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Around Town
It's well-known around town that the CTA needs money something fierce and is looking everywhere to find some money. It won't come from a second fare hike this year, as last week the CTA said they wouldn't be doing that. $1.4 billion is due from the federal government later this year but the CTA itself says it needs $7 billion to get itself fully up to speed (which we're sure all that Olympic cash would totally fix, right?). CTA President Richard Rodriguez has even said he's going to put an end to the free company cars that nearly 70 CTA employees take advantage of, including himself, as a means to cut spending. But where does all this money go? How much does it cost to run the CTA? The Sun-Times offers up this pretty nifty interactive graphic which shows you how costs break down for the agency. [h/t Windy Citizen]
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Where the F are the new blue line cars?
That Sun-Times graphic was an eye-opener...a.) because the Sun-Times had actually come up with something worth looking at and b.) just seeing how much a turnstile costs. $100,000! For a fucking turnstile!
It just goes to show you the problem with government contracted construction builds. There is NO WAY an elevator should cost 2 million dollars. I mean no way at all.
No kidding. And $100K for a turnstile? Really?
I was about to say the same thing regarding the $2.3 million escalators. For that kind of money, you'd think they would keep running for more than a few days at a time.
Neat graphic. If you want to see all the prices in one shot, here they are:
BUS:
$2,200,000: Tires
$848,000: Hybrid Articulated Bus
$625,000: Hybrid 40-foot Bus
$8,750: Transmission replacement parts (on bus)
$2,845: Radiator rebuild (on bus)
TRAINS AND STATIONS:
$7.5 to $60 million: viaduct
$20,000,000: Substation Replacement
$13,000,000: Elevated Track Repair Per Mile
$10,000,000: Subway Track Repair Per Mile
$2,500,000: Auxiliary Entrance/Exit
$2,300,000: Esacalator
$2,000,000: Elevator
$1,800,000: Rail car
$100,000: High Barrier Gate Turnstile Unit
$100,000: Farecard Vending Machine
$90,000: ADA Turnstile Unit
$52,500: Single Turnstile Unit
$2,400: Rail Car Couplers
$924: Blower to cool motor (on train)
WORKERS:
$40.25: Iron Worker Hourly
$32.13: Lineman or Signal Maintainer Hourly
$27.68: Bus Driver Hourly
$27.68: Rail Car Operator Hourly
$20.83: Trackman Hourly
Does anyone know if those hourly pay rates are wages or wages + cash equivalent of benefits? The latter would make more sense from a CTA cost standpoint....
I wondered the same thing. If these are the straight wages...I can't help but think they could get equally qualified people for half the rate.
I'm all for living wages but it pains me a bit to know that I could've skipped college and the loans that went with it and made about the same amount of money driving a bus. Not to mention I'd have a better retirement plan!
$27.68 an hour for a bus driver! I'll never doubt the effectiveness of unions in getting their employees more than they deserve again. And to think this doesn't even include benefits. They could offer the job at $9 an hour and find people to fill it.
If they need a way to save money, there it is. Too bad they'll never negotiate with the union on equal terms, and everyone will be paying $2.75 a ride by next year.
Do you actually think someone will put the time and effort into getting a CDL for $9 an hour when they could go to a commercial trucking company and get at least 4 times that? I do not want someone making $9 an hour driving 60 people around town in a 20 ton bus.
$9 an hour, really? You know, hyperbole doesn't go very far when trying to convince others of your viewpoint.
I looked up some quick-and-dirty numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The numbers might be a little off, but I'll assume all errors are skewed in the same direction.
Nationally, the average intercity bus driver makes $17.16 an hour, or $35,700 a year. The average full-time Chicago bus driver makes $25.14, or $45,732 a year (I'm thinking the discrepancy with the Sun Times numbers are due to their factoring in over-time? maybe Pace vs. CTA).
Realistically, we should expect at least 10% over the national average due to Chicago's higher cost of living, making the average "market rate" for bus drivers $39,270. Thus, CTA bus drivers get $45,732 - $39,270 = $6462 above their peers. That's still a pretty decent chunk of change, and probably due to those with greatest seniority having received guaranteed raises over their career.
Another quick bit of math: also according to the BLS, there are 6750 bus drivers in the Chicago metro (don't know how many are part-time or with Pace). 6750 x 6462 = $43.6M in savings annually if bus drivers were pegged down to "market rate". It would exactly fix the CTA's running deficit, but it would certainly provide breathing room.
"Realistically, we should expect at least 10% over the national average"
Small towns do not have much of a public transportation system. I'm pretty sure national average is weighted pretty heavy toward big cities already.
A fucking escalator costs more than a train car?! How is that even possible? And I can't believe how much repair costs per mile
Really? Have we reached the point where earning $45k a year for a thankless, monotonous and occasionally dangerous job becomes the object of scorn and derision? Why is it that "everyone but me" should accept pittance for their work and fucking like it?
My problem is not with the bus drivers but with their employer. In its current financial condition paying the drivers more than market rate is a luxury that the CTA can't afford and shouldn't be doing.
That and the $2 million elevators.
Does anyone know if the escalators are made of gold?
Without getting into specifics, at an old job I installed turnstiles at a park. Automated, able to scan any barcode, centralized servers, handling upwards of 1000s of people per hour. With biometric authentication.
Total cost - 10K per unit.
We're getting scammed, BIG TIME.
Why are there flat screen TVs at the Logan Square station?
Furthermore, why was I waiting 20 minutes for the #3 bus on Michigan Ave, only to have 3 of them show up all at once this afternoon?
Flat screen TVs = advertising revenue
wating? *shrug* It happens. Vehicles that travel in traffic are subject to... traffic.
I guess my question is with this entire graphic, because it doesn't appear they're representing everything equally and they don't source where they got the information.
Specifically, it displays "Tires - $2,200,000". Now, I'm guessing they mean that amount in an entire year, because I doubt anyone would believe the CTA is paying that per tire. Well with that in mind, does that mean the $2.3 million for escalators or $100k for turnstiles (which everyone seems to be riled up about) is per year, or per unit.
The graphic may be nice to look at and roll our mouse over but it doesn't explain itself very well. But screw the details, let's all jump to conclusions and assume we're getting screwed. :)