The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) is the state agency that oversees the subways and buses in New York City. Most of them live outside of the City and the surrounding suburbs, and the previous head of the MTA had never taken the subway when our former hack Republican governor (let me be clear - he's still a hack and a Republican, just thankfully not governor) appointed him. Now the geniuses in Albany (our state capital) are considering a fare hike for people who use public transportation during peak hours and a discount for those who don't. I think the conversation went something like this when the idea was proposed:
MTA Employee 1: Too many people use the subway during rush hour.
MTA Employee 2: I know! It's weird that all those people in NYC try to go to work between 9 and 10 am. It's not like most jobs start at those hours or anything.
MTA E1: Seriously! I bet we can get people to use public transit later or earlier if we raise the prices during rush hour. Employers don't really care what time people get to work, so this will definitely be an incentive for people to change their schedules.
MTA E2: Yeah! And even if that works and people do use mass transit during off-peak hours, let's not sell discount monthly passes. If you want a transit pass, it's full price no matter when you travel. That way, New Yorkers can just pay higher prices and tourists and other people who are visiting can get discounts!
MTA E1: Great point. I just don't understand why tourists should have to pay regular fares that help sustain the mass transit system. It's not like they live there or anything, so it's no benefit to us folks in Albany when we randomly visit the city. Oh - did I say us? I meant tourists in general. Remember a few years ago when the MTA had a deficit and we gave discounts during the holiday weekends to anyone without a pass?
MTA E2: Ha ha ha. That was great. My family loves shopping in the City for Christmas gifts, but why should we pay for the subway? Just because New York City is the economic engine that supports this entire state doesn't mean that they shouldn't shoulder the full burden of maintaining mass transit - and our roads upstate so that when we go to work during rush hour, it's a comfortable and cheap commute.
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I won't say anything if the MTA headquarters accidentally blows up...
ReplyDeleteWhat is this t r a a a n s i t thing of which you speak? Is that like when you live in a big city like... oh, say Ottawa, and you leave the house at 7:00 am to walk to a bus stop a few blocks away catch a bus that may show up any time between 7:30 and 8:00 and which could take 45 minutes to drive 10 kilometers and costs $3.00 one way?? And if you miss the bus there won't be another one for an hour unless it's Saturday or Sunday in which case there may never be another bus? And it drops you off several blocks from where you want to go. And you have to stand the whole way because there are about 500 people on the bus. And it's really hot and smelly. Really, people should just drive their cars everywhere. Big cars. Transit, indeed. What are you, a commie??
ReplyDeleteHEEEY they must have been talking to the CTA...that's their latest "doomsday" proposal. I'm sure my boss won't mind if I come in to work at 10:30 and leave at 3:30 to avoid the additional dollar "rush" surcharge. (Now if they could rush me somewhere instead of lollygaging...I might be willing to pay an extra buck!)
ReplyDeleteOh man, your transit lollygags? Cool. Ours just meanders, detours and ambles.
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