NYC transit authority moves to track bus fleet with drones

New York City transit union leaders have expressed dissatisfaction with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's proposal to employ aerial drones to monitor its 6,000-bus fleet, describing it as a "fishy" expenditure, the New York Post reported. The MTA's Department of Buses (DOB) has sent a request to contractors seeking information on how drones could create a "real-time map" of bus locations and vehicle traffic patterns along service routes. The agency said it wants the information by Dec. 18.

The document obtained by the outlet states, "DOB wishes to address the challenges of maintaining accurate and up-to-date vehicle location tracking for both its buses parked within depot buildings and outside in uncovered parking lots.

The price of the proposed drone program is not specified in the MTA document. According to an MTA official, the city may save money as a result of the drone program. However, union leaders have spoken out against the proposal and believe the agency should be investigated for "wasting" money.

Michael Carrube, president of the 3,000-personnel Subway-Surface Supervisors Association, told The Post: "How do you accomplish something like that with a drone? What does a drone know? A drone sees a bus running down a line and what is the drone doing? It does nothing. That supervisor out in the field is what moves the system, which moves the public from point A to point B - not a drone."

"They just continue to waste money," Carrube continued. "Yet the MTA cries that they are broke. They need more money, they need more money."

President of the Transit Supervisors Organization/Transport Workers Union Local 106, said the MTA was engaging in "suspicious" behavior with its drone proposal. "To me, they're suspicious, because they get into these multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts with these vendors and they don't work out," he said.

"Every time they embark on a new piece of technology, it never works out," Valenti claimed. "It's a disaster."