Sunday, March 29, 2009

Ping Pong Commuting

New York State lawmakers are looking into the fare increases proposed by the Metropolitan Transit Authority. The State is expected to vote on easing the pain of the New York and Long Island commuter. Undoubtedly they will offer a compromise that will allow the MTA to lower but not cancel the increases.


But they are merely responding to the latest salvo by the MTA in what has become a regularly scheduled if not predictable “Ping Pong” game between the City and the State. The reasons for these disagreements change but always center around money. And the one constant is that we the commuters are the ping pong ball.


Remember when the motto was "MTA - Going your way?" There is also the phrase, "My way or the highway." Well the MTA has joined the two - "MTA - No matter which way you pay."


Come Tuesday or Wednesday the commuter will be given a reprieve from the so-called doomsday MTA budget but it will only be a partial one. Increases will be approved and we will be forced to pay higher fares for lesser service and be thankful that, for now the game has ended.

2 comments:

Train Buddy said...

I have been in contact with Senator Charles Fuschillo with regard to the fare hikes and asked him if he could find out why MTA personnel are still riding for free when they are in such dire needs for cash. The President of the MTA responded with the following: "The use of a pass is a privilege granted to our employees as part of an overall benefits package. Many of our employees have responsibilites that require them to travel between key points of our system ... the issuance of a pass facilities this travel on our system." Well I need to facilitate their system so shouldn't I get to ride for free? She goes on with some other bullshit stating that their passes are annually renewed and can be suspended or revoked for inappropriate behavior. They also surrender their seats to others during rush hours (BULLSHIT). I think Ms. Williams can be a perfect candidate for presidency as she seems to avoid answering questions directly and feeds us nothing but bullshit. Senator Fuschillo has released a statement (where it will be seen I have no idea) but it states: "While the MTA is facing financial difficulties, many of these problems stem from the fact that it is a bloated and mismanaged bureaucracy ...". AMEN!!! I wish I could get Ms. Williams response letter published so that others can see what crap they are laying out there.

Reschzoo said...

So get to the point, are you upset with the MTA? :-)
Obviously there are many things wrong with this and quite a few other agencies that have been getting free passes of sorts for years since the economy was doing well. But like a zit on the tip of the nose they sure stand out in tough times.