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| MTA Caught with their Pants Down (262831) | |
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MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by BrooklynBus on Wed Jun 27 09:59:42 2012 Sheepsheadbites BlogPart 1 Part 2 |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Mr RT on Fri Jun 29 08:47:58 2012, in response to MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BrooklynBus on Wed Jun 27 09:59:42 2012. Was at a meeting with a new guy in the Bus planning group ... he asked me who is Brooklyn Bus ... I told him :-)Didn't ask if they read your stuff for laughs or some other reason. |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Terrapin Station on Fri Jun 29 09:07:05 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Mr RT on Fri Jun 29 08:47:58 2012. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's awesome!! |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Mr RT on Fri Jun 29 09:19:07 2012, in response to MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BrooklynBus on Wed Jun 27 09:59:42 2012. Part 2:"... operate a special schedule for those (hot) days ..." "... operate extra buses ..." You make an excelent traffic checker, but your two points assume there are a bunch of drivers sitting in the shape up room waiting for an assignment ! "... recovery time ..." how about the drivers need for a comfort break ? "... I like Darryl Irick ..." but does he like you ? |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by BigBusDriver on Fri Jun 29 10:27:36 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Mr RT on Fri Jun 29 09:19:07 2012. "... recovery time ..." how about the drivers need for a comfort break ?How about state mandated (19A Law) Pre and Post Trip Inspections? Where EVERYTHING has to be checked AGAIN to ensure vehicle (and passenger) safety? This takes time. And it is NOT in the schedule! STILL LOL@PISSED OFF PASSENGERS |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by BrooklynBus on Fri Jun 29 11:45:24 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BigBusDriver on Fri Jun 29 10:27:36 2012. Never said the MTA treats drivers fairly. But that's no reason for your signature line. The passengers are not responsible for that and your anger shouldn't be taken out on them. |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by BrooklynBus on Fri Jun 29 11:48:22 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Mr RT on Fri Jun 29 09:19:07 2012. No I'm not assuming guys are just sitting around. I said the MTA should be listening to the weather forecasts in advance like they used to do so they could call up drivers ahead of time t fnd out who wants to work overtime.And yes Irick does like me. We shook hands at the Bus Forum and he Ben mentioned out loud that he sometimes reads my articles and that remark evn made the official transcript. |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by BigBusDriver on Fri Jun 29 12:06:11 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BrooklynBus on Fri Jun 29 11:45:24 2012. But that's no reason for your signature line. The passengers are not responsible for that and your anger shouldn't be taken out on them.I'm not angry. I pity them. THEY (like me) are at the whim of the Authority and it's knuckleheaded actions. Years ago, the dispatchers actually RAN the line. Now, not any more. Now the operator's run the line and the SLDs are nothing more than traffic checkers with a gold badge. Back in the day, when an operator didn't want to work, he dragged and the SLD gave him/her a short sign. Now, no signs. Get a slip at the end of the day for being late, and get paid. EVERYONE suffers. I suffer, because I refuse to pass a clown that wants to get out of doing a days work for a days pay. I get paid for driving MY bus, and picking up the passengers (NOT customers) that MY schedule calls for me to collect, not the load of a lazy good for nothing. Until some of these over paid Super Duper Do Nothings crackdown on this, I too will "play the game". And we don't need the MTA to treat us fairly. The knowledgeable Operators take care of ourselves. STILL LOL@PONTIFICATING POSTERS |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by BigBusDriver on Fri Jun 29 12:13:56 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BrooklynBus on Fri Jun 29 11:48:22 2012. MTA should be listening to the weather forecasts in advance like they used to do so they could call up drivers ahead of timeHow many drivers do you need? How many buses are sitting in the yard for this "extra" service? WHEN do you need the service? 4 P.M.? Sorry. To busy making REGULAR service to accomodate any extra buses. REGULAR scheduled service comes before any extra stuff. Not saying all depots are tight, but my location scrapes the barrel for A.M. AND P.M. service. We like to send out "The cream of the CRAP !" STILL LOL@SQUEEZING SERVICE LOL@ |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by BrooklynBus on Fri Jun 29 12:15:16 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BigBusDriver on Fri Jun 29 12:06:11 2012. You sound like a good driver. |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by BigBusDriver on Fri Jun 29 12:41:16 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BrooklynBus on Fri Jun 29 12:15:16 2012. Thanks! I do the best with what I got ;)STILL LOL@MTA "MANAGEMENT" |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Brooklyn67 on Fri Jun 29 12:49:32 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BrooklynBus on Fri Jun 29 12:15:16 2012. He's 100% correct with everything he's stated.My personal philosophy had always been to treat my people as I'd want to be treated, regardless of my contempt for the Authority. I have to say, it's a nice feeling when the holiday season approaches and your people shower you with trinkets of appreciation, and when you leave a line for another piece of work, your people write letters of affection and genuine care for your well-being on your next route. I wish I could make available to you all, a video I created about 5 years ago. It encompassed 10 years as a regular driver on the Q46, including pictures of the buses I drove, the changes in scenery over the years and "my people", each photographed separately, or as a group they traveled in, annotated with their names as well as a few gifts, awards, letters and trinkets I'd received over the years. Problem with sharing the video with you is the musical background -- copyrighted music, so I only show it to people from my computer. But it's a very good video and samples who I was at a moment in time working as a NYCTA bus driver. It's a sentimental piece, actually. To give you an idea of the "feel" of the video, here are the selections listed in order: 1: Dream Weaver - Gary Wright 2: We've Got Tonight - Bob Seger 3: Morning Has Broken - Cat Stevens 4: Imagine - John Lennon 5: The Times of Your Life - Paul Anka (this section features my passengers) 6: The Way We Were - Barbara Streisand (this section gets a bit personal including a picture of my father, ex-NYCTA BO & SLD) 7: Homeward Bound - Simon & Garfunkel (the video ends with a runoff, as I'm "heading home". It's a "day in the life" of me, which encompasses 10 years of days. It's really cool. Maybe someday I'll share it. Maybe some of you are in it =) |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Terrapin Station on Fri Jun 29 13:25:12 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Brooklyn67 on Fri Jun 29 12:49:32 2012. You could share it without the sound/music... |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Mr RT on Fri Jun 29 13:52:50 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BigBusDriver on Fri Jun 29 12:13:56 2012. Good points ... each depot only has a finite amount of "spare" buses & that counts those that are in for PMs & other maintenance.This means that on any give day only a couple or no extras are just sitting in the yard. I also don't see the depot listening to the weather so they can call in extra staff for a beach run. If upper management says that they should operate the 4th of July as a Saturday, they will react to that, but that happens long in advance of the date. Now when I worked for a private company we took reservations for Orions on the Express service, because a special needs customer could use our Classics. If his/her need changed & he/she gave us enough notice we would switch the run that bus was on. That was customer service ... the MTA marches to a different drummer :-( |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Mr RT on Fri Jun 29 13:59:35 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Brooklyn67 on Fri Jun 29 12:49:32 2012. You should enjoy your job ... life is too short to be grumpy & grouchy every day at work. |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Mr RT on Fri Jun 29 14:02:46 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BrooklynBus on Fri Jun 29 11:48:22 2012. There are a lot of employees who read one or more of the various bus/train blogs.For me it has been about a 15 year journey. |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by BrooklynBus on Fri Jun 29 14:03:06 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Mr RT on Fri Jun 29 13:52:50 2012. You probably are correct. The MTA needs to give buses a higher priority. There is no reason why a depot should have to struggle just to meet its regular service obligations.Over the years I've heard many excuses from the MTA why additional service cannot be provided. One year it's not enough buses and the next year, they have the buses and it's inadequate manpower. Or else they have both but can't afford to operate the services. After 40 years, frankly I'm tired of all the excuses. Where here's a will, there's a way. |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Brooklyn67 on Fri Jun 29 14:13:15 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Mr RT on Fri Jun 29 13:59:35 2012. I was rarely, if ever, grumpy or grouchy at work. I guess we (drivers) have a bad (though sometimes well-deserved) rap there. Still, I wouldn't have expected that response from you. You and I go back some 20-odd years online, and throughout, I don't recall giving the (intentional) impression I was among the grumpy!Guess we all have bad days though. Anyway, as far as enjoying the job, I didn't. I loved driving the bus (was probably among the best out there in handling the thing), loved creating the environment on my bus (especially toward the end of my career working the Q2), really enjoyed interacting with my people (most of which were my regulars along the Q46 and later Q2) but absolutely abhorred the TA and their way of doing things. It was a challenge for me to balance my sheer contempt for the TA with being a good guy out there on the road, but I found my way and never let 'em see me sweat. One way I found that worked for me was to be extra great to the people anytime management was being extra contemptible =) Reflecting, I do miss my people, but I don't miss the job. |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Brooklyn67 on Fri Jun 29 14:14:24 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Mr RT on Fri Jun 29 14:02:46 2012. I think you're online longer... we were posting together back on Dave Pirmann's forum in 1995, if I recall correctly. |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Brooklyn67 on Fri Jun 29 14:15:45 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BrooklynBus on Fri Jun 29 14:03:06 2012. You might want to investigate what's called "Summer Hold" buses =) |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by BigBusDriver on Fri Jun 29 14:36:28 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Brooklyn67 on Fri Jun 29 14:13:15 2012. It was a challenge for me to balance my sheer contempt for the TA with being a good guy out there on the road, but I found my way and never let 'em see me sweat.Wow, that is absolutely the BEST way I could EVER describe working here! Although they've seen me sweat, on occasion... (shifting in a 98 degree depot, one tends to perspire a tad....) EXCELLENT! STILL LOL@MTA MIS MANAGEMENT |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Brooklyn67 on Fri Jun 29 14:48:47 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BigBusDriver on Fri Jun 29 14:36:28 2012. I've been following your responses for a few weeks now, and you seem to be a veteran who's been around the block a few times and really understands what's going on around you. You *almost* sound union, though I'm not sure if you could stomach *their* blatant hypocrisy either! You know union meetings, right? The place you go when you're wanting to get involved, make a difference and change things for the better, only to be forced to endure some figurehead standing behind a podium, speaking for three hours, answering various questions while at the same time, not saying one word!!Where else can a guy speak for three hours and not say anything? Digressing... I wonder if we know each other. Care to share any details? Regarding your tagline -- the problem is that the MTA doesn't manage transportation as much as they (mis)manage "people" and real estate. :o |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by JAzumah on Fri Jun 29 15:43:46 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Brooklyn67 on Fri Jun 29 14:48:47 2012. Heh...transportation is the MTA's side job. |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by mci guy on Fri Jun 29 15:54:26 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BrooklynBus on Fri Jun 29 11:48:22 2012. whos Ben? |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by BigBusDriver on Fri Jun 29 19:31:07 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Brooklyn67 on Fri Jun 29 14:48:47 2012. only to be forced to endure some figurehead standing behind a podium, speaking for three hours, answering various questions while at the same time, not saying one word!!Yup. Been there and still go. Found that the best time to get info is to buttonhole the speaker alone before or after they say their piece. Less semantics thrown around and no one else to get the subject off track. I wonder if we know each other. Care to share any details? Sure. I'm the grizzled old vet perturbed about my pension with these "know it all" new breeds! I also miss the Old Days where all we had was a Location Chief, an Assistant Chief and a bunch of Senior Dispatchers running the joint. You know, guys that, when I bitched about missing a leader, knew it to be more than a blank spot on a tally sheet.... And remembers when Dispatchers carried RED pencils! STILL LOL@REMEMBERING RED LEAD |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Brooklyn67 on Fri Jun 29 19:54:32 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BigBusDriver on Fri Jun 29 19:31:07 2012. Heh... no, I wasn't referring to OTJ stuff. What I meant by sharing some details was disclosing your work location. I've included an email address for the post if you don't care to share here but would privately. |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by BrooklynBus on Fri Jun 29 23:22:28 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by mci guy on Fri Jun 29 15:54:26 2012. It should have been "even" not "Ben". iPad's autocorrect again. |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Edwards! on Sat Jun 30 03:23:29 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Brooklyn67 on Fri Jun 29 14:13:15 2012. I hear you..same for me.i loved the job..but management..new owners ,old owners[LAIDLAW]was a bitch to us..didnt respect the long history of the RUNNING DOG,nor us operators enough. medical retirement is no fun. |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Mr RT on Mon Jul 2 07:45:44 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Brooklyn67 on Fri Jun 29 14:13:15 2012. "... I don't recall giving the (intentional) impression I was among the grumpy! ..."I ment it as, YES good for you ! I have it easier operating a trolley in CT for the public, i.e. my "boss" is a friend & a volunteer too. There the job is a little different, i.e. you don't just operate, you also are expected to entertain :-) |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Mr RT on Mon Jul 2 07:51:05 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Brooklyn67 on Fri Jun 29 14:14:24 2012. Dave's site was born 15 years ago ...It was me who talked him into a bus forum ! |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Hank EisenStein on Tue Jul 3 06:25:02 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by BigBusDriver on Fri Jun 29 10:27:36 2012. If drivers actually performed their pre-trip checks, only 1/4 of the buses would ever leave the depot. Just count the broken headlights, broken tail lights, broken marker lights, cracked windshield glass, wiper blade with dangling rubber... |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by Bill from Maspeth on Tue Jul 3 18:07:42 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Hank EisenStein on Tue Jul 3 06:25:02 2012. Should the rivers do that, cries of a rulebook slowdown will come from the media and MTA would claim a Taylor Law infraction.Same goes for the subway side. |
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Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down |
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Posted by BigBusDriver on Wed Jul 4 02:52:11 2012, in response to Re: MTA Caught with their Pants Down, posted by Bill from Maspeth on Tue Jul 3 18:07:42 2012. Rulebook slowdown NOT grounds for the Taylor Law to be invoked. Trust me on this one.....STILL LOL@THE LAST SLOWDOWN |
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