[PRCo] Re: Reply to B.C. statement

[Herb Brannon]

No where is this more true than in Cleveland. The current General Manager (he changed the title to Chief Executive Officer........isn't he full of himself) is a Joe Calabreese, from Syracuse, New York. That system had less than 100 buses with one garage and about 300 employees. Cleveland's system HAD 1100 buses, 75 heavy rail cars, 50 or so light rail cars, nine operating divisions (three rail/six bus), and 4000+ employees. Now thanks to Mr. Dumbass, who got in way, way over his pea-brain head, the system has dwindled to 750 buses, 50 heavy rail cars, 35 light rail cars, four operating divisions (everything crammed into two bus divisions and one rail division) and just under 3000 employees. There are now longer headway's on all services and the very large operating stations are an administrative nightmare. Many rail cars are sitting in one section of the Central Rail Facility with parts removed, windows/doors missing and body panels missing or wrecked. This is the "rail
 parts room". The same is true at bus garages. At my station, Harvard Avenue, cannibalized buses sit right in plain view of the public on the Harvard Avenue side of the giant facility. Woodhill Station (now unused) is full of non-running buses. All the money for parts, even 'warranty money' from the manufacturer of new buses, is now put in the 'General Fund'. That way the executive staff still has their $100. a plate LUNCHES, golf outings and trips to other systems (usually in warm-weather states during the Winter). Just two weeks ago one TV station ran a report on how RTA and other Cuyahoga County executives are spending the tax payers hard-earned money at upscale restaurants, hotels (why an RTA executive needs a hotel other than for immoral or illegal purposes is beyond my comprehension), and first-class air flights to the warm-weather states. Mr. Dumbass gave his standard reply, "I'm permitted to do this and it is better in the long run for our business." What business
 is he talking about.........this is a taxpayer supported agency. He also now wants to sell off the taxpayers assests without their consent. This would be unused garages, turning loops, etc. I guess funds are running low for the lunches, golf outings, and vacations...........he needs to drum up more money to waste.
   
  I need to stop writing.............I'm getting angry. Fred, we need to do something to stop this 'New World Order' nonsense. 
Boris Cefer <westinghouse at iol.cz> wrote:
  I think we are getting a little off the subject...I believe the people 
heading large transit companies do not come to carry people and improve the 
service. They come to fill they pockets and then change the company before 
it becomes too hot. Now I see they do not use experts to help them in making 
important decisions - they use experts to put on responsibility for troubles 
when these occur as a result of bad decisions. These methods have been 
recently adopted here.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Fred Schneider" 
To: 

Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2007 5:45 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Motor flashovers on PCC cars


> That would imply we have a policy and that we think. I believe,
> Boris, you are giving too much credit. Transit tends to be knee jerk
> and reactionary. It isn't policy. It's simply that we haven't
> spent the money to fix anything and now we're caught with our pants
> down so we have to downgrade the equipment to provide any service at
> all.
> 




Herb Brannon