Today, the Ravitch commission released its report on MTA finances. We’ll have more to say about this tomorrow. Here’s an interesting piece of data to tide readers over ’till then:

Total MTA full-time workforce: 70,301

Total MTA part-time workforce: 324 (full-time equivalents)

These numbers illustrate why Gov. Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg should insist on more labor flexibility in the next MTA contract, which starts in January. The authority could save money, perhaps, by scheduling part-timers to work peak shifts in retail-type transit jobs, like the station-booth customer-assistant positions. (This should not be a human-rights violation, since some people, including retirees and some young parents, want to work part-time.)

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