My biggest hope is that the city government will finally use bargaining to actually take the unions to task and cut tough deals rather than simply roll over and give them whatever they want. While it’s unpleasant I’d much rather weather a strike than continue to be extorted. Pay, for all levels of employees, needs to start being linked to performance.

Not allowing a double tap is hardly an idiotic design decision. It’s a legitimate way at combating fraud.

Having turnstiles (= $$$$$ for Cubic) and on-vehicle pass readers (= $$$$$$ for Cubic and ERG and Very Very Very Very Special Friends of MTC) is what is idiotic.

POP means no gates, free flow, board any door, and let the fare inspectors sort things out. Drivers drive. Passengers load and unload themselves without interference. It really isn’t rocket science!

TransLink(tm), in complete contrast, means gates, barriers, nose bleed expensive separate mezzanine levels and paid and unpaid areas, constricted entry, slow buses, painful transfers, constant operator-passenger disputes, and, most importantly massive profits and blank checks for the unethical sleazebag snake oil vendors who buy off agency staff and electeds.

In fact, pop cops might be able to see the same thing (of course they’d see yes, the card’s already been validated) when they go back through your transaction history. That is if the TL system keeps track of denied authorizations.

FWIW, I’ve had a number of instances where the card has read already validated (e.x. walked out of the paid area to help a tourist at Powell) and not had any problem with the station agents. Likewise I’ve not had any drivers give me grief over any TL problems. It’s the luck of the draw as to whether or not you’ll get a competent driver or station agent.

I actually don’t entirely blame the drivers on this issue. Muni is their own worst enemy. Back when their financial woes first hit, management blamed their woes on fare evaders, which got us, the public, mad at drivers for allow fare evasion to go on. I’m sure that there was a conversation somewhere that was had with drivers to crack down on fare evasion, and if you combine that climate with ZERO training on Translink and idiotic design decisions (such as this double-tap issue), then you can certainly understand why everyone is on edge. But when incidents like this are routinely happening, and everything Muni does is looking inept, then who can blame the public for trying to take drastic measures in the hope of bringing about some change.

It has my vote too.

However, perhaps one of the biggest problems, the inability to actually use part-time employees is not addressed by Elsbernd’s measure. As it stands, part-timers cannot fill in for sick full-time employees. To a large extent, I don’t think that the city should be in the business of legislating a labor contract. However, if a rider advocacy group like RescueMuni were to put something on the ballot that barred some of the most egregious provisions of the current TWU contract, I’d vote for it.

@John That’s comical if only because drivers are instructed to not act as fare inspectors. Not only was he wrong about TransLink, he was wrong about how to go about his job.

…

As for Lum’s assertions of ‘labor peace’… boy I guess he really must have a short memory if he forgot the ‘wildcat strike’ back in 2005, and the threat of one in 97 (and likely a few more if one were to go back forty years).

Well, I had a little incident on Monday. In addition to sending it to the MUNI website, I sent it to Dufty, Elsbernd, and Newsom.

Within 24 hours, I had received emails from Dufty, MUNI COO Haley, TWU Chief Irwin Lum, and Elsbernd. I guess Newsom considers MUNI irrelevant in the context of the Lt Gov race.

I’m sure the fact I craftily noted the upcoming ballot initiative didn’t hurt.

http://holierthanyou.blogspot.com/2010/03/muni-twu-just-lost-my-vote.html

Also, Joseph, I really want to see some strict rules for management. They seem to continually get off. There are so many low hanging fruit that could be picked to make MUNI run faster that someone has to be held accountable for it not being implemented. But Nat just got picked up for another 4 yrs without even a slap on the wrist (unless you count his voluntary 2% pay cut one).

Work orders should have been addressed. Parking meters should have been addressed. Stop IDs should have been addressed. Bus only lanes enforcement should have been addressed. Steady funding sources should have been addressed.

Those issues are not just TWU’s to figure out, management has been absent from the scene for years.

There are some people arguing loudly that MUNI drivers are overpaid. That’s not what this is about. MUNI drivers should be paid a fair market wage. If that’s the wage they’re at now, then so be it, but that should be determined through negotiations.