MTA officials are planning on eliminating the jobs of more than 240 people in order to shave $40 million from its annual budget. The staff reduction will constitute almost one half of 1% in the MTA's headcount, which oversees Metro-North, the LIRR, and NYC Transit. The savings will be recognized through the consolidation of multiple overlapping jobs by creating a centralized control center.
Annual savings of $40 million among such a small group of people means that each job was averaging more than $160,000 per annum. There is a one-time cost for consolidating the tasks, which has a price tag of about $235 million. And the relatively small reduction in headcount probably doesn't mean that any track workers their jobs.
The annual budget reductions come as riders are about to endure another fare hike, which was not well received publicly upon its approval. Perhaps the ceremonial lopping of 240 jobs was meant to satiate New Yorkers' hunger for improvements in service or agency efficiency. We'll see.
Simultaneously, the MTA is looking for a successor to its antiquated Metrocard swipe technology, which is almost 20 years old. The agency wants to replace it with swipe-less technology it's been experimenting with .
Recycled Metrocard artwork #5, by dM.nyc at flickr
