No End In Sight To L.A. Transit Strike

As the transit strike in Los Angeles enters its third day, 1/2 million are stranded. Is the MTA is actually making money on the strike?

1 minute read

October 16, 2003, 4:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen

"The money gap -- about $10 million a year out of a $2.7- billion MTA budget -- hardly seems like a deal-breaker. And yet, the differences are apparently deep enough that 400,000 or more people who rely on MTA buses, subways and trains spent a second day Wednesday trying to figure out how to get around without a functioning public transit system... But some wonder if the MTA isn't benefiting at least partially by the strike. Like all public transportation, its bus and train service is a money loser. Every time the agency stops service, it does not have to pay wages, or power and maintenance costs. MTA officials downplay the savings. But such longtime observers as Tom Rubin, a former finance officer at the transit agency, said the agency could come out of an extended strike with a windfall of as much as $20 million a month."

Thanks to Chris Steins

FULL STORY: Tangle of Causes Fueled Dispute

Thursday, October 16, 2003 in The Los Angeles Times

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