EDITORIAL UNINFORMED CONSENT MTA HAUNTED BY AGREEMENT THAT IMPERILS PUBLIC TREASURY AND SAFETY.THE Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the under-used and inadequate mass transit mass transit, public transportation systems designed to move large numbers of passengers. Types and Advantages Mass transit refers to municipal or regional public shared transportation, such as buses, streetcars, and ferries, open to all on a system that nominally serves Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County, can scarcely afford to waste as much as $45,000 a week on needless overtime costs. But waste the money it does, in no small part due to that classic symbol of political cowardice Cowardice See also Boastfulness, Timidity. Acres, Bob a swaggerer lacking in courage. [Br. Lit.: The Rivals] Bobadill, Captain vainglorious braggart, vaunts achievements while rationalizing faintheartedness. [Br. Lit. : the consent decree A settlement of a lawsuit or criminal case in which a person or company agrees to take specific actions without admitting fault or guilt for the situation that led to the lawsuit. A consent decree is a settlement that is contained in a court order. . In 1996, the parent group of the self-styled Bus Riders Union sued the MTA (1) (Message Transfer Agent or Mail Transfer Agent) The store and forward part of a messaging system. See messaging system. (2) See M Technology Association. 1. (messaging) MTA - Message Transfer Agent. , claiming that the agency's construction of light-rail lines was somehow racist, as minorities are more likely to use buses, which weren't getting the same attention. But rather than stand its ground or make the necessary changes, the MTA abdicated responsibility and signed on to a consent decree, thereby placing the courts in charge of Los Angeles transit. Consent decrees are the worst form of governance - an admission that something is wrong, coupled with the refusal to take responsibility to fix it. Yet they are terribly popular among local elected officials. The Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . , Fire Department and Unified School District A unified school district is a school district which includes both primary school (kindergarten through middle school or junior high) and high school (grades 9-12). In Illinois, these districts are called unit school districts. all have consent decrees of their own. And while consent decrees are beloved among the politically weak, they have proven disastrous for the public at large. Under the terms of its consent decree, the MTA had to expand its work force by the equivalent of 100 new drivers in December. But it was unable to hire enough new drivers on time, so it had to load up its current drivers with overtime, and now, as a result, taxpayers are wasting as much as $45,000 a week on overtime costs. Worse yet, in many cases, MTA bus drivers who had already been overworked for months may now be driving more hours than is permitted under the agency's own safety regulations. So, like the various consent decrees before it, the MTA decree will have the dual effect of draining the public treasury and undermining public safety. But that's what happens when elected officials turn their backs on their jobs. |
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