General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Trolleys are running up and down the C this hour, and T SUVs are all over Beacon. Shoveling out those stops is going to s-u-c-k.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Trolleys ran all night. I saw a bunch of E trains go by throughout the night.

Main issue right now is that the T's comm. tower in Quincy that handles ALL field operator comms is completely down.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

datadyne007 said:
Trolleys ran all night. I saw a bunch of E trains go by throughout the night.

Main issue right now is that the T's comm. tower in Quincy that handles ALL field operator comms is completely down.
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Hearing from colleagues that power may be coming back in spots. Not sure how long it takes to power up the T's gear obviously. Did I hear Gov. Patrick say maybe no T until tomorrow?
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

bbfen said:
Hearing from colleagues that power may be coming back in spots. Not sure how long it takes to power up the T's gear obviously. Did I hear Gov. Patrick say maybe no T until tomorrow?
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Davey and Patrick keep saying "all efforts are directed at Monday morning rush hour." There have been no direct mentions of actually restoring service on Sunday. As far as the T is concerned, Monday is the target, not Sunday. They have mentioned in passing "soft opening" some lines tomorrow, but even that is not a commitment.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

The "B" line tracks were pretty well covered with snow still...
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Interesting, wonder if this is the case here?

Everyone assumes transit day passes are used by rich tourists.

In Chicago, it turns out that assumption was very, very wrong.

The new fare structure, which went into effect last month, hiked the cost of a one-day pass from $5.75 to $10. That's a 74 percent increase, and part of what the agency labeled a "moderate" fare hike.

In both November and December, the CTA stated through press releases that it was tourists who primarily purchased the one-day "fun pass" that dates back in 1997. Transit officials now admit that was a mistake.

According to 2011 CTA records, the largest percentage of one-day passes -- more than 25 percent of them -- are sold on Chicago's south side. Records show 7.7 million one-day passes were sold in Chicago that year at a cost of $44.5 million.
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Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/investiga...ity-one-day-pass-190138201.html#ixzz2KSL5Do4j


LA recently lowered their day pass to $5, exactly for this reason, to encourage transit use among those who need to save money.

The MBTA one day pass is outrageous, time for a new strategy?

Like many other things, the poor must sometimes make short term decisions that arent in their best interest

So why not just buy the 7-day or 30-day pass?

"Some weeks, some months you just can’t handle that cost," said Jones, noting that the cost of a 30-day pass increased from $86 to $100.
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Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I personally don't understand the point of day passes. How many people are really using public transportation more than 4x a day?

You'd need to use the T separately six times in 24 hours for it to be cheaper than simply paying the single-ride fare ($12 at $2/ride (CharlieCard fare) vs. $11 for the T's day pass). Combine this with the generous transfer windows and the vast majority of people will almost always better off paying single-rides or going with a weekly/monthly pass instead of a day pass.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I don't understand it either. The T would do better to sell 3-day passes for the current single-day pass price.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

omaja said:
I personally don't understand the point of day passes. How many people are really using public transportation more than 4x a day?

You'd need to use the T separately six times in 24 hours for it to be cheaper than simply paying the single-ride fare ($12 at $2/ride (CharlieCard fare) vs. $11 for the T's day pass). Combine this with the generous transfer windows and the vast majority of people will almost always better off paying single-rides or going with a weekly/monthly pass instead of a day pass.
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There very little point TODAY, but if the pass were set to a reasonable level, it could be a great asset.


Id structure it like this:
Duration Price payoff point
Ride $2
Day $6.50 = 3.25 rides a day
Three $13 = 2.16 rides a day
Week $18 = 9 a week = 1.29 a day*
Month $70 = 35 a month = 9 a week = 1.25 a day*
Quarter $250 = 31.25 a month = 7.81 a week = 1.11 a day*

*Assumes 7 day rider, if theyre a 5 day rider, the number is higher.


The point of the discount structure is to encourage two things:
1) More use of system during offpeak hours when theres excess capacity.
2) Guaranteed revenue for MBTA in advance.


IE, why sell a quarter (4 month) pass? Because its guaranteed money NOW. If pass buyer gets fired....MBTA still keeps money.


The current day structure doesnt fit either of those because it makes no sense to buy it.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Also encouraging people to use passes can help speed up boarding. In Austin, a day pass is the cost of two rides. In Montreal it's three rides.

I like jass's proposal. Especially when someone comes to visit, I'd rather just buy them a three, five or seven day pass and not think about it the rest of the time.

You could even imagine a flexible-time pass the cost of which is computed by a formula which progressively diminishes as the period gets longer. That would be really convenient.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I think we can do away with stored value and cash fares entirely and move entirely towards passes, again for all the reasons stated above already. In fact, with the free transfers, etc. I believe a single fare is actually now equivalent to a 1.5 hour pass, if you want to think of it that way.

2 hour pass: $2
4 hour pass: $4
24 hour pass: $8
3 day pass: $12
7 day pass: $18 (where it is now, and something I consider very reasonable)
30 day pass: $70
etc
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

The MBTA will resume limited MBTA subway and key bus route service effective 2pm, Sunday, February 10, 2013. Limited service will operate on the MBTA's Red, Orange, Blue between Orient Heights and Government Center, and Green Line between Kenmore and Lechmere. Limited bus service will also operate on the 1, 23, 28, 39, and Silver Line Washington Street Only. Unless necessary, customers are encouraged to stay home and use service sparingly.

Regularly scheduled MBTA service will resume at the start of service on Monday, February 11, 2013.

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Also, I agree with Shepard's POP system he outlined above completely. ^
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Saw a "B" go by at Harvard ave. Out of service of course. A bunch of people haven't got the memo though. They're waiting at the station.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I'm guessing the issue here is not that the tracks aren't clear (as they seem to be), but that there is not adequate staff to run more then the skeletal service they are. I know my street in brighton hasn't seen a plow since during the storm, and another foot snowed after that, so people probably can't get to work unless they can walk.

I'm sure clearing off all the platforms is a problem too, it took me and my 2 neighbors most of yesterday to clear out the driveway: there is nowhere to go with the snow, we had to cut a path and then haul it all to the back of the house. Most platforms probably have a similar issue.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Harvard inbound is cleared, outbound is not. There's a shovel at Packard's corner and a few T workers just came by to operate it. Some of the bus stops look completely hopeless without diesel-powered mechanical assistance.

Someone needs to tell the idiotic plow drivers who are speeding down the already cleared streets a dozen times here to go out to your place in Brighton. One just nearly clipped me while I was trying to get around some snowbanks.

Heck, Brighton Ave is already a racetrack like it's a summer day, and Harvard is as backed up as ever if not more, even though there's no parking. I think this pretty conclusively establishes that the ever-renewing jam on that road is pretty much due entirely to thru-traffic. This is a perfect example of a day where they should deploy cones to bring roads like Brighton Ave down to two lanes, leaving the remaining room for safety and folks just trying to get through on foot. It's warm, there's no further snow, plenty of uncleared sidewalks, and lots of people out and about trying to clamber over giant drifts.

I had to tell a few folks that there's no T service out here today, apparently the website was confusing to those who had read it.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

C and D branch resuming. B and E are presumably down for merely a few more moments.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Matthew said:
You could even imagine a flexible-time pass the cost of which is computed by a formula which progressively diminishes as the period gets longer. That would be really convenient.
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I like that idea. The machine stamps the ticket, so it could be stamped with whatever you want.

Tell it how many days you need, it gives you a cost, you agree or try a different duration.

Easy.

The downside to that is MBTA loses out on "unused" rides.

IE: If someone buys a 7 day pass, they might only need 5 days. if they can buy 5, the rider obviously benefits but the MBTA loses a little.



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RE: Storm.

Says something that the silver line waterfront, even the entirely underground portion isnt running. MBTA just doesnt care.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

They've been adding more bus routes as the day progresses. The website now says:

Limited bus service is also operating on the Routes 1, 15, 22, 23, 28, 32, 39, 71, 73, 77, 89, 93, 100, 106, 108, 109, 111, 114, 116, 442 between Wonderland and Central Square in Lynn, 455, SL4, and Silver Line Washington Street Only.

Blue Line and Green Line C and D are running in their entirety, and E to Brigham Circle. Only B seems to still be totally borked.

I do wonder why 57 and 66 aren't running -- these would help some of the stranded B-line folks.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

The 57 route that I saw was cleared, dunno how it is by Oak Square. But I have no idea how people are going to get picked up, the plows left giant snowbanks blocking the bus stops that are going to need serious lifting power to move.
 
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