[BPt111]

Do u ride Metro North a lot ? the fare about to increase again...


NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH)– Metro-North is looking to increase the cost to ride come next year. But the plan is being met with a lot of backlash from Connecticut leaders.
Certainly not something people want to hear, especially those who ride Metro-North on a regular basis.
Metro-North says fares for Connecticut riders are based on decisions by the state, not the railroad. According to the Hartford Courant, budget projections show that Connecticut’s share of the New Haven line could jump by as much as 60-percent. Mainly because of a labor contract with large retroactive payouts to thousands of workers. One way to possibly come up with the money needed, increasing prices for commuters, next year.
This issue is being met with strong opposition from state leaders. Governor Malloy has asked for the MTA to explain the tens of millions of dollars in added costs it expects Connecticut to pay to keep trains running. Other leaders have even gone on to say that between power outages, service issues and delays. Commuters have been dealing with enough.
They even go on to say that the focus must now be on improving reliability, not increasing fares. At this point it’s going to be a wait and see with what happens between the MTA and state leaders as to whether this increases will become a reality or not.

[mlassoff]

Keep arguing that the MetroNorth workers' salaries are not inflated... Railroad conductors are worth double a teachers' salary, right? $175K a year (with overtime) is reasonable? C'mon already.

Not to mention the question of weaknesses in their overall training and competency that became evident this year.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by mlassoff

Keep arguing that the MetroNorth workers' salaries are not inflated... Railroad conductors are worth double a teachers' salary, right? $175K a year (with overtime) is reasonable? C'mon already.

Like i said when you complained about cops making $100K(+)/yr. I don't begrudge them, and if it bothers you that much, go join their ranks!

I could whine about how i don't get ~7 consecutive weeks of vacation in the summer, and another ~4 weeks at various points during the rest of year. I could whine about how i'm required to be in the office/"on the clock" for more than just 6.5 hours each day.

But i won't whine about it.

[mlassoff]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

Like i said when you complained about cops making $100K(+)/yr. I don't begrudge them, and if it bothers you that much, go join their ranks!

I could whine about how i don't get ~7 consecutive weeks of vacation in the summer, and another ~4 weeks at various points during the rest of year. I could whine about how i'm required to be in the office/"on the clock" for more than just 6.5 hours each day.

But i won't whine about it.

I begrudge them. Municipal salaries in Connecticut in certain jobs are unsustainably out of control. You can't simultaneously support 150K train conductor salaries and complain when tickets go up. You can't bemoan the tax situation while supporting salaries of beat cops that are above $120K.

For all the "whining" that goes on here about taxes, costs, etc, you think people would be interested in the primary causes.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by mlassoff

I begrudge them. Municipal salaries in Connecticut in certain jobs are unsustainably out of control. You can't simultaneously support 150K train conductor salaries and complain when tickets go up. You can't bemoan the tax situation while supporting salaries of beat cops that are above $120K.

For all the "whining" that goes on here about taxes, costs, etc, you think people would be interested in the primary causes.

Do you have a link to the source that says all MNRR conductors make 150k?

[mlassoff]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

Do you have a link to the source that says all MNRR conductors make 150k?

MTA’s too-nice pay | New York Post

Hundreds of folks more than doubled their pay through overtime and other extras, including 53 Metro-North conductors who took home an average of $166,494 each and 11 LIRR engineers who took home about $169,431 apiece.

[Mike 75]

The current state of operations is unacceptable. Only in the public sector does poor service demand higher fees. Fire the lot of them (including management) and hire them back at half the price. This is not rocket science. I'm sure there are plenty of people willing to punch tickets for $50 to 75k a year. They surely can't be any worse than the current folks running things.

I realize this will never happen.

[EricS39]

If they quadrupled metro-north fares would you still ride it? If instead of $30 ROUNDtrip from New Haven to Grand Central, if instead they go $120

[DarkWolf]

Thats only 53 conductors , they've probably have worked a long time and thus have negotiated there contracts to earn more salary. That was also 2011 , a lot of them have probably retired by now. I know 15 Railway employees who have retired since 2011 and I know MNRR and Subways have seen a strain in service expansions due to mass retirements... The Newer conductors don't make anywhere near that number , its 25 to 30hr in NJ and 28 to 34hr in CT/NY , Enginners max out at 45hr in NJ and 50hr in NY/CT for Private and public lines. Amtrak is a max 50hr after 5 years...at from what i'm told... Bus , Light Rail and subway operators max out at 45hr in this region... The PATH pays the highest in this region , Engineers average 90k a year and Conductors around 75k... Conductors doing the following jobs which you can dispute all you want. Most of the time you'll see them ticket punch , but they have other duties. Ive seen them do just about everything listed below. Most of that happens in the yards or near Terminals... This also applies to Bus , and LRT drivers although its slightly different. But they do need to complete paperwork at the end of their route , stay on schedule , ensure safety and carry out basic repairs. There are some openings for the MNRR maybe you should apply...

Jointly coordinate with the engineer and dispatcher the train's movement authority, and verifying this authority is not exceeded
Communicate and coordinating with other parties—yardmasters, trainmasters, dispatchers, on board service personnel, etc.
Be alert to wayside signals, switch position, and other conditions that affect safe train movement
Mechanically inspect rolling stock
Assist the engineer in testing the train's air brakes
Signal the engineer when to start or stop moving
Keep a log of the journey
Check tickets and collect fares on passenger trains
Attend to passenger needs
Keep records of consignment notes and waybills
Direct, coordinate, and usually manually perform, shunting or switching

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by EricS39

If they quadrupled metro-north fares would you still ride it? If instead of $30 ROUNDtrip from New Haven to Grand Central, if instead they go $120

The Fares are more of a greed thing , and have nothing to do with Salarys or Unions. Other systems pay the same and have double the ridership but the fares are half like Metra in Chicago or Go in Toronto.... Fares are a political thing. SEPTA can recoup 80% of its expensive despite having half the ridership of MNRR and half the max fare. Max of 14$ on the SEPTA network...and Max of 15$ on NJT...nowhere near the insanity of the MNRR/LIRR. Metra is 15$...and Go is 15$....