http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/station-agents-begin-to-leave-the-system-sunday-1.1457621
Thursday September 17, 2009 6:46 PM By Heather Haddon
Starting Sunday, fewer red-vested station agents will roam
the subways, a safety concern for many straphangers.
“You don’t feel secure without them,” said rider Bethania
Cordero at the Manhattanville 135th Street station on the B and C lines, which
is losing the agent on the uptown side.
In an effort to save the cash-strapped agency $52 million a
year, the MTA will eliminate 772 of its 3,300 station agent posts and shutter
158 booths throughout the system. However, each station will have one token
booth clerk on duty at all times, and already, signs have been posted
throughout the system telling riders to call the on-duty clerk through an
intercom if they need help.
Union officials and straphangers said agents will be missed
most at busy transit hubs and shopping districts, where they have been known to
open doors for riders carrying packages, and at desolate stops and stations
near schools, where their presence acts as a safety measure for those
travelling late at night or for children commuting on their own.
“God forbid we find out how valuable the agents are when
someone gets hurt,” said Jonathan Beatrice, a transit union representative.
hhaddon@am-ny.com