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Never could figure it out...asked a couple of drivers -- uh, "operators" -- and they didn't know, either!
'Cause drivers are allowed to be late (one driver I asked went on to tell me about his colleague who was always forty-five minutes late every single run) and they're even allowed to be early by two minutes ahead of schedule so what is there for a supervisor to actually supervise???
I've only ever interacted with a supervisor five times in over forty years of ridership, three of those times involving a disagreement with the driver -- like during the scamdemic when they were allowed to determine for themselves the maximum number of passengers on board () -- and they never seem interested, always claimed to not know anything because "they weren't there," et cetera.
So what do they actually do??? Like I said, it sure ain't keeping things on schedule; one of them even told me to not buy into the city's nonsense about being on time, that a few minutes don't matter!
When I was a kid there used to be a supervisors booth in
Ridgewood on Palmetto st where Myrtle ave and St.Nicholas ave met.
I would see the supervisor with his Clipboard in hand inspect every bus
and driver as they terminated. Take out of service if mechanical issues arose,
reassign and direct drivers to over/under compensate if more than or less than
ridership and on and on.
A fascinating job back then. Clueless if the title has been redefined or absorbed today.
Make work, fake jobs. The MTA has become a jobs program for uneducated “minorities” who would otherwise flip burgers for a living.
Actually, three of the five I've dealt with were white -- one was one of 'em blue-eyed redneck types, too.
The black gentleman was one of 'em "intelligent brothers," you could tell he was a college man and wore his uniform quite sharply. Young debonair dude straight outta Central Casting!
The other non-white looked like an Indo-Pak guy, not as young but younger than the white guys.
I gotta say, it was the whites that seemed like old-timey union sit-around types. The non-whites, I still don't know what it is any of 'em actually do (since like I'd said drivers can be late as they want and even a bit early, too), but it was actually the white guys that looked like they were ready to retire!
But yeah, there is the feeling of make work/fake jobs, as you'd put it. You know when they run them shuttle buses 'cause MTA is messin' wit' the trains again?? Look for the bus supervisor on duty -- all he does is tell the drivers when to drive off...which they know perfectly when to do (i.e., bus is full!) when the supervisor's not around!
When I was a kid there used to be a supervisors booth in
Ridgewood on Palmetto st where Myrtle ave and St.Nicholas ave met.
I would see the supervisor with his Clipboard in hand inspect every bus
and driver as they terminated. Take out of service if mechanical issues arose,
reassign and direct drivers to over/under compensate if more than or less than
ridership and on and on.
Yeah I see some with electronic tablets now, but I've never seen them do anything than chat with a driver for a few seconds. What you describe sounds reasonable enough but nothing that sounds hard at all...could it be the plumiest job in the entire civil service??
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Retired
A fascinating job back then. Clueless if the title has been redefined or absorbed today.
I'd bet it's still the same; wonder what the ratio is to drivers since the supervisors not at a terminus seem to gave cars that they drive around, checking up presumably.
But they're probably all former drivers themselves so how tough could they possibly be??? And how many are on duty overnight when the buses seem to follow no schedule at all?????
Actually, three of the five I've dealt with were white -- one was one of 'em blue-eyed redneck types, too.
The black gentleman was one of 'em "intelligent brothers," you could tell he was a college man and wore his uniform quite sharply. Young debonair dude straight outta Central Casting!
The other non-white looked like an Indo-Pak guy, not as young but younger than the white guys.
I gotta say, it was the whites that seemed like old-timey union sit-around types. The non-whites, I still don't know what it is any of 'em actually do (since like I'd said drivers can be late as they want and even a bit early, too), but it was actually the white guys that looked like they were ready to retire!
But yeah, there is the feeling of make work/fake jobs, as you'd put it. You know when they run them shuttle buses 'cause MTA is messin' wit' the trains again?? Look for the bus supervisor on duty -- all he does is tell the drivers when to drive off...which they know perfectly when to do (i.e., bus is full!) when the supervisor's not around!
Of course there were make work, fake jobs back when the MTA was mostly white too. However, I don't think it was actual policy.
As MTA headcount has exploded over the last few decades (and with it the budget), it's clear there's an explicit POLITICAL policy of using the MTA as a jobs program. Along with many other city agencies.
Around 15 years ago, an.older Guyanese acquaintance (Indian descent) I used to know due to a summer warehouse job, went to take some test for a.city job. He walks into the room and is told by others there "what are you doing here. This job ain't for you. These are our jobs".
Anybody who thinks that city jobs aren't being used as political tools is a clown.or an idiot.
Of course, certain city jobs were dominated by specific ethnic groups back in the day as well but what's changed is the SCALE and quality of service. The number of city jobs has exploded over the past 2 decades and the output taxpayers get in return has plummeted.
Theyre "allowed" to be late because some of the schedules they have are impossible to be on time for. Entire routes are continuously ****ed up because of traffic. The dispatchers job is to fix that. The good ones do, the lazy ones dont.
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) -- and they never seem interested, always claimed to not know anything because "they weren't there," et cetera.
