Assembly Resolution No. 966

BY: M. of A. Pheffer Amato

MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
March 18, 2024, as Transit Employee Appreciation Day
in the State of New York

WHEREAS, Transit employees are a crucial component to our State as
they are responsible for connecting us to different locations and
ensuring we get safely to our final destinations; and

WHEREAS, Transit employee titles range from bus drivers to railway
conductors, but also anyone who is involved in any aspect of the public
transit operation including supervisors, mechanics, operators, cleaners,
mechanic helpers, bus attendants, and dispatchers, and so many other
incredible roles that make contributions to our communities; and

WHEREAS, Throughout the State of New York, there are over 200,000
individuals who are considered transit employees who ensure the safety
of travelers, keep a track of the stops, while also holding the
responsibility of dropping passengers off at the right location; and

WHEREAS, Transit employees serve as frontline workers, who report to
work and keep public transit running through natural disasters, global
health pandemics, and other emergency situations; and

WHEREAS, A 2009 blog post spurred the creation of "Bus Driver
Appreciation Day" that would soon expand to rail operators, and
eventually all transit employees, while also designating March 18 as the
official day because it correlates with the opening of the first public
bus line, Blaise Pascal's Carrosses a cinq sols, in Paris in 1662; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body recognizes the indispensable
contributions that all transit employees make every day to get residents
of the State of New York from Point A to Point B in a safe and secure
manner, and seeks to honor all transit employees; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim March 18, 2024, as Transit
Employee Appreciation Day in the State of New York; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York; and all transportation-based unions and organizations throughout
the State of New York.