priority. There were times when the Command Center would direct us RTO people to send or take a sick customer to the token booth to wait for help while we returned to the train and continued the trip. Later on the message was to discharge the train with the Conductor remaining with the passenger,  on the platform,  as I moved out running light. During the last blackout my Conductor and I discharged our train,  helped another train crew do the same,  and took all the passengers two flights up to street level where we flagged down two B44 buses for our riders. We then returned to my train and carried a wheelchair bound rider to the street level. All this time the Station Agent was confined to that hot booth because she couldn't leave by rule. She was in the booth until a supervisor and the police showed up to check on her and the money . That was 5 hours later. Money secured and she was free to go. We RTO folks had to remain with our trains to protect the property from 4:11 pm until 10:04 am the next day. It boils down to knowing your responsibility,  agent,  supervisor,  RTO,  and PD, and following them. Just my thoughts.  Carry on. 

Agreed. And if we don't need to handle cash in booths, we don't need the agents either.

I really hope they'd plan to actually upgrade the MVMs into something reliable though. They're unreliable, they barely take money as it is, and if I remember correctly they're running Windows 2000 ffs.

[bobtehpanda]

22 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Actual police won't happen with this administration... We're talking de Blasio, an inept mayor that can't leave office soon enough, and take this "progressive" policies with him.

The Onion always has something for this.

Quote

De Blasio: ‘Well, Well, Well, Not So Easy To Find A Mayor That Doesn’t Suck Shit, Huh?’

NEW YORK—Clucking his tongue with mock disappointment, Bill De Blasio announced to New Yorkers that “It’s not so easy to find a mayor that doesn’t suck shit after all, huh?” during a press conference Tuesday. “Hey, you all gave it your best shot, but it looks like it’s a little harder than you thought to run a candidate who won’t be a national f**king disgrace, doesn’t it?” said De Blasio, smirking as he suggested that the voting public had perhaps gotten a little too big for their britches at the prospect of electing someone who would amount to more than a constant source of embarrassment for the city at large. “But, no, really, I hope you have a goddamn blast with Eric Adams or whatever a**hole you end up going with, and I’m sure you’ll knock everybody’s socks off with some really incredible candidates during the next election cycle. Just goes to show that it’s not so easy to find someone who isn’t a total dickhead hated by everybody.” At press time, De Blasio had issued a joint statement along with Mike Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani that consisted of them loudly laughing for 10 straight minutes.

 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

20 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

I believe that many people don't understand what the station agent is there for. The primary concern is to safeguard the agency's money. The property comes second. The customer is a concern,  too, but that falls under the police responsibility. I was a Railroad Porter many decades ago and that's what we were told. When I went to RTO passenger safety was stressed but equipment (property) was also a priority. There were times when the Command Center would direct us RTO people to send or take a sick customer to the token booth to wait for help while we returned to the train and continued the trip. Later on the message was to discharge the train with the Conductor remaining with the passenger,  on the platform,  as I moved out running light. During the last blackout my Conductor and I discharged our train,  helped another train crew do the same,  and took all the passengers two flights up to street level where we flagged down two B44 buses for our riders. We then returned to my train and carried a wheelchair bound rider to the street level. All this time the Station Agent was confined to that hot booth because she couldn't leave by rule. She was in the booth until a supervisor and the police showed up to check on her and the money . That was 5 hours later. Money secured and she was free to go. We RTO folks had to remain with our trains to protect the property from 4:11 pm until 10:04 am the next day. It boils down to knowing your responsibility,  agent,  supervisor,  RTO,  and PD, and following them. Just my thoughts.  Carry on. 

Listen, if that's the case then the union should stop making the argument that station agents are needed to be the eyes and ears underground because that is exactly what they have continued to argue. No one is asking them to be cops. However, if they can't call the police when something happens, we have a serious problem. Not asking them to come out of the booth or anything else. Just call 911 just like any normal person would. In fact that was the same argument used when they tried to remove workers off of the trains. 

[Trainmaster5]

2 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Listen, if that's the case then the union should stop making the argument that station agents are needed to be the eyes and ears underground because that is exactly what they have continued to argue. No one is asking them to be cops. However, if they can't call the police when something happens, we have a serious problem. Not asking them to come out of the booth or anything else. Just call 911 just like any normal person would. In fact that was the same argument used when they tried to remove workers off of the trains. 

I happen to agree with you. I believe that the protocol is for them to notify their supervisor. They aren't supposed to use a cellphone while on the clock. Imagine being disciplined for doing the right thing. I got hassled by a supervisor for using my cellphone to call Command Center to request power removal when I happened across a suicidal person laying across the track. His argument was that I should have used the phone in the booth when I told him that I was in a dead spot for my radio. The phone in the booth was 700+ feet away and downstairs from where the incident was happening. He and I argued about power removal and restoration,  too. You've dealt with some of these people while doing your bus advocacy thing. You know that you're not dealing with Mensa types or Rhodes Scholar folks 😀. BTW the Desk Supt. in RTO backed me 100% in my argument with his underling when I made my call to Jay Street that night. There's no guarantee that a Station Agent would have the same type of backing these days. Imagine being an unemployed hero. Just something to ponder.  Carry on.

[SeanH525]

4 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Listen, if that's the case then the union should stop making the argument that station agents are needed to be the eyes and ears underground because that is exactly what they have continued to argue. No one is asking them to be cops. However, if they can't call the police when something happens, we have a serious problem. Not asking them to come out of the booth or anything else. Just call 911 just like any normal person would. In fact that was the same argument used when they tried to remove workers off of the trains. 

We’re able to call for NYPD, EMS, FDNY, etc. There is a system in the booth specifically made for that. I’d say besides customer service it is our primary responsibility without fares being handled in the booth.

As for the larger topic at hand… as it stands we’re probably short almost 200 agents compared to last year. Station CTAs are a position of need too. It might just be the new normal with transit. I don’t know that they’re looking to add. Although if I’m being completely objective, having a full strength CTA roster is very important down here. More important than adding new agents,  when they could just get rid of lunches to address the crazy overtime (as they originally planned). They shouldn’t be twiddling their thumbs with CTA hiring, though.

And the union is not being forthcoming about the fares/cash in the booth issue. It was known and even discussed in the news that the implementation of OMNY was going to phase handling fares out of the booths years ago. The timeline just ticked up because of COVID. We’ll see what comes of this Velazquez bill, but I’m not too concerned about job security either way. They’ve been chiseling at this job title for years through attrition. The Great Recession was the only exception.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

3 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

I happen to agree with you. I believe that the protocol is for them to notify their supervisor. They aren't supposed to use a cellphone while on the clock. Imagine being disciplined for doing the right thing. I got hassled by a supervisor for using my cellphone to call Command Center to request power removal when I happened across a suicidal person laying across the track. His argument was that I should have used the phone in the booth when I told him that I was in a dead spot for my radio. The phone in the booth was 700+ feet away and downstairs from where the incident was happening. He and I argued about power removal and restoration,  too. You've dealt with some of these people while doing your bus advocacy thing. You know that you're not dealing with Mensa types or Rhodes Scholar folks 😀. BTW the Desk Supt. in RTO backed me 100% in my argument with his underling when I made my call to Jay Street that night. There's no guarantee that a Station Agent would have the same type of backing these days. Imagine being an unemployed hero. Just something to ponder.  Carry on.

You make a good point. Unfortunately, the good folks suffer for the ones that lack common sense.

3 hours ago, SeanH525 said:

We’re able to call for NYPD, EMS, FDNY, etc. There is a system in the booth specifically made for that. I’d say besides customer service it is our primary responsibility without fares being handled in the booth.

As for the larger topic at hand… as it stands we’re probably short almost 200 agents compared to last year. Station CTAs are a position of need too. It might just be the new normal with transit. I don’t know that they’re looking to add. Although if I’m being completely objective, having a full strength CTA roster is very important down here. More important than adding new agents,  when they could just get rid of lunches to address the crazy overtime (as they originally planned). They shouldn’t be twiddling their thumbs with CTA hiring, though.

And the union is not being forthcoming about the fares/cash in the booth issue. It was known and even discussed in the news that the implementation of OMNY was going to phase handling fares out of the booths years ago. The timeline just ticked up because of COVID. We’ll see what comes of this Velazquez bill, but I’m not too concerned about job security either way. They’ve been chiseling at this job title for years through attrition. The Great Recession was the only exception.

The union these days seems to act at the very last minute. I mean the  's goal is crystal clear. They need to cut somewhere and it's going to be the workers losing jobs or cuts via attrition, or they will try to cut service on the passenger side and right now they're doing both. I have been reaching out to a number of people to force them to expedite the hiring process. I finally got the City Comptroller to perform another audit on express bus service as another way to nudge them to get on the ball, otherwise they will take their sweet time hiring and keep pushing the ball down the road to see how much they can get away with. 

[R10 2952]

If there's any class of employees that's redundant and they should be removing from this damn agency, it's 95% of the MTA's toxic, rotten-to-the-core middle management.