Ever wonder where all the money goes from those fare MTA hikes? Consider this latest boondoggle.
As The Post reported last week, the agency shelled out $5 million over the past year to pay employees (on overtime!) just to walk around a Brooklyn bus depot looking for flames — because its sprinkler system wasn’t up to snuff.
The patrols run 24 hours a day, with workers paid $60 an hour in three shifts of as many as 10 each.
Was it really so hard for the agency to figure out some cheaper way to deal with the problem?
Yeah, we know: The pipes are old and leaky.
They continually fail pressure tests and probably need to be ripped out, a project that could cost far more than patrols.
And rules dictate that without a working sprinkler system, qualified staff must patrol the premises 24/7, for safety reasons.
Blah, blah, blah.
But why is it that whenever MTA projects entail enormous outlays, somehow there’s always a litany of excuses to explain it?
Who let the pipes get old and leaky with no replacement plan (and funding) set to go in the first place? Did MTA managers think those pipes would last forever?
And do the rules really require 10 workers per shift, 24/7, each of whom must be paid such exorbitant sums for what seems like simple work?
If so, are those rules really necessary?
Did the agency have no choice but to agree to them?
Some years ago, The New York Times discovered that the MTA paid seven times as much as other cities for each mile of the new Long Island Rail Road tunnel that feeds into Grand Central.
An accountant later discovered 200 workers on that project with absolutely no reason to be there.
It’s a culture of waste and excuses.
Take overtime: An Empire Center report last month showed agency payouts last year hit $1.3 billion-with-a-B, up an eye-watering $200 million over 2021.
More than 1,100 MTA employees doubled their salaries through OT pay.
Yet get this: In a contract deal this year with Transport Workers Union Local 100, the agency agreed to 10% raises over three years — with no work-rule concessions. It’s mind-boggling.
To his credit, Rich Davey, head of NYC Transit, admits he isn’t happy with the situation at the bus depot: “We’d rather have a working fire suppression system than having to pay a 24-hour fire watch.”
And he’s working to fix it, saying a new, up-to-snuff system will be operational “within weeks.”
“I’m very involved in it and keeping a close eye on it, because it’s costing us money,” he added.
Good for him. Meanwhile, New York taxpayers are on the hook for this cash.
Bus and subway fares are set to rise about 5.5%, to $2.90, on Aug. 20.
Bridge and tunnel tolls have already shot up.
And the agency is also getting set to suck up millions in congestion-pricing toll revenue.
New Yorkers know the city is expensive and are ready to shell out cash if their money is well spent.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case at the MTA.