LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD COMMUTER COUNCIL
MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 7, 2013
A meeting of the Long Island Rail Road Commuter’s Council (LIRRCC) was convened at 4:30 p.m.on February 7, 2013 in the LIRR East Side Access Readiness Conference Room at 450 7th Avenue, 20th Floor, New York City.
The following members were present:
Gerard P. Bringmann Michael Godino
Sheila Carpenter Ira Greenberg
Owen Costello Matthew Kessler
Mark Epstein Maureen Michaels
Raymond Pagano
Via Phone:
Larry Rubinstein
The following member was absent:
Bryan Peranzo
In addition, the following persons were present:
William Henderson -PCAC Executive Director
Hector Garcia -LIRR
Joseph M. Clift -Concerned citizen
Stephen Quigley -Concerned citizen
Approval of Agenda and Minutes
The agenda for the February 7, 2013 meeting was approved. The minutes of the January 10, 2013 meeting were approved.
Chair’s Report
The Chair’s Report is attached to these minutes. Hector Garcia stated that waiting rooms in the system will be kept open over the weekend, due to forecasts of inclement weather.
Mark Epstein commented that, during the service delays due to a downed LIPA power pole, the LIRR did not offer its riders any information about alternative transportation such as the availability of regularly scheduled buses to stations on the Babylon line. Sheila Carpenter noted that there was an LIRR representative stationed at the Babylon station during this incident, but this person had no knowledge of the buses serving the station. She suggested that up-to-date bus schedules for routes serving the station should be available somewhere at the station.
Board Report
Ira Greenberg gave the Board report. He said that a presentation on East Side Access readiness was made at the Capital Program Oversight Committee. In this presentation, the planners said that they had identified possible sites for a mid-Suffolk Yard but that there has been no resolution reached on the yard’s location. Mr. Greenberg noted that there were several interesting items in the operations reports contained in the Board materials, including indications that the diesel fleet performed very well in December. He said that the LIRRCC should be concerned with the outcome of the Penn Station Gateway and Vision Study, as it will be influential in guiding the future of the facility.
Old Business
Hector Garcia said that the ADA Task Force had met and that the LIRR is working on language to expand the definition of conditions that trigger Reduced Fare eligibility. He said that a walk through of the Jamaica Station is an upcoming activity for the Task Force. Mr. Garcia said that the PCAC should send letter to the MTA requesting a change in Reduced Fare criteria, rather than have the LIRR present the change internally as had been discussed at the ADA Task Force. The question was raised whether there is anyone who wishes to represent the MNRCC in this process. Bill Henderson said no one has stepped forward so far.
Mr. Epstein said that the briefing on Hempstead development activity will be rescheduled for March or afterwards. He said that he would circulate an email with the revised schedule.
New Business
Matt Kessler raised several issues about the Inwood station. He said that the south parking lot, which generally has spaces available, requires a permit for parking. There is a sign stating the permit requirement, but no sign telling those using the station where to obtain this permit. He said that the north parking lot has no permit requirement and is generally full on weekdays. Also, Mr. Kessler noted that that people who are seeking work stand at the entrances to this lot and that this is a very dangerous place for them to stand. Finally, the station has only daily ticket machines and riders are unable to purchase commutation tickets there.
Mr. Epstein said that many of these issues that are being raised are quality of commuting issues and that the Council should be refocusing on these topics. He noted that there is now vocal support for bringing Metro-North service into Penn Station, which could greatly affect LIRR commuters. He said that the Council should start discussing a formal position on this proposal. Mr. Greenberg pointed out that the impetus behind this support is that Bronx residents want more Metro-North service and they see the opening of the East Side Access (ESA) project as an opportunity to have Metro-North move into available slots in Penn Station. Mr. Epstein said that the Council should adopt a should be a statement noting that the ESA project was in part developed to reduce congestion in Penn Station. He said that LIRR riders cannot tolerate additional services that keep Penn Station in the same state of congestion.
Maureen Michaels noted that her firm had conducted a study on the expected demand for space in areas where major new office development has been discussed. She said that expected demand for new development on the far West Side of Midtown the greatest, but that enthusiasm for more new development Downtown has cooled. Although it is the subject of much discussion, the potential for large amounts of new development in the Grand Central Terminal area was not judged to be very high.
Introduction of Vincent Tessitore, Jr., Local Chairman of Local 645 — United Transportation Union, to Discuss Ticket Collection Practices from the Crew Perspective
Mr. Tessitore introduced himself to the Council and the Council members briefly introduced themselves to him.
Mr. Epstein pointed out that there many complaints from riders and Council members centering on non-collection of tickets. Mr. Tessitore noted that much of the feedback to the LIRR and MTA on this issue comes from the LIRRCC. He said that he represents a dedicated workforce that is frustrated about ticket collection compliance issues. These workers are frustrated because the LIRR has made changes that make it difficult to collect every ticket.
Mr. Tessitore explained that the base crew on a train is composed of an Engineer, a Conductor, an Assistant Conductor and variable number of Collectors. He said that the biggest problem is manpower, and that his members regularly report these problems. He suggested that the LIRRCC request from the LIRR copies of cash reports, which regularly contain notes on those areas where fare collections are missed and the reasons that fare collection could not be completed. Mr. Tessitore said that the number of employee working on board trains is at its lowest point in ten years.
The most important responsibility of crew members is safety, ahead of ensuring on time performance and collecting fares, which is further down the list. He said that there have been 16 assaults on train personnel in the last year and that fare disputes are at record highs. Mr. Tessitore noted that NJ Transit has more collectors working on their trains and that new safety rules limit work hours for train crew members, which leads to insufficient staffing. He also said that in the new environment conductors have no discretion to resolve problems related to fares and that this makes the situation on trains more difficult. He said that because of crowding, crew members are seeing increased complaints for inappropriate physical contact as they try to move through crowded cars.
Ms. Michaels stated that she does not purchase a monthly ticket anymore because of the lack of fare collection. Larry Rubinstein pointed out that last fall he made it through two weeks of riding on a variety of trains without having his ticket collected. Ms. Michaels commented that she can show Mr. Tessitore a 10-Trip ticket that hasn’t been punched where it should have been. She said that she didn’t want to headhunt individual crews or crew members, but is at a loss as to what can solve the problem, as the LIRRCC has previously reported problems on numerous occasions.
Ms. Michaels acknowledged that most workers in the train crews do their jobs, but stated that there are some crew members who don’t pick up tickets. Mr. Tessitore said that he will not accept the premise that non-collection of tickets is because of the LIRR’s rank and file employees.
Ms. Michaels continued that she is frequently on a train for over an hour and in that time there is no collection of tickets. She again explained she did not want to headhunt individual crew members. Mr. Tessitore observed that at the LIRR there are only five workers to each manager. He noted that there are some crew members who don’t collect fares as they should, but that part of his role is to motivate workers to do their jobs. Mr. Tessitore said that when train crews are written up for non-collection of it often turns out that there are missing crew members on the train in question. He also said that he will fight for changes to crew management system.
Mr. Greenberg remarked that regardless of staffing shortages not seeing a conductor for an hour bothers him. Gerry Bringmann remarked that recently he was on the 5:09 train where the regular Conductor was on leave, and the replacement conductors stood at the end of the car and made no effort to collect tickets.
Owen Costello asked what happens when Conductors get off a train where they have not been able to complete collections. Mr. Tessitore responded that on the back of cash report, there is space for noting where ticket collections were not fully covered and the reason for the shortfall. He said that the Rail Road then tries to cover problem trains with more crew members.
Ms. Carpenter commented that in her experience the Ronkonkoma trains always get tickets collected. She said that she had experienced a situation where a female customer tried to defraud the LIRR by claiming that she had boarded at a different station and the Conductor in that car said that she would miss some ticket collections to make sure this customer was taken off the train at Jamaica. Ms. Carpenter stated that she has the conductor’s employee number so that she can send the LIRR a compliment on the handling of this situation.
Ms. Michaels said that she knows of another situation where a young female customer was put off her train late at night because she didn’t have less than a fifty dollar bill and a crew member said that he did not have change. Mr. Tessitore said that this action was inexcusable
Mr. Costello said that he disagreed with the justifications for not collecting tickets. He noted out that he and other Council members have reported collection problems previously and that the problems persist.
Mr. Tessitore said that that LIRR Chief Transportation Officer Rod Brooks forwarded to his members a letter on the importance of fare collection at a time when management was not covering forty crew jobs per day and that this made workers shut down. He said that that there are serious morale issues. Mr. Tessitore said that crew members are often not treated reasonably, and gave the example that when ticket offices are closed crew members have nowhere to turn in cash that they have collected. He noted that additional collectors that were previously provided to help inspect monthly tickets for the punch day have now been removed. At this point, conductors can either get through all of their cars and do a less thorough job, or do a good job and miss some cars. Mr. Tessitore said that where the LIRR wants to go with regard to on-board practices is not consistent with the riders’ priorities.
Mr. Rubinstein remarked that the incentive for doing a good job should be that the crew member will not be out of a job and said that when crews sit or stand in vestibules or train cabs rather than doing their jobs this is a problem. Mr. Tessitore stated that sitting or standing around rather than working is inexcusable.
Ms. Michaels noted that riders are also demoralized and that fare collection has been a problem, so the Council pursued it. She said that the reputation of LIRR workers needs to be repaired and that this issue doesn’t help the situation. Mr. Greenberg said that it may be positive for the crew for someone to report that tickets were not collected on a specific train, as this would identify an existing collection problem. He said that reporting the problem is not necessarily reporting poor performance by the crew.
Ms. Michaels wanted to know what the United Transportation Union will do about the problem. Mr. Tessitore responded that he is not making excuses for failures to collect tickets, that there are many underlying issues on fares, and the LIRR has taught its crews that fare collection is not important. He said that much of what is in the ADL book given to crews is about giving people the benefit of the doubt and that when customers lacking enough money to purchase a ticket are billed, these bills don’t get collected.
Ms. Michaels asked whether Mr. Tessitore had met with the MTA Chairman or LIRR President to talk about fare collection, to which he responded he had not. Mr. Tessitore said that the MTA believed that penalty fares would allow them to cut crew sizes. The truth is that the penalty fares caused conflict and shorter ticket validity periods made the situation worse. He said that ticket collectors are only validators and that the biggest source of complaints is the embarrassment that crew members cause the riders.
Mr. Tessitore stated that there are thirty five open disciplinary cases over the last month or two for fare collection non-compliance by crew members. He said that Ronkonkoma trains are well staffed in the crew book, and that some staffing is high because of the way that crews get to stations to meet their next assigned train. He noted that station ticket windows were the source of supplies and a place to turn in cash, but closing many of them has made the crews’ job more difficult.
Ms. Michaels asked Mr. Tessitore where he thinks the problem lies. Mr. Tessitore stated that first is morale. He said that his members received 3 percent raises when other workers were doing much better. Mr. Tessitore said that things will heat up by the end of the year, as MTA management wants its workers to accept 0 percent raises along with pension concessions. He said that the second source of the problem is management priorities. Technology is one example; LIRR management is looking to add technology rather than use conductors, yet they continue to allow changes that harm revenue such as allowing the ten trip ticket, which used to be a commutation ticket for use by one person, to be used by multiple riders on a single trip.
Mr. Rubinstein suggested that employee raises should be linked to improvements in revenue. Mr. Tessitore responded that at present his members don’t get rewarded for hard work and that at the LIRR there is too much management and not enough staff.
Mr. Tessitore stated that within the LIRR’s personnel system there is a series of “8000” and “9000” jobs; these are extra work assignments that are specifically identified to provide additional help in fare collections. The Rail Road has said that it can’t fill these positions and they are consistently not covered. For budgetary or other reasons they are not listed in the regular crew book. He said that at the same time the LIRR has taken authority away from the crew.
Mr. Tessitore pointed to the rejection of the Association of Commuter Rail Employees’ rejection of a contract with Metro-North and said that this is what happens when bad contracts are negotiated. He said that the LIRR’s open car policy is a problem, as when additional cars are opened and there are more cars than platforms, there is even more work for a crew that is sized for fewer cars. He noted that if there were three hundred additional crew members that would restore the crew roster to former levels; as it stands now, new technology is making crew members carry more weight and adding to their responsibility.
Mr. Costello wanted to know if the crew is required to wear hats. Mr. Tessitore said that they are. Mr. Epstein asked how many crew members are being hired this year. Mr. Tessitore stated that the number is 80.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
William Henderson
Executive Director