So whenever I come out to Pittsburgh I use the PDGA discount and stay at the Microtel near Robinson Town Centre. There's a killer beer bar within 2 minutes walking distance of the hotel named Bocktown Beer and Grill (http://www.bocktown.com/). Well it turns out that at the beginning of this year the Allegheny County Council enacted a 10% Alcoholic Beverage Tax for all of Allegheny County. I drank two beers and they were $6.00 each plus another $0.60 county tax!

That sucks! :mad:

Nobody uses the bus system in pittsburgh anyway, right?

I do use the bus system. now because my car is broke down, but I do anyway here and there regardless.

Im not a fan of the sales tax, and we wouldnt need it if the Port Authoirty wouldnt spend a gagillion dollars to tunnel 500 yards under a river for ONE STOP on the T. That and leaving 1.25 million in a basement collecting nothing but dust. what's interest again?

bastards.

Best thing about the sales tax, is the bars I have seen that have pictures of the people who passed the tax that say "Do not serve these people"

^^^ its like a FBI Most Wanted lineup.... Classic

:p

That's retaliation at its best
Week after that was passed, KDKA released Thee Authority's records on salaries and what not with the average bus driver being paid $99,000...the guys who go around and simply collect the money off of the buses are getting more OT and even more money. Stella know you touched on this before...everyone who works hard gets the shaft while the people who do nothing seem to get rewarded the most. Starting with the assumption that a million people are smart....smarter than one.

"average bus driver being paid $99,000"

Nowhere near the facts. From "http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_475133.html"

� The highest paid driver in 2005 received $90,762, including $41,725 in overtime.

� Seven drivers and two hourly employees grossed more than $80,000, including overtime.

� Forty-two drivers received $70,000 or more, including overtime.

� The median pay for drivers was $49,000, including overtime. In 2005, the Port Authority had 1,580 drivers on the payroll.

� No driver is budgeted to receive in 2006 a base pay higher than $46,134.

Note that it said median, not mean (not the same). But only 42 out of 1580 (or 2.6 % ) are making more than 70k.

Lets say the total cost to get a new driver (salary + benefits) is x times the actual salary for the new hire. If x is less than 1.5 then it is cheaper to hire one new person to do the extra 40 man hours of work a week. If x is greater than 1.5 then it is cheaper to have existing employees work the extra 40 (OT) man hours of work each week. Since it is probably union, the benefits are expensive. Maybe the system is inefficient (unions), but not outright giving money away. Within the confines of the union system they are probably spending less than the cost to get new hires.

Umm
http://www.wpxi.com/news/15305374/detail.html

Check it, and then tell me what you think....are you saying if you have the drive which was the basis of the newscast, given all the cuts & given their inefficiency, it won't happen again and have the majority of their drivers make close to the amount I stated next year still. The x things you said I did not bother reading.

More recent data doesn't change the issue. The one driver who is making over 100k is working about 73 hours a week.

The majority of their drivers are not making 99k, in fact ~ 3% are making over 70k. The average is nowhere near 99k.

A small fraction of them are working large amount of OT since it is cheaper to pay them time and a half (1.5 times the base wage) to work the extra hours than to pay the normal salary of a new hire + benefits to work the same hours.

/msgboard/images/graemlins/ooo.gif Good point what I thought I heard a while ago, and the actual data were far frombeing the case...an unapologetic and laconic sorry coming your way...my bad :p
I should have known a routine checkup with a doctor would have led to me being bent over getting violated and being overcharged.
But, thanks for stating what everyone already was ranting about. You said the more recent data doesn't change anything :confused: From 05'-07' the best paid "bus driver" not "rocket scientist" went from 90k to 107k,only 17k difference....guess that's no difference atall,you could probably be the new GM at the Port Authority :o!. Listen to the clip on that site, in 05' 42 drivers made 70k+, 7 made 80k+ and now in 07' 3 are making 90k+, 14-80k+ and 54 are making 70k+ :confused: More recent data means (given current trends)....if you're the GM in a couple years 6+ will be making 90k+, 21 at 80k+ and 60-70 making 70k+. Makes sense in that more taxes, more burden on taxpayers thereFORE less money for bus. owners, less money for the waiters/waitresses, less money for the distributors means that like you said ~3% of the drivers who make up .28% of the 5 counties total pop# means ~8% of the counties pop# can ride a bus, sounds good to me... :D
Go get your census and port authority facts young bull and come back :eek:

Stella know you touched on this before...everyone who works hard gets the shaft while the people who do nothing seem to get rewarded the most. Starting with the assumption that a million people are smart....smarter than one.



thus Hitman, The Decline. When the questions aren't ever asked. Reason searched and seized.


While I was going to school for computers, on off days, I used to drive a recycling truck as a part time job. btw, illegally because I had no CDL. That has to be as tough as a bus. I should go to get my CDL.... I bust mine at what most would consider to be an intellectually challenging position daily and I have no chance to make 55 g's a year, let alone 70. I also cant imagine my head hurting more when I would leave the East Liberty Bus Garage vs. leaving 875 Greentree Road now.