TWU Driver: Dollar Vans A Nuisance and a Hazard; Costing 'Transit' Revenue

Over the course of one green light at the intersection of Flatbush and Nostrand Aves. in Brooklyn, New York City Transit Bus Operator Tommy McNally can spot half a dozen dollar vans, which pick up passengers along bus routes. Some of them are operating without Taxi and Limousine Commission plates, and he claimed he saw many from out of state.

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James MORE VANS COULD MEAN MORE DANGER: New York City Transit Bus Operator Thomas McNally believed that if the agency cuts more service, both legal and illegal van services will continue along Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn, which he said would pose a safety problem to workers and passengers.

They are somewhat less popular than they were in the 1980s and '90s, he said, but with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority threatening to cut service and raise fares, Mr. McNally expects to see more, to the detriment of his fellow Bus Operators.

Poaching Riders

The drivers, who often cruise Flatbush and Utica Aves. as well as in the Jamaica section of Queens, are a safety problem for Bus Operators because they speed across lanes in front of buses to pick up passenger on the sidewalks. There are actually several types of van services, but even among the legal ones there are operators who unlawfully pick up passengers waiting at bus stops.

"When a car service or the van stops to pick people up, all of sudden the bus has to make an abrupt stop," explained Mr. McNally, who is based at the Ulmer Park Depot. "It's a safety issue because you have to apply the brakes sometimes harder than you want to, because these guys are stopping when you're not ready for them to stop, and also they pull into bus stops and you either have to wait for them leave, which causes a delay in service, or you got to pull up on the side of them. And then your right side is open, and you've got to worry about them squeezing through, maybe hitting somebody."

It is something he's encountered several times. Two years ago, a dollar van cut him off in order to make a pick-up, causing him to hit the brakes so hard that three old women fell to the ground, two with serious-enough injuries to sue NYC Transit. Mr. McNally wasn't able to get the van's plate number. He was disciplined for the accident, and he believes many other workers have been reprimanded for delays and accidents.

Costing System Money

More than that, every rider who opts for a van instead of a bus represents a loss of potential revenue for a public authority that is deeply in need of it. Those are dollars Mr. McNally believes could flow down to workers' paychecks.

"This illegal transit service is siphoning money from the MTA and from the workers," he said.

Former Transport Workers Union Local 100 T/A Surface Vice President Bill Pelletier said the union was able to pressure NYC Transit and the city to be more aggressive against illegal van services during the Dinkins administration. The van fleet was a nuisance to Bus Operators, but felonious drivers were a bigger problem for public safety, as one woman who entered a dollar van was allegedly raped by a driver and a group of Christmas shoppers had their gifts stolen, he recalled.

But the union today has kept quiet on the issue. Mr. McNally speculated that Local 100 President Roger Toussaint, who is originally from Trinidad and Tobago, might be reluctant to press the issue because many of the van operators are also Caribbean immigrants.

"When he goes to his next cocktail party, I don't think he wants to be looked at as the guy who's shutting down his own countrymen," he said.

Spokesmen for Mr. Toussaint declined to comment.

Vans Fill the Void

To a large degree, dollar vans will always be in demand in that part of Brooklyn, largely because the 2 and 5 lines do not extend south of Brooklyn College, leaving commuters without a subway option, and bus operation is slower in the evening. They reach higher speeds, stop less frequently and can decline to pick up elderly and disabled passengers whom NYC Transit is obligated to serve. But the health of the economy is also a factor.

"When the price of gas went up to four dollars a gallon, I saw [fewer] dollar cars," Mr. McNally said. "But now that the price is back down to two fifty a gallon, they're starting to come out again."

The issue has come before the City Council, with legislators agreeing that there is a lack of proper regulation.

"It's a legitimate concern and it's one that has compelled us to demand better enforcement against illegal van operation," said Council Transportation Committee Chair John C. Liu.

The Queens Councilman noted that both the TLC and the NYPD are responsible for the oversight but have not been rigorous in either stopping illegal van services from operating or legal services from unlawfully using bus routes. He added that the Council passed a bill last year that requires uniformed exteriors for legal van services.

"There are different levels of enforcement that are needed, all of them necessary," he said.

Urges Bus Drivers to Complain

Mr. McNally made a complaint to the TLC about a van that cut in front of him and will testify at a hearing. He believed that more Bus Operators should report activity that gets in the way of their jobs so as to pressure the Police Department, NYC Transit and the TLC to watch for illegal operators and traffic violators and take them off the road.

The only real solution, he believed, was to cut the demand by adding more bus service, saying that during rush hours buses were often packed to capacity. But with the MTA announcing a $1.2-billion budget gap, such augmented service for a part of the city that needs it now seems like a longshot.

"If they keep it downward, forget it," Mr. Pelletier said of the frequency of service, admitting that travelers would opt for dollar vans because they are cheaper and quicker than buses. "But that doesn't make it right. If it's illegal, it's illegal."