NEW YORK—As the MTA (Metro Transit Authority) began a series of court-mandated public hearings regarding the closure of subway station booths on Tuesday, public transportation advocates were unhappy about the arrangement of the hearings.
While the advocates regarded the hearings as a victory for the riders and workers, they were not optimistic about the outcome.
They said that the decision to close the booths has already been made. As well, riders who showed up to be heard by the MTA board were placed at the back of the line behind the public officials who took no significant action to delay the recent cuts.
“Another hearing, another song and dance,” said Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, in a press release. “The riding public takes a backseat while the same politicians who pillage transit funds in the state Capitol get on a soapbox here in New York City to proclaim their outrage at transit cuts. It’s time to break the vicious cycle and start putting riders first.”
Before these hearings, Transportation Alternatives and the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign held a “People’s Hearing” for subway and bus riders, who emphasized the importance of station booth workers and addressed the current cycle of service cuts.
“Today’s court-ordered MTA hearings are a great frustration to the riders and workers who oppose these 44 booth closings,” said Gene Russianoff, senior attorney at the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign. “On the one hand, we desperately want a real forum to make our case to decision-makers. On the other hand, we know our words tonight will fall on deaf ears. These closings will go forward regardless of what we say, which is why we have organized our own forum where affected riders can at least speak before an audience of their fellow New Yorkers.”
In addition to the booth cuts, the MTA’s plan to increase fare prices has also raised concerns.
Another organization, the newly formed Campaign to Take Back Our Transit System, announced that MTA is to increase fare price by 7.5 percent, add a $1 surcharge to new MetroCards, limit the number of rides allowed on weekly and monthly cards, and require a debit or credit card to purchase a new “SmartCard,” which would eliminate the MetroCard.
“This is an outrage in a city ravaged by high unemployment and falling wages,” the organization’s press release stated. “We simply cannot afford fare increases. It shows once again how the MTA Board, made up of Wall Street and real estate developers is draining hundreds of millions of dollars from the revenues of the MTA for contracts for their cronies while crying about a $400 million deficit. This is Just like the millions spent on cameras that don’t work, while cutting service and laying off 900 workers. More layoffs and services cuts are also being planned.”
“The campaign says the people should not be the ones to get hit again and again, cut those interest payments first.”
While the advocates regarded the hearings as a victory for the riders and workers, they were not optimistic about the outcome.
They said that the decision to close the booths has already been made. As well, riders who showed up to be heard by the MTA board were placed at the back of the line behind the public officials who took no significant action to delay the recent cuts.
“Another hearing, another song and dance,” said Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, in a press release. “The riding public takes a backseat while the same politicians who pillage transit funds in the state Capitol get on a soapbox here in New York City to proclaim their outrage at transit cuts. It’s time to break the vicious cycle and start putting riders first.”
Before these hearings, Transportation Alternatives and the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign held a “People’s Hearing” for subway and bus riders, who emphasized the importance of station booth workers and addressed the current cycle of service cuts.
“Today’s court-ordered MTA hearings are a great frustration to the riders and workers who oppose these 44 booth closings,” said Gene Russianoff, senior attorney at the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign. “On the one hand, we desperately want a real forum to make our case to decision-makers. On the other hand, we know our words tonight will fall on deaf ears. These closings will go forward regardless of what we say, which is why we have organized our own forum where affected riders can at least speak before an audience of their fellow New Yorkers.”
In addition to the booth cuts, the MTA’s plan to increase fare prices has also raised concerns.
Another organization, the newly formed Campaign to Take Back Our Transit System, announced that MTA is to increase fare price by 7.5 percent, add a $1 surcharge to new MetroCards, limit the number of rides allowed on weekly and monthly cards, and require a debit or credit card to purchase a new “SmartCard,” which would eliminate the MetroCard.
“This is an outrage in a city ravaged by high unemployment and falling wages,” the organization’s press release stated. “We simply cannot afford fare increases. It shows once again how the MTA Board, made up of Wall Street and real estate developers is draining hundreds of millions of dollars from the revenues of the MTA for contracts for their cronies while crying about a $400 million deficit. This is Just like the millions spent on cameras that don’t work, while cutting service and laying off 900 workers. More layoffs and services cuts are also being planned.”
“The campaign says the people should not be the ones to get hit again and again, cut those interest payments first.”
