Riders worry as stations losing workers also lack PA systems

8/5/09 By Heather Haddon

Riders worry as stations losing workers also lack PA systems

Photo credit: (Photo by Caitlin Ragione)

Nine subway stations losing stations agents at the end of the summer don’t have public address systems, fueling fears riders will be less safe and uninformed.

“That scares the crap out of me,” said Sharon Barbour, 21, a frequent traveler from the Spring Street No. 6 station, which lacks a PA and is losing an agent.

NYC Transit is eliminating 200 station agent positions by Sept. 20, about 40 percent of the jobs, to cut millions from its strained budget. The agency intends to eventually eliminate all of the roving red-vested clerks through attrition.

Station agents roam platforms to assist straphangers with directions or emergency help. Token booth clerks also interact with the public, but they typically provide information at the booth or through a PA. More than 120 subways stations lack public address systems, according to the most recent data obtained by amNewYork.

“Without that worker, people are really defenseless,” said Emily May of New Yorkers for Safe Transit, an advocacy group protesting the cuts. “Who are they supposed to reach out to if they are assaulted or harassed?”

The MTA has promised to keep at least one clerk on duty 24 hours a day in all 468 stations. Passengers needing to contact the clerk on duty can use an intercom at any unmanned booth, a NYC Transit spokesman said.

Additionally, transit is installing PA systems in the stations that lack them, but that work won’t be finished until 2012, the spokesman said.

With the personnel cuts, the MTA will shutter 105 full-time booths, including those in busy stations like Times Square and City Hall, according to a list compiled by the union.

“I would love to see someone behind that booth,” said Ruth Hoppe, a Spring Street station rider. “I do everything with the machine, but it’s important for safety reasons.”

Stations without PA systems loosing red-vested agents:
B, C: 110th
B, D: 170th, 174th
F, G: Carroll Street
F: Flushing Ave.
No. 6: Spring Street, Cypress Ave., Longwood Ave., East 143rd

Cuts to customer information:
186: Station agent positions cut this year
105: Booths closing
65: Booths closing in Manhattan

126: Subway stations without a PA
9: Stations that are also losing a station agent
A: Subway line with the most stations lacking a PA
Source: TWU 100, NYC Transit

hhaddon@am-ny.com
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Riders worry as stations losing workers also lack PA systems

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