Your transit cuts, by zip code

Is anyone else not really mourning the loss of token booth attendants?

I respect the safety aspect of having someone one present in times of emergency, but the next friendly or helpful booth attendant I meet will be the first one.

I'm looking at you, bitter booth attendants at the Clinton-Washington G.

My favorite is the loss of the B25. None of the A train stations are handicap accessible in BK which makes the 25 the alternate route going from the junction to Downtown Brooklyn. Its a bus mostly ridden by the elderly and school kids with some commuters thrown in. For folks that can't do stairs its a godsend. The brain surgeons at the MTA want those folks to walk over to either Halsey, Putnam, Greene, or Gates which is fine if you are living on the north side of Fulton (and even then its not that great) but sucks giant balls if you live on the south side (your options are the bus on Bergen or hiking up to St. John's)

More of our tax dollars at work.

Ah a museum for people who have been replaced by machines in the workplace. Not a bad idea Jack, but unfortunately, I think the place would have to be huge to hold all the people.

I haven't found token booth workers to be any different in tempermant than other city workers myself. Some good, some bad, some just plain ugly attitudes. I think it has a lot to do with the individual's own personality rather than a trait shared across the board by all union members,etc.

I do think people have some value over machines in the subway though. Certainly they help with buzzing open emergency exits/entrances for strollers/wheelchairs,bicycles,large packages, etc.

Jack Krohn wrote: I agree with you, boygabriel. I was so happy when the MTA started using metrocard machines - they're far more personable than token booth clerks. Now that I have transit check, I will hopefully never have to deal with one of those rude clerks again.

As for safety, it sounds sensible in theory, but in reality the only thing a clerk would do is call the police after the crime occurred, or at least after its onset, but in neither case would it prevent the crime. I think we'll see more clerks disappear through attrition and ultimately they will be a feature in the transit museum.

Can't help but thinking though, that the economy would be in better shape if they had their jobs, same with all the people who used to cherck you in at the airport (now there's 1/10 as many and self serve kiosks), and the same goes with the checkout people (self serve kiosks again, though not as much in NYC), etc. etc.

Or at least if our econmy were replacing those jobs with new ones.

Lo Kee wrote: [quote=Jack Krohn]I agree with you, boygabriel. I was so happy when the MTA started using metrocard machines - they're far more personable than token booth clerks. Now that I have transit check, I will hopefully never have to deal with one of those rude clerks again.

As for safety, it sounds sensible in theory, but in reality the only thing a clerk would do is call the police after the crime occurred, or at least after its onset, but in neither case would it prevent the crime. I think we'll see more clerks disappear through attrition and ultimately they will be a feature in the transit museum.

Can't help but thinking though, that the economy would be in better shape if they had their jobs, same with all the people who used to cherck you in at the airport (now there's 1/10 as many and self serve kiosks), and the same goes with the checkout people (self serve kiosks again, though not as much in NYC), etc. etc.

Or at least if our econmy were replacing those jobs with new ones.

I'm all for supported employment. ...but lets use the jobs as opportunity to teach them the skills that they would need to do customer service in the real world.

...let's not give them jobs they think are real, overpay them, then have no way to fire them.

raw wrote: [quote=whynot_31][quote=Lo Kee][quote=Jack Krohn]I agree with you, boygabriel. I was so happy when the MTA started using metrocard machines - they're far more personable than token booth clerks. Now that I have transit check, I will hopefully never have to deal with one of those rude clerks again.

As for safety, it sounds sensible in theory, but in reality the only thing a clerk would do is call the police after the crime occurred, or at least after its onset, but in neither case would it prevent the crime. I think we'll see more clerks disappear through attrition and ultimately they will be a feature in the transit museum.

Can't help but thinking though, that the economy would be in better shape if they had their jobs, same with all the people who used to cherck you in at the airport (now there's 1/10 as many and self serve kiosks), and the same goes with the checkout people (self serve kiosks again, though not as much in NYC), etc. etc.

Or at least if our econmy were replacing those jobs with new ones.

I'm all for supported employment. ...but lets use the jobs as opportunity to teach them the skills that they would need to do customer service in the real world.

...let's not give them jobs they think are real, overpay them, then have no way to fire them.

Let's not generalize. Some MTA workers are nice, polite, do a good job, and are under paid.

On the other hand, it's hard to support an employment system that tells its employees, "as long as you do nothing but pass a drug test and arrive at work on time and stay until your shift ends and do not molest co-workers you cannot be fired."

True 'nuff.

I was commenting on illusory gains in "productivity" generally, not the blaoted MTA specifically. You are right on track there.