New York MTA Strike
 

As of 3AM, EST, the transit strike is on. Good luck new yorkers.

How awful. I have a lot of girlfriends in NYC, but as prissy as they are they probably take taxi's anyway.

Yikes! I hope this gets settled soon...I take the buses and subways everywhere when I'm in NYC. I can't imagine how I'd deal with it if the RTA went on strike out here.

If they can find one.

This will be tough, but New Yorkers are exceptionally creative people when it comes to adversity.

Its illegal in New York State for public transit workers to strike. I'm sure that Bloomburg and the MTA have already gone to court to slap a TRO, an order to go back to work, and fines on the union.

I hope this is resolved quickly.

I'm happy to say my commute was as normal as any other day! :)

I take the Metro North (commuter rail) in from the suburbs north of the city, then I walk the 12 blocks from Grand Central anyway. As of now, the Metro North workers are not joining the picket lines (different union), but they have been without a contract for 3 years, so they have said they might join the strike. We'll see.

If the Metro North doesn't run, I have to drive to my co-worker's in the Bronx and we'll all pile into a car (have to have at least 4 to enter the city) and drive in together.

One of the guys I work for lives in Brooklyn and he didn't even try to make it in. Wimp! :)

My fiancé walked over 40 blocks to work this morning. He left at 7:30. Halfway to work he stopped and ate breakfast. He arrived at work at 8:50. It was 23 degrees when he left.

My mother planned to drive to the ferry. I am not sure if the ferry disembarks near her office. If so, she's lucky. If not, she will have a long walk ahead of her.

In order to drive into Manhattan on a bridge or tunnel or drive south of 96th Street, a car, including cabs, must have 4 people in it. There are people who are driving near the bridges picking up random passengers so they can drive into Manhattan. The news showed the Brooklyn Bridge on tv, and thousands of people are walking across. There are lots of restrictions regarding which streets and avenues are reserved for emergency vehicles as well as times when cars need 4 passengers.

It really is too cold for this. I hope the strike is resolved soon. It's hurting the average workers and students trying to reach their destinations. Most people who depend on the subway and buses cannot afford to take taxi cabs or car service daily. Some of them have health problems or live so far away that walking ranges from difficult to impossible.

I'm telecommuting today. We are discouraged from telecommuting, but allowed to do so if absolutely necessary.

My company has arranged for bus service from major hubs (Grand Central, Penn Station, Port Authority) to lower Manhattan. If the strike lasts longer than a couple of days, I'll take Metro-North and take a bus. But I figure that today, NYC will be a zoo. Let 'em work the kinks out of the contingency plan - then I'll go back to the office.

I heard on the news that the fines are two days pay for every day of the strike.

ETA: aephialum, my fiancé walked passed Grand Central around 8 am. He said it was quiet and there was no traffic in the street.

They should automate the entire system and kick the morons out.

-Rudey

Is the requirement of 4 to a car a new thing? How is it enforced?

It was announced before the strike.

-Rudey

The 4 in a car thing is just for the strike. There are police or traffic officers at the entrances of the bridges and tunnels that will stop cars from getting on if there are not enough passengers. I think that 4 in the car is from 5 am to 11 am. There is very little traffic in Manhattan so it seems to be working.

Actually, I work on Park Avenue and we noticed it was PACKED around 11:30am. I think a lot of people who couldn't find 4 people for their car waited until after the time restriction and drove in then. And as I look out the window now, it's still packed. Of course, the next two avenues over - 5th and Madison - are closed for emergency vehicles use only so that's part of the reason Park is so packed. It runs North and South unlike most NY streets so there is a lot of traffic.