Letter to the Editor
Posted by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit
You might be surprised to know that we don’t receive a lot of letters to the editor at Mass Transit. Sure, we get the occasional crank letter (invariably handwritten so poorly it is hard to read) going off on one topic or another, but it’s not often we get well-thought-out responses to articles or discussions of critical issues in the industry.
Hence the lack of a Letters to the Editor page in the magazine.
Now with the advent of the Internet, things have picked up slightly, but even still my inbox isn’t flooded with e-mails. This blog does engender its share of responses, but I chalk that up to being able to instantly respond to something you are reading. It takes a fair amount of thought to sit down and write a letter to an editor — even more so for someone to pen an actual letter and put it in the mailbox in this day and age.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I received a well-thought-out letter from a transit industry member earlier this week. I’ve been asked to let them remain anonymous, but the letter still sparked enough interest that I wanted to comment.
Basically, the author was responding to the Operator Training article in our April/May issue. The response pointed out the importance of veteran workers in any transit agency. She happened to work in maintenance, but this could apply to anyone.
Basically, the point was that with experience comes wisdom. Knowing what a certain squeak from an engine implied to a vehicle’s transmission, knowing how to check belts and tires to make sure they are replaced before they wear out before they cause more problems. The same thing could be applied to veterans in any position in a transit authority. I have spoken with more than one veteran operator who has seen more than his or her share of problems that may arise on a bus route.
The thing is that as we look into ever more effective ways of training and educating new transit employees, we should remember that the veterans in all departments have an insight into the inner workings of their agency few others will ever have. Be sure to take advantage of these natural resources in your agency the next time you have somebody new come on board.
Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Fred,
Wouldn’t be great to believe Obama? “Obama Loves His High-speed Rail”, I think it should be Obama can surf with the best of them and when it comes to helping the system and fixing the problem he will be out to sea with our votes. Unfortunately, where his campaign funds are coming from is overwhelmingly in support of the auto industry. One day we may actually find someone not speaking out of both sides of their mouth.
On the other side of Obama we have Clinton and Mc Cain both of which would just as see Amtrak fade off into the mist.
Can we do a write in vote for Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the man who twisted arms to create Amtrak and save the rail system in this country. The senator from New York was truly a friend of the common man who depends upon a well balanced transportation system.
Maybe Mass Tranist can ask the nominees for how they propose to fix America’s dependency on foreign oil?
May 26th, 2008 at 8:03 am
Veterans in any industry are an asset.Unfortunately in todays cheap labor America,its not considered much into the equation anymore. The work force has been drained of veteran drivers, who have been pushed out of their jobs for one reason or another,being replaced by low paying no benefit workers.What employers dont seem to realize is,those inexpereienced low paying, no benefit workers,wind up costing companies millions of dollars in liability insurance because of the increase in accidents and lawsuits.The inexperience driver also doesnt stick around very long,gets frustrated and quits,costing thousands in a revolving door in retraining cost.
Even good employees get fired quickly nowadays as Employers use “Benefits” such as FMLA and Workmens Comp to “Fire” employees, instead of taking care of their employees(like back in the good ole days) who may have been injured on the job,through NO fault of their own.Its like a guillotine hanging over employees,waiting to be lowered.Then companies wonder why there is a “SHORTAGE” of VETERAN employees. They simply dont want to pay them. Well,you get what you pay for.
P.S. I know the truth doesnt get printed, even though your short on letters to the editor. This could be one reason why.Plus the Goverment,the rich and corporate America run the U.S.,while the poor are abandoned,the middle class are feeding the upper class,and the upper class are all that matters.