They ALL Suck!

The BBQ Pit
1

So after much deliberation, I had decided to abandon my practice of driving to work, and start taking the bus. I mean, sure it’ll add to my commute time but I’ll be helping traffic congestion, our enviroment, and my wallet. (I get bus passes at a dicount from work). I got my first monthly pass on September 1. Great, right?

Well, you probably saw this coming. We are now on Day 13 of the MTA transit workers union strike. I am now one of the 500,000 Los Angelinos who are forced to find alternative transportation. [sub]I know, I’ve got a car, no great hardship, but that’s hardly the point[/sub]

The point is they’re costing me money! Or at least preventing me from saving money! Bastards! They’ve added 40 minutes onto my commute home. Traffic in the Valley, always bad, is a fucking nightmare. [sub]Oh, yeah, and a half million people can’t get to their jobs, or to the doctor, or to school, or anywhere else.[/sub]

God damn greedy power-hungry dick-headed ass-faced monkey-molesting mother-felching goons! The MTA management is whining they face a 430 million dollar deficit over the next 10 years. They’ve got to cut costs. But they just built a new MTA headquaters in downtown L.A… Cost, 500 million dollars. [sub]I’ve been there. It’s really nice. But for 500 mil, it should be![/sub]

God damn brain-dead rude-ass foul-smelling weenie-wankin’ dickweed morons! The union seems to think they’d be abused if they didn’t get at least 20k a year in overtime. They’re trying to force the Governor (who I am losing respect for) to sign a bill that would force new transit district to adopt their current, wasteful, costly rules.

I can’t side with either of them. They should be harshly punished. MTA management should be forced to ride those skanky-assed busses, while the union people are forced to wait at stops for hours on end like we have to.

Fuck.

2

I’ve sampled the joys of LA traffic as well as NYC, Wash DC, Philly, and other hell-holes - I’m a retired trucker. Anyone who commutes by private auto if he doesn’t have to is out of his rabid-ass mind. If I lived in a big city, I wouldn’t even bother to own a car. It’s easy enough to rent one for a weekend out of town and I wouldn’t be saddled with the year around maintainence and insurance costs of the fucking thing. Not to mention finding a safe place to park it.

It is a sad fact that public transportation everywhere is not what it could be. Efficent, dependable and reasonably priced bus / rail service would go a long way toward cleaning up not only the traffic problems, but the nearly unbreathable air found in so many places. Not to mention cutting traffic deaths radically.

But of course, there’s always the problem of getting automobile-fetish idiots to use it.

3

Amen.

I live in Honolulu, where a bus strike was narrowly averted this past weekend. My guess is that the union here was inspired by the MTA in LA. The contract negotiations must have been really hard on the poor transit employees; it’s the only explanation I can come up with for the shitty service we’ve had all week.

I’ve made the commute to town twice so far this week; both times, I’ve had to wait at the bus stop for 45 minutes longer than usual. The damned bus is supposed to come every half hour. Did I mention that there’s also major construction going on less than 30 feet from the bus stop bench? It’s a lot fun standing in the middle of red dirt dust clouds and nearly being run over by homicidal tractor drivers.

Anyway, both days I arrived at my transfer point too late to catch my connecting bus to the university. Now, if I was just a student in my classes, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. I’d probably just ditch class that day. But I’m the instructor. I have to be there on time. Ditching is definitely not an option. Both days, I was forced to call a cab in order to make it to school on time.

That’s fifty bucks I now do not have because of someone else’s stupidity and short-sightedness.

I’ve been riding the bus since I was 12 (not continuously, although it certainly feels like it), and I cannot remember a time when the “service” was so bad. If you could teach a bunch of monkeys to drive, they’d do a better job than the clowns we call drivers are doing now.

One final bit of irony: according to the prominently-displayed banners on every bus, and the massive sign adorning the main transit facility, our bus system was declared “America’s Best Transit System” for 2000-20001. Right. I’m so proud.

4

Damn, those are some optomistic people.

5

To be fair, it’s not like the Union is exactly being helpful. I heard a news report last night that the Union hasn’t even presented the MTA with a list of what they want. In short, them Union workers are striking for the sake of striking.

Doesn’t mean the MTA management is composed of angels, though. Just means there’s idjits on both sides, me bucko. :smiley:

6

I’ve driven in L.A., and did I understand you-- It could get even worse?

My condolences, dude.

Makes you think about building a go-cart and zipping to work down the alleys and side streets.

7

The Los Angeles MTA strike is now entering it’s 23rd day! Fucking morons! I don’t get it. The big issue has already been resolved (when the Gov signed a bill insuring that if a new transit district is created, the union contract will apply.) That was 7 days ago.

The little issues can’t be resolved in a fucking week??? Christ, traffic is a nightmare. Gas is up to $1.75 a gallon. My car is about expire! I swear, I want to go to the pickett lines and toss rotton fruit at these pukes! But, I need to find a place where I can hit Union and management!

Fucks!

8

Now entering day **26[/]! I’m starting to doubt that the buses will ever run again.

Where the fuck is the Governor? Why aint his ass down here trying to settle this thing? And I voted for this nimrod!

9

I hear ya, spooje. The county employees have just walked off the job, including the librarians. Fortunately for me, I do my posting at a city-run library. If they go on strike (not that they’ve been threatening to), I may borrow a friend’s Web-TV. I’ve done so before when I had insomnia.

10

Spooje, I know it’s ugly.

After years of being the ugly red-headed step-child of other cities with real transit systems, LA decides to revamp the MTA and build all these light-rail lines (BTW, whose bright idea was it to build underground in earthquake central?).

Gee, workin’ really well guys, what the hell will you do for an encore?

My apologies to Ed Begley Jr., but I will never use public transit in LA. It’s dirty, dangerous and a pain in the ass.

11

The working poor and retired poor of L. A. have now been held hostage for 28 days. As this article from the L. A. Times makes clear, that’s exactly why the strike has endured so long. When something affects only the powerless, the powerful have no incentive to do anything about it.

And some people wonder why I’m sometimes so misanthropic. The well-off citizens of Los Angeles do not care one whit about the impoverished. There are those who help the unfortunate, but they are in the minority.

I hope gasoline goes up to $4 a gallon. I bet more people would ride the buses then.

12

The MTA strike, now in it’s 30th fun filled day, affects not only the buses, but also the rails. The subway, though frighteningly ill-concieved and dangerous, has proved very popular.(All subways go downtown, and downtown is served by DASH buses, which are not operated by the MTA) So much so that the North Hollywood station, which has been open for less than 6 months, is already in a parking crisis.
It’s not that the people of L.A. are oblivious to enviromental concerns or the horrendous freeway and street traffic. The biggest reason people do not ride the busses is (and this is WAG) that the bus system SUCKS! It really fucking sucks! It’s the worst bus system in the fucking whole wide fucking world! I’m pissed off because I’m being denied something that bites! That is soooooo lame.
We need the busses in this city. But we need a much better system, better drivers, and better management. So, when the strike is over, we’ll only be a little better off. Next election, I’m voting Anti-incumbant. [sub]I just know I’m spelling that word wrong.[/sub]

13

According to the stories in today’s Times, the MTA saved money during the strike! No wonder they dragged their feet! No wonder they made offers they knew the drivers’ union would reject! Naturally, they deny dragging the strike out, but the MTA has zero credibility now. Like the boy who cried wolf, no one will believe them even when they tell the truth.

I have never before heard of a company, public or private, that actually benefitted from a strike! Never!

14

spooje,

Have you checked out the Commuter Express bus lines throughout The Valley? They aren’t MTA, so I’m pretty sure they’re operating. MUCH cleaner and all-around nicer than MTA buses with a lot less stops.

Do a web search and check 'em out.

15

The strike is nearly over. If the drivers ratify the new agreement, the buses should roll tomorrow and the trains should run on Thursday and we’ll be back to the lousy service to which we are accustomed. SIGH

I guess Jesse Jackson is good for something after all.

16

Yes, those are running. But they run small routes, not going across the whole valley. ( and none of them run in My area)

However, I will not be complaining about this anymore, because…It’s over, it’s all over!!!They signed the new contract. The busses will be running tommorow!!!

17

Why the hell didn’t the bolding work?

18

spooje

Take a look at the coding in that post. You accidentally enclosed the “It’s over!” part inside two [/ ] thingies. Found out about this coding quirk the hard way myself.

Glad to hear your busses will be back up tomorrow. That’s great news. :slight_smile:

As for me, well, I’m going to have to start leaving my house three hours early (instead of just two) if I want to make it to class on time…

19

I read something odd in today’s story: 450,000 people, on average, use MTA every day. There are 4,400 bus drivers and train operators, or one MTA driver/operator for every 102 passengers.

Does that seem like a good ratio to you? If there were more passengers per driver, wouldn’t the MTA make more money? I wonder what the passenger/operator ratio is in, say, N.Y.C. or Chicago…?

And if that is a poor ratio, how do we get more people to ride? (If there were more riders, they could afford to improve the service.)

20

People who go from cars to busses soon enough learn to go back. A bus is the worst of all worlds. Unreliable, walking on both ends of the trip, not being able to bring what you want with you because of size or weight, getting stranded when you stay late and the bus goes to once/hour and you miss it. Having to walk in the rain and snow and wait in the cold.
But then, I don’t drive, so I have to.