MTA created SBS off board fare collection, which led to massive fare evasion, fare evasion led to expansion of 100 new Eagle Team employees at $55k-$80k per year. What is going on here?!
Questions need to be asked of the MTA as to why there is never accountability for there blatant errors in managing the agency we all work for.
It’s a fact that the MTA in their divine wisdom created the SBS off board fare collection and one free bus route in each Boro. No employee with common sense in the Department of Buses ever thought for one second that these were good ideas. We all knew these were terrible ideas but like children, sometimes they need to learn the hard way. The difference is that the MTA’s blunders cost everyone in the City and State millions of dollars. And that’s what happened again. In August of 2024 Governor Hochul budget authorized the hiring of an additional 100 Eagle Team employees to get fare evasion under control. So not only did the MTA lose $315 Million on bus fare evasion they are spending millions to fix it without eliminating the off board fare collection.
Eagle Team employees are paid roughly between $55K-$80K per year, that’s $8 Millions dollars.
In 2025 we will see the elimination of 10 Road Dispatcher jobs, for the MTA to try and save $1 Million.
These are a couple of horrendously bad decisions that have taken place right out in the public.
Is there more of this going on that the public is never made aware of? You sure as hell better believe there is!
Philip Valenti, President
