my controversial thoughts for the day ...

... about the MTA

Ok so once again, the MTA is crying poverty and spitting out random ideas to get some of their budget back. Needless to say, I'm sick of people complaining about this crap [from both sides].

To the actual MTA. You stay crying about how you're in like a $380 mil deficit, so I've come up to some solutions to your problems:

• Problem #1: one reason why you are so short on money is because you have way too many people in top positions making an absurd salary. I worked in a particular MTA department for 8 months; in my building, of which only ONE floor consisted of "upper management" in some way, there was a COO, ACO, numerous directors, and about 20 individuals with the title of Superintendent. This doesn't include administration, the 10+ student positions [most of which were paid], and the maintenance crew. Add in the fact that I worked in a training center [and going through that particular training, ie school, is a paid, hourly position], and you easily had $1mil in yearly salaries in that location alone [and I'm almost positive I'm WAY short on this count]. My solution: CUT SOME OF THE TOP DOGS. Do you really need THAT many directors making 6 figures? The answer is no.
• Problem #2: I, for one, don't give two shits that they may take the metro cards away from students [probably because I don't have kids therefore this doesn't affect me at all]. My solution: pass out metro cards that are MERIT based. I'm not saying that the kid has to have a 3.7 gpa and a perfect attendance, but you know DAMN well that A LOT of those little kids with the card are doing terribly in school, and/or have a bad attendance record. Why the hell are we providing free transportation TO school for students who are not passing classes, or not even going to school to begin with? Every kid should get a card their first semester [or until they get their first report card if it's a trimester system]. If they are FAILING school and/or have bad attendance, take it away until they improve.
• Problem #3: metro cards for the disabled. My solution: just leave them be.

To all NYers that take public transpo ... I have some words for you too:

The fact is that the MTA is a double-edged sword. Everyone in NYC complains about the public transportation system here yet totally fails to remember that we have the largest subway system in the WORLD. Not the northeast, not the country, but the entire world, as well as the largest public transportation system [in general] in the USA. How exactly do you think this is run? Everyone's solution is always to fire people but .. if there are no people to drive the bus, or the train, or fix the track, or sit in that f*cking booth for all the people that don't know how to use the machines, then the system will not be able to function. The fact of the matter is that our system is NOT THAT BAD. Yes there are delays, yes sometimes a train isn't working but really? Stop complaining. Whenever a train stops moving, everyone groans and moans and looks at the time and look like they are about to jump out of the car. Did you ever stop to REALLY time how long you weren't moving? I am never on the train without my ipod so I time it through songs, and I can tell you that there have been VERY few times that a song started AND ended and we we were still not moving. So to put it in words you'll understand ... you weren't moving for an average of 4 minutes, if that. That's it. Just 4. Not 40. Just 4 ...

People always seem to look over the fact that our system NEVER STOPS WORKING. It's not like DC where after about 2am, if you need to catch the "metro" back home you're f*cked cuz guess what, it's CLOSED. I'm sorry that after you go clubbing you're pissed at the fact that you're shit ass drunk and it's taking 30 minutes for a train to pick you up and get you home at 5am. Do you realize that in order to have a shorter time between trains, you need people to conduct them, therefore negating your ideas of firing people as a way to regain some costs back? Do you realize that you can basically get anywhere within the 5 boroughs through some sort of public transpo? [please note, i said nothing about how fast it would take to get there or how many transfers you need ... but the fact is that you CAN get there, even if it's 2 trains and 4 buses later].

Is our system perfect, no not in the least. But if you take into consideration how many subway and bus lines we have, I think it's fairly decent and gets the job done. I'm not going to sit here and act like I haven't cursed out the train or bus for taking "too long" to arrive but really, who is it too long for? Let's say the bus came 4 minutes after it's scheduled time. Is it the bus driver's fault that there's traffic, that one stop was insanely crowded, or that there is construction and they needed to detour? No. Fact is that the bus came to slow for ME [or you or you]. Shit happens. If people really wanted the MTA to take notice, we would have a city-wide transpo strike and I guarantee that would open their eyes. Would that happen? Probably not. Know why? Because we all need to work and get to where we need to go ... and no one is going to miss a day from work because they want to raise the fair 15 cents. So NY, until you actually motivate yourselves enough to DO something to make the MTA take notice ... stop using the service, or come up with and present other alternate proposals, just shut up and take the train. And if you don't want to, "next time take your f*cking limo" [quoting one of the best line's I've heard in a subway argument].