MTA Set To Surpass Overtime Reduction Goals

If you ask many different people, what area the MTA could really do with reducing costs in, you are bound to get various answers. I can guarantee that one of the most popular ones will be overtime which has seen the abuse of it become a major issue in recent time.

When the much maligned transit agency set out to reduce costs, overtime was one of the areas they heavily targeted as they set financial reduction goals. Earlier today, they announced that they are set to surpass their 2010 reduction cost goals. First, here is a brief statement:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that it expects to reduce 2010 overtime expenses by $54 million compared with 2009 costs, an 11 percent reduction.

Reducing unnecessary overtime has been a priority of the MTA as it looks to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The agency’s 2010 budget addressed the issue with a $24 million reduction. That projection was revised in May to reflect a more aggressive approach, with an additional $22 million savings anticipated. Today officials announced that even that increased target will be exceeded, with a total of $54 million saved compared to 2009.

“Reducing overtime is a key part of our efforts to use every fare and taxpayer dollar wisely, and I am pleased that we have been able to achieve real results in just a few months,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Jay H. Walder. “We have a lot of work still to do, but we’ve shown that by focusing in key areas we can earn critically needed savings across our agencies.”

The savings result from a host of changes to policies and operating procedures. New York City Transit is projected to save $24 million by identifying the workplaces with highest levels of sick leave, limiting overtime only to critical activities like safety inspections and air conditioning maintenance, and filling critical vacancies that were creating a high need for overtime.

The Long Island Rail Road is projected to save $13 million and Metro-North Railroad is projected to save $3 million from a lower base. The railroads are more closely monitoring overtime assigned to the top 20 overtime earners at each railroad, beginning daily tracking of “hot spot” departments accruing large amounts of overtime, and modifying businesses practices to rebalance workloads with a renewed focus on reducing overtime expenses.

MTA Bridges and Tunnels is projected to save $5 million. Bridges and Tunnels is expanding the use of seasonal employees at the Gil Hodges Memorial Marine Parkway Bridge and Cross Bay Bridge, requiring managerial pre-approval of all overtime, and prohibiting operations personnel from working during vacations, among other actions.

Now here are more details from the press release:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that it expects to reduce 2010 overtime expenses by $54 million compared with 2009 costs, an 11 percent reduction.

Reducing unnecessary overtime has been a priority of the MTA as it looks to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The agency’s 2010 budget addressed the issue with a $24 million reduction. That projection was revised in May to reflect a more aggressive approach, with an additional $22 million savings anticipated. Today officials announced that even that increased target will be exceeded, with a total of $54 million saved compared to 2009.

“Reducing overtime is a key part of our efforts to use every fare and taxpayer dollar wisely, and I am pleased that we have been able to achieve real results in just a few months,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Jay H. Walder. “We have a lot of work still to do, but we’ve shown that by focusing in key areas we can earn critically needed savings across our agencies.”

The savings result from a host of changes to policies and operating procedures. New York City Transit is projected to save $24 million by identifying the workplaces with highest levels of sick leave, limiting overtime only to critical activities like safety inspections and air conditioning maintenance, and filling critical vacancies that were creating a high need for overtime.

The Long Island Rail Road is projected to save $13 million and Metro-North Railroad is projected to save $3 million from a lower base. The railroads are more closely monitoring overtime assigned to the top 20 overtime earners at each railroad, beginning daily tracking of “hot spot” departments accruing large amounts of overtime, and modifying businesses practices to rebalance workloads with a renewed focus on reducing overtime expenses.

MTA Bridges and Tunnels is projected to save $5 million. Bridges and Tunnels is expanding the use of seasonal employees at the Gil Hodges Memorial Marine Parkway Bridge and Cross Bay Bridge, requiring managerial pre-approval of all overtime, and prohibiting operations personnel from working during vacations, among other actions.

In a time where most news about the agency is not good, it is refreshing to see that cost cutting measures put into place are exceeding expectations. Hopefully they can continue to exceed expectations with overtime & it passes on down to other areas. While average riders won’t see the big deal about this news as it does not provide immediate visual benefit, it is definitely a step in the right direction for the agency.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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