The days of token-booth clerks are drawing to a close, Transit Authority officials said yesterday.
Over the next two years, as the TA completes its roll-out of MetroCard vending machines, the agency plans to shift clerks from jobs doling out tokens and fare cards to “customer service.”
“We negotiated years ago with the union that these [clerks] would actually come out and become customer-service agents, giving people information, helping them with their travel plans,” said TA President Lawrence Reuter.
But newly-elected officials at the Transport Workers Union are vowing to fight the plan.
“It’s clear to anyone who uses the subway . . . that passengers clearly prefer station agents over machines,” union official Marty Goodman told the MTA’s board yesterday.
Reuter insisted that station agents, supervisors and beefed-up police patrols would make up for having fewer clerks.
Meanwhile, the agency plans to trim the force by 253 clerks this year, for a annual savings of $6.5 million.