General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

Riverside said:
Yeah — Poftak is only being “canned” insofar as his boss is being “canned” by the expiration of his term as Governor. (Or his boss’s boss, whatever.) If anything, this is the most opposite thing from being canned: Baker could ask for his resignation now (or at least sooner than basically-Baker’s-last-day), which might at least be seen as a rebuke, even if there would be virtually no material consequences.

This is the shortfall of our particular variety of democracy: there is zero accountability of Governor Baker since he’s already on his way out.
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It's usually or probably the same thing as to when Trump was defeated. When that happened, all of his 'allies' whom he gave jobs to, THEY, ALSO had to leave THEIR jobs as well. When Joe Biden was elected, he appointed HIS allies to fill those same jobs. :)
 
Jahvon09 said:
It's usually or probably the same thing as to when Trump was defeated. When that happened, all of his 'allies' whom he gave jobs to, THEY, ALSO had to leave THEIR jobs as well. When Joe Biden was elected, he appointed HIS allies to fill those same jobs. :)
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Anyone who's a political appointee (state or federal) or whose job depends on political appointees - and the MBTA's GM answers to the board appointed by the governor - is always at risk of being replaced whenever an administration changes. Technically speaking none of them necessarily have to leave their jobs...they'll just get fired by the new administration once they take office (hence the "jumped before being pushed" comment). It's neither notable nor particularly nefarious; certainly some new administrations are heavy-handed on patronage appointments of their backers and friends, but it's practically inevitable that every new administration is going to see some things (at least) differently than their predecessors, and it's hardly sensible to keep previous officials in office who don't share the new governor's views or priorities. (I.e. if Healey wins and seeks to be a more transit-focused governor than Baker, it's not sensible to keep Baker's Pioneer Institute friends who aren't exactly pro-transit-spending in positions of influence.)
 
Brattle Loop said:
Anyone who's a political appointee (state or federal) or whose job depends on political appointees - and the MBTA's GM answers to the board appointed by the governor - is always at risk of being replaced whenever an administration changes. Technically speaking none of them necessarily have to leave their jobs...they'll just get fired by the new administration once they take office (hence the "jumped before being pushed" comment). It's neither notable nor particularly nefarious; certainly some new administrations are heavy-handed on patronage appointments of their backers and friends, but it's practically inevitable that every new administration is going to see some things (at least) differently than their predecessors, and it's hardly sensible to keep previous officials in office who don't share the new governor's views or priorities. (I.e. if Healey wins and seeks to be a more transit-focused governor than Baker, it's not sensible to keep Baker's Pioneer Institute friends who aren't exactly pro-transit-spending in positions of influence.)
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It is also practical politics for a new administration to replace high visibility personnel at a troubled agency.

It is an easy, quick and cheap way to signal "I'm doing something about the mess", even if it is not often very effective.
 
JeffDowntown said:
It is also practical politics for a new administration to replace high visibility personnel at a troubled agency.

It is an easy, quick and cheap way to signal "I'm doing something about the mess", even if it is not often very effective.
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Yeah, big corporations do that also. When I worked for United Airlines, I got laid off twice, both times in exchange for cheap labor. Now United, Delta & American are hiring again!! But I won't go back. Last hired, first fired!! They'll lay me off again in a heartbeat when things get too rough!! :poop:
 
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Riverside said:
Yeah — Poftak is only being “canned” insofar as his boss is being “canned” by the expiration of his term as Governor. (Or his boss’s boss, whatever.) If anything, this is the most opposite thing from being canned: Baker could ask for his resignation now (or at least sooner than basically-Baker’s-last-day), which might at least be seen as a rebuke, even if there would be virtually no material consequences.

This is the shortfall of our particular variety of democracy: there is zero accountability of Governor Baker since he’s already on his way out.
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Since you put it that way, Baker wasn't canned either. He chose NOT to run for a 3rd term. It might be that he wants to get out before things really get too rough. :unsure:
 
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Its absolutely criminal that NSRL under Baker has been completely shelved and were not even in the LOI phase of what will be a 15 year project. Now that we have a new mayor, soon to be new governor, and the glx is almost finished, hopefully we can now move on to red-blue and NSRL/electrification/regional rail once and for all. The latter would be the most transformational infrastructure project in decades, maybe ever and it is absolutely one of the key pillars of the future of mobility, interconnectedness, and growth in the greater region.
 
stick n move said:
Its absolutely criminal that NSRL under Baker has been completely shelved and were not even in the LOI phase of what will be a 15 year project. Now that we have a new mayor, soon to be new governor, and the glx is almost finished, hopefully we can now move on to red-blue and NSRL/electrification/regional rail once and for all. The latter would be the most transformational infrastructure project in decades, maybe ever and it is absolutely one of the key pillars of the future of mobility, interconnectedness, and growth in the greater region.
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I've mentioned this before, but IMO the Big Dig was really a real estate project, not a transportation one. The right people (who owned real estate abutting the highway) bribed the right pols, and even then it was a miracle it got funded.

At a time when housing prices are pretty nutty as it is... the motivation from the equivalent people today to get the NSRL built to jack up housing prices even more doesn't seem like it'd be there. You can see why stupid stuff like SCR gets funded. Some wise guys think that with it built, they can justify skyrocketing rents along the route even though nobody will take it.
 
Rode the Ashmont branch of the Red Line today and it seems like there is a really big slow zone immediately after Savin Hill for a bit until you get to Fields Corner. Seems like it is reflected on the Transit Matters Slow Zone Tracker. Photos of the area from the Savin Hill platform for reference--they were absolutely crawling...

Red Line 1.JPG


Red Line 2.JPG
 
#bancars said:
Rode the Ashmont branch of the Red Line today and it seems like there is a really big slow zone immediately after Savin Hill for a bit until you get to Fields Corner. Seems like it is reflected on the Transit Matters Slow Zone Tracker. Photos of the area from the Savin Hill platform for reference--they were absolutely crawling...

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View attachment 30337
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Frankly speaking, there REALLY ISN'T any improvement whatsoever for a supposedly rapid transit line if they are going to play games with the commuters by saying that work is being done to improve the line(s) & probably 2 to 3 years later, the same problem still exists. They really need to get off this crap!! Who is zooming who in this game playing?!! It's a punch of bull :poop: !!
 
bakgwailo said:
Orange line is creeping even lower these past three days on the slow tracker dashboard - down to 3.13 minutes since the 10th, putting it quite low for the past few years.
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This is really getting so ridiculous! Instead of it getting better, the service is very crappy!! That month-long shutdown to supposedly improve things was nothing but a ridiculous joke!! :mad:
 
Jahvon09 said:
This is really getting so ridiculous! Instead of it getting better, the service is very crappy!! That month-long shutdown to supposedly improve things was nothing but a ridiculous joke!! :mad:
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Bakgwailo is saying the delays are slowly going down. The train is getting faster.

I will leave a caveat that I might be miscomprehending you where your emoji emote outrage is about that the Orange Line should have recover to this point months ago post-shutdown. But I'm pretty sure you read and thought he said the Orange Line is getting slow and post your grip as so.
 
Sorry. I was wrong. But there should not have been any delays at all. Hopefully, things are getting better. :)
 
ant8904 said:
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Bakgwailo is saying the delays are slowly going down. The train is getting faster.

I will leave a caveat that I might be miscomprehending you where your emoji emote outrage is about that the Orange Line should have recover to this point months ago post-shutdown. But I'm pretty sure you read and thought he said the Orange Line is getting slow and post your grip as so.
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Man I feel bad for everyone commuting from Alewife or Quincy. I used to choose between riding 3 stops on Red & biking, and I will most definitely be biking through the entire winter. The heaviest ridership line in the entire MBTA system and we're still running 8 minute headways at rush hour with another 5 mins of slow zones. Thankfully bike infrastructure is also marginally improving.
 
I think that eventually, things are getting like they were on the entire Orange Line before the month-long shutdown. There has also been delays by the boatload on that line & weekend shutdowns or partial shutdowns don't seem to help. So far, there is only one new train operating there. I'm quite surprised that it hasn't had any problems like the ones on the Orange Line once did. o_O
 
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve taken the Red Line between South Station and North Quincy a few times. This isn’t an area I’ve ridden the T regularly for years, so I was surprised at just how slow the trains crawled heading into/out of N. Quincy and over the Neponset River Bridge. It was worse heading southbound where it felt like we were creeping between 5-10mph for about 1/2 mile before the bridge and maintained that speed all the way into the station.

I don’t know if it’s my just imagination, but the Red Line all of a sudden feels like the worst of the bunch. Yes, the Green is slow, but between the new vehicles, refurbished vehicles, and frequencies in the center of town, it’s not bad for light rail. The Orange is an all brand new fleet at this point and the slow zones are disappearing. Blue’s rolling stock is still fairly fresh and the line seems to be the least delay-prone. The Red feels extremely dated and the slow zones are brutal.
 
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