Booth Closings in NYC
The New York MTA is under fire for a plan to close 160 token booths in 2005, according to a Newsday.com report. There is hightened concern that emergency responders may not be able to reach people on the platforms if there is no one available to open the booth. A man was shot in a Chelsea station over the weekend and police officers and EMTs had to borrow MetroCards from passengers to get through a full-height turnstile to reach the platform. The victim later died of his wounds. Not all police officers are given MetroCards -- only those who are assigned to the transit bureau has them.
The question of closing booths is a major one for NYC, which has routinely come under fire for anything involving the cutting of active staff. Often these concerns are wrapped in the language of "safety", even when there are few safety concerns at hand (such as the automation of the L train). To be fair, however, there should be concerns about having completely unstaffed stops in the New York City subway (or any subway, for that matter), as remote-staffed facilities do not offer any crime deterrent. It's like asking people to walk into a dark alley late at night because it's the only way to get to their house. The question, then, is balance - how to balance the cost savings of cutting booth managers with the necessity of always having someone onsite at a subway stop.
Post Author:
amg | 3:30 PM |
Link
|
TrackBacks
