Straphangers late for work because of transit delays can utilize a little-known MTA program to help them prove to skeptical bosses that their excuse is legit. The agency's New York City Transit division issues the equivalent of a doctor's note for tardy riders - at the rate of 34,000 a year.
Passengers can call one of the MTA's 80 customer-service agents at (718) 330-1234 to request a delay-verification letter. And soon obtaining one will get even easier with an online version.
It currently takes one to two weeks to receive an official note by mail.
By mid-2009, however, the MTA expects to have an online request form that riders can fill out. MTA reps will still research the delay but issue paperless notes.
EXCUSES, EXCUSES!
16 comments:
They have this already in Japan.
But the Japanese are "boringly" non-diverse, and have a consensus based culture.
Subway delay notes is a system ready for abuse by the diverse masses of "Americans".
Yes, but in Japan the trains run like clockwork. So when one really IS late, it can foul up schedules. Not so for the MTA.
But thank you, Wade, for once again reminding us that ANY STORY can be demonstrated to truly be about the evils of diversity in America.
Yes, but in Japan the trains run like clockwork.
Ya think Japan's homogeneity might have something to do with that? You don't see people holding train doors in Tokyo, nor do you see trash thrown about the cars, or dirty bums sleeping on the seats.
But thank you, Wade, for once again reminding us that ANY STORY can be demonstrated to truly be about the evils of diversity in America.
No problem. If you prefer constant stories about how wonderful diversity is, see here:
http://www.nytimes.com
Ya think Japan's homogeneity might have something to do with that?
I love it, Japan... all you furner-haters are reading the same books.
Look, as much as you'd like things to be that black and white, they aren't. Racial "homogeneity"* may play a small part, but even more relevant is the long history of suppressing individual impulses - going along to get along on a small island nation. Of course a good work ethic doesn't hurt, either.
You don't see people holding train doors in Tokyo, nor do you see trash thrown about the cars, or dirty bums sleeping on the seats.
Been there lately? Trust me, things are changing as America exports the bad with the good. Rugged individualism + McDonalds = trash on train platforms and in train cars. For sleeping bums, check outside any major train station, or in any public park, or...
*Japanese have their own tensions with racial minorities. Search for Ainu in your reference of choice, and keep in mind that they once inhabited more of Japan than just Hokkaido.
Been there lately? Trust me, things are changing as America exports the bad with the good. Rugged individualism + McDonalds = trash on train platforms and in train cars. For sleeping bums, check outside any major train station, or in any public park, or...
I LIVED there from 1998-2004, in Tokyo. Have YOU been there in the last 4 years?
As for your lame thesis - I never claimed that Japan is some sort of Utopia, as opposed to those on this board who think recreating India's hundreds of languages, various religions, racial clasification and caste system in the United States is some sort of Utopia.
But you like to have your cake AND eat it too. You ignore or skip over some of Japan's advantages (consensus culture, homogeneity, politeness, manners), and you simply blame all its faults on - Who else? AMERICA!!! AND MCDONALDS!!!
I worked for the Japanese for seven years.
I learned to respect them, and discovered a secret: they envy us.
Why?
Our creativity and imagination. They are bound by a host of rules and regulations that will forever make them 'alsos'.
Wade, have you ever read the Ecomomist? They did an interesting piece in that past month on urban homeless in Japan.
Started up after the economic meltdown in the 90s. Now the employee safety net is melting just like in the US.
But you should know that.
Afterall, you lived there during that time. Right?
Wade, have you ever read the Ecomomist? They did an interesting piece in that past month on urban homeless in Japan.
Wow, trying to bait me with this one? If I say "NO", then I've sprung your trap, and you can therefore assume I'm a rube because I haven't read The Economist?
Of course I've read the Economist, it's one of the better periodicals around. I don't read it religiously anymore, since it's quite expensive, and I don't have the benefit of getting a free copy like I did previously. Occasionally I visit the web site, and read the free articles.
Started up after the economic meltdown in the 90s. Now the employee safety net is melting just like in the US.
But you should know that.
Afterall, you lived there during that time. Right?
What's your point? Life is full of risks. Simply waking up in the morning can be dangerous. Most calls to ambulance squads for suspected heart attacks occur between 8 AM and 11 AM in the morning. Should we ban waking up in the morning, and stay in bed instead?
Since the "employee safety net" is melting in both the U.S. and Japan as you state, what do you propose? Should government step in and create a "nanny state" and protect us from unemployment, create a national health care, intrude into every facet of our lives by banning smoking, high fat foods, limit our salt intake, impose speech codes, etc. etc.?
That system was also tried in the former Soviet Union, and a few other Eastern European countries. It's on it's last legs in North Korea, China, and Cuba also. But it's making a comeback in Venezuela, and even in the U.S.
But you should know that, you read the Economist.
I LIVED there from 1998-2004, in Tokyo. Have YOU been there in the last 4 years?
Yes, your pompousness.
I lived there '97-'98, then again from 2001-2005, in Tokyo. And yes, I have been back there twice in the past three years. So I'm just as entitled as you to pontificate.
As for your lame thesis... But you like to have your cake AND eat it too. You ignore or skip over some of Japan's advantages (consensus culture, homogeneity, politeness, manners), and you simply blame all its faults on - Who else? AMERICA!!! AND MCDONALDS!!!
My lame thesis? Wade, I would love to meet you so I could smack your snarky little mouth one time good.
Look, I'm fully aware there are two sides to the coin. I wasn't overlooking them, just reminding you since you consistently ignore the advantages of diversity. And my rhetorical stab at McDonalds, well... I don't hear you arguing with me on that.
Trust me, Japan holds a dear space in my heart. Half of my family lives there, after all. But, as you should know, the consensus culture, surface politeness and clockwork train system come with a dark side - oppressive conformity and a culture that tends to turn a blind eye to homelessness and other social problems.
So who wants to have their cake and eat it too?
I would love to meet you so I could smack your snarky little mouth one time good.
You don't have the intestinal fortitude to do such a thing.
I have a pretty good idea of what you probably look like. You're probably along the mold of 90% of the white nerd gaijin wimps walking around the streets of Tokyo. You probably rate a "3" in the US on a scale of 1-10 in terms of looks, but in Japan you rate a "6" since Japanese women have low standards and will take any gaijin doofus such as you. You're the type that couldn't get a girlfriend in the States if he paid money!
Loser. Go back to reading your manga and wanking off to your Morning Musume CD covers! Baka!
I have a pretty good idea of what you probably look like. You're probably along the mold of 90% of the white nerd gaijin wimps walking around the streets of Tokyo... Loser. Go back to reading your manga and wanking off to your Morning Musume CD covers! Baka!
Wow, Wade. Wrong on all counts (except I'm white, and probably lean toward the nerd side of the continuum). I'm sure you're used to the feeling.
Did you, by the way, learn in your six years teaching English to grade schoolers to speak any more Japanese than "baka"?
The one point I really wanted to get across to you is that you can't consistently and narrow-mindedly bash diversity in America AND THEN hold up Japan as a model, citing only the well-known national efficiency, without also acknowledging the price at which that efficiency comes. A little intellectual honesty goes a long way, my boy.
But you're too easily distracted from issue-related points by the temptation to make canned ad hominem attacks. I'm disappointed.
Did you, by the way, learn in your six years teaching English to grade schoolers to speak any more Japanese than "baka"?
Didn't teach English. I'm not that proficient in Japanese, as I traveled throughout Asia most of the time.
But I do know a few words other than "baka", and I sure as hell know who my "onna no ko" is - YOU!!!
you can't consistently and narrow-mindedly bash diversity in America AND THEN hold up Japan as a model, citing only the well-known national efficiency, without also acknowledging the price at which that efficiency comes. A little intellectual honesty goes a long way, my boy.
But it's OK for you and others on this blog to consistently wave your diversity pom poms, while simultaneously ignoring the benefits of homogeneity, and then screaming "RACISM" at anyone even remotely critically of the cult of multiculturalism/diversity?
Indeed. A little intellectual honesty sure does go a long way, my girl.
Wade, we thought you are a 'girl', too.
I doubt if you rifle through trash bags on your Upper East Side digs for copies of the Economist.
I'm not that proficient in Japanese...
I figured, as most Americans who spend years in Tokyo aren't proficient in Japanese. And yet, without the most basic tool to understand the Japanese mind, you profess here to have a grasp on their culture. Poser.
But it's OK for you and others on this blog to consistently wave your diversity pom poms, while simultaneously ignoring the benefits of homogeneity...
Let's overlook the fact that you, Wade, and many others on this blog similarly wave your anti-diversity pom poms. We're all Americans, just cheering for different teams.
But this brings us back to your implication that the beautiful, beautiful homogeneity of the Japanese is singularly responsible for their superior train service. -> To which I replied that their work ethic and long national history of suppressing individualism deserves just as much credit. -> To which you replied my thesis was lame.
Okay, you don't understand the local language, and obviously aren't familiar with their history, and your sole refutation to my attempt at dialogue is that my words are "lame." Typical Wade Nichols.
So, would you like to return to the discussion like a man, or continue wishing I were your onna no ko?
And yet, without the most basic tool to understand the Japanese mind, you profess here to have a grasp on their culture.
To which I replied that their work ethic and long national history of suppressing individualism deserves just as much credit.
So, the fact that you speak the language gives you insight into the inner workings of the Tokyo transporation system?
And, if you're going to bring up: work ethic, national history, and individualism, you might as well cite your credentials in: sociology, Japanese history (a degree perhaps?), anthropology? Maybe the extensive thesis you've written on group conformity for your anthropology PhD?
Just because you may happen to be married to some naive Japanese broad who overlooked your obvious dork traits, have read a couple more Alex Kerr books than I have, and own a large collection of Mini Moni CDs doesn't make you an "expert".
So, the fact that you speak the language gives you insight into the inner workings of the Tokyo transporation system?
Oh, touche.
Remember... it was you, Wade, who cited your few years in Japan as YOUR expertise. Even though you never bothered to learn the language (Bushian lack of curiosity?) and were flitting about "Asia" the whole time. Being fluent in the language does, however, give me an understanding of the country and the people you will never have.
Besides, we were never discussing the "inner workings of the Tokyo transportation system." We were talking about trains running on time, which you attributed to homogeneity. Since you refuse to address issues of work ethic and suppression of individualism, let's play make-believe with your simpleminded concept of homogeneity. Let's visualize for a moment your fantasy America - all white, all black, all latino, whatever. Do you really imagine the subway operators would be more motivated to run on schedule, the cars and platforms would be spotless, and nobody would slow things down by holding doors?
Wade, step out of your bubble and ride the subways in your city for a day or two and your eyes will be opened - no race or creed monopolizes laziness, littering, or door-holding.
And, if you're going to bring up: work ethic, national history, and individualism, you might as well cite your credentials in...
Wade, you are a chihuahua backed into a corner and you don't know when to stop yipping.
Look, I'm not going to play your game. Unless, of course, you're willing to "man up" for once and reveal your credentials. Suffice it to say I'm well-read and know what I'm talking about in this case, and you obviously don't. If you knew anything - ANYTHING - about Japan, you would recognize the common themes of work ethic and "deru kui-wa utareru."
Just because you may happen to be married to some naive Japanese broad
You're going to dis my wife now? What a small, small boy you are, Wade Nichols.
I'm pretty sure it's just you and me lurking on this thread at this point, but I really wish there was an audience to see how you've been reduced to frivolous attacks on my woman.
I give up. If you really want to win this argument like you win any other, it's all yours - you have been the most loud and obnoxious.
I consistently tried to address your points and refute them with my own, and you consistently have followed the Republican PR manual's first principle of refusing to acknowledge any point you can't respond to.
...have read a couple more Alex Kerr books than I have, and own a large collection of Mini Moni CDs doesn't make you an "expert".
You're growing incoherent. I don't even know who Alex Kerr is. Try citing a few Japanese authors.
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