General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

[George_Apley]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Thats one of the great things about buses. Because they dont cost $5 million a pop, you buy new ones every 12 years, saving bundles on maintenance and customer inconvenience.

"Trains so old they shouldnt be running" isnt a feature guys, its a bug

It's not a bug of the transit mode... it's a bug of the financing behind the agency that runs it...

The capacity of the green line right now is actually 0 passengers per hour.

And those customers are actually standing outside waiting for a fleet of buses.

Yeah, all those passengers would be much better served on the daily commute by a fleet of busses...

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I'm getting tired of people blaming Beverly Scott for this. She has nothing to do with this. She inherited trains that are 50 years old and tracks and switches that are over 100 years old. She's the one who placed the order for new RL, OL, & GL trains for god sakes! The politicians for the past decades are the ones to blame including Charlie Baker.

Given the fact of how large-scale this failure is (it's seriously the entire system), I'm actually hopeful that this will start a discussion among our elected representatives. We, as citizens, should also be starting this discussion with our leaders.

 

[Matthew]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Thats one of the great things about buses. Because they dont cost $5 million a pop, you buy new ones every 12 years, saving bundles on maintenance and customer inconvenience.

"Trains so old they shouldnt be running" isnt a feature guys, its a bug

The FTA requires that buses be replaced every 12 years or so. Also, industry in the United States still remembers how to manufacture buses with relative competence, unlike passenger trains.

The "bug" comes about because of our dysfunctional political system that had first spent decades trying to destroy transit systems and then decades not bothering to fix things -- not because there's anything inherently more difficult about building trains than buses.

 

[Equilibria]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

It's not a bug of the transit mode... it's a bug of the financing behind the agency that runs it...

Yup, and will anyone remember this the next time MA votes on an indexed gas tax? NOPE! This is precisely what the gas tax camp was warning had already started to happen.

And no, Marty, a state-of-the-art system doesn't have this problem, because a state-of-the-art system doesn't run key segments of metro above ground in variable climates. The Moscow Subway is state-of-the-art, and somehow I don't think it thows a fit every time it snows or gets cold.

 

[Matthew]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Aboveground isn't an insurmountable obstacle. It can be done -- it's all about preparation and proper handling of the situation.

Tokyo sees a similar level of precipitation and wintry conditions as the Northeast, for instance. How about Switzerland, not exactly known as a balmy climate?

 

[jass]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I like the idea that parking should be removed from the state house. Force the legislators to pay $45 a day to park or take the T and then maybe theyll start to give a shit because it impacts them

 

[TallIsGood]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

She inherited trains that are 50 years old and tracks and switches that are over 100 years old.

Is this really true? Most of the Orange Line (north of Haymarket and south of Chinatown); the Red Line (north of Harvard and sourth of Broadway?), etc. are all much less than 100 years. This may accurately describe the downtown core, but not the spokes.

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Is this really true? Most of the Orange Line (north of Haymarket and south of Chinatown); the Red Line (north of Harvard and sourth of Broadway?), etc. are all much less than 100 years. This may accurately describe the downtown core, but not the spokes.

The point still stands whether it's 20 or 100 years. She inherited it. I went to the GL scenario of 100 years because of the Copley switch issue today.

 

[bigeman312]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

The Boston Globe has a story on the T's recent issues:

Sluggish commute today on roads, MBTA

The general manager of the MBTA said Tuesday that the regional transit system would not be able to operate near capacity during the evening commute and would not be able to boost its service Wednesday when thousands of New England Patriots fans are expected to flock to the city for a Super Bowl championship parade.

Beverly Scott, in a telephone interview, said that the struggles commuters faced Tuesday morning would continue for the immediate future. She used one word to describe the morning commute, in which severe delays were reported on all types of transit services: “Rough.’’


“We are going to give it everything we have, and we are going to be as candid with the public as we can be,’’ said Scott. “There are significant delays across the system.’’

...

Essentially they are saying, it sucks, it's going to continue to suck, there is nothing we can do about it.

What bothers me is that there was something that could have been done about it, but that aspect is being ignored. Also, there needs to be an evaluation of "how do we avoid this problem in future years (decades)?"

Okay, new cars are coming, and there is nothing we can do for the next few years, while we watch service deteriorate each winter. That sucks. I want to see a plan to avoid this from being a recurring cycle when cars get so old. The 1700's are less than 20 years younger than the 1500's and 1600's. They are not due to be replaced with the new order. We clearly can't have them turn 45 while still in use.

So, an order to fully replace the 1700 series should be placed by their 35th birthday (2023), with extra cars for an increase in frequency. By then, the T management will probably say, "the last brand new cars from our recent order are still entering service today. There is no need for another order!"

But, in reality, the second this order is complete, they should be placing another order to immediately replace the 1700 series. This should be a part of T's annual budget! They will always need to be at some stage in the procurement of replacement cars, so budget for that! I don't know who this ire should be directed at: the MBTA, MassDOT, Charlie Baker, but new cars should stop being treated as an exception, and start being treated as a necessary and routine part of maintenance.

 

[sm89]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I like the idea that parking should be removed from the state house. Force the legislators to pay $45 a day to park or take the T and then maybe theyll start to give a shit because it impacts them

I'm fine with legislators having parking onsite if it doesn't affect anyone else. Some of them live miles and miles away, out of MBTA territory. What bothers me is the "reserved for state house press" and the other special parking areas on Beacon St that really constrict the flow off traffic. That is unnecessary and a nuisance.

 

[Roxxma]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

....and the Silver line has no reported delays or service issues.

Where are the BRT haters now?

Here too. There were delays on the Silver Line this morning. Major delays, compounded by the use of 40' buses in place of the already usually over capacity 60' buses. I walked to the West Newton St Silver line stop this morning to find (per the Pocket MBTA app) one SL5 bus about a minute away, and the next SL4 and SL5 buses estimated to arrive in 20 and 33 minutes. There were about 30 people waiting, so I just turned on my heel and began to walk downtown. In the time it took me to walk to Downtown Crossing from there, only one bus passed me and it was packed to the gills with passengers.

 

[Arlington]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

for a quick check of the heavy rail lines, it is always worth a quick visit to:
https://mbta.meteor.com/ (outbound surface Blue beyond Airport has trip times greater than 3x of normal per segment right now)

As of 4:46pm Tuesday, a trip from Airport to Wonderland that'd normally take ~8.5 minutes is taking 37 mins (4.3x normal). If you can't get on the first train that comes, you'll take even longer.

 

[mass88]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

The MBTA is getting killed today between the Globe, Facebook and Twitter. People are raging on them right now.

Question - when's the last time a full audit of the MBTA operations and financials was conducted?

 

[George_Apley]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

^ As much as the raging against the T is stupid, the political solution should involve a full audit of MBTA financials. The state won't just give the T more funding, no matter how much it's the state's fault for fucking it up. Pension reform or something will have to be in the mix to get anything passed.

 

[whighlander]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Is this really true? Most of the Orange Line (north of Haymarket and south of Chinatown); the Red Line (north of Harvard and sourth of Broadway?), etc. are all much less than 100 years. This may accurately describe the downtown core, but not the spokes.

I doubt that there are many rails or switches that are older than Beverly -- in fact whole lot of the track-related infrastructure is only a few decades old [Red, Orange Extensions, rebuild of Green Line from Kenmore back after the flooding in the Central Subway

The age of the vehicles and track is just an excuse

The only legitimate excuse is that as of Today it is colder than normal and its been snowier than ever in a 7 day period

Buletin -- the current weather patterns might just continue for "6+ more weeks"

Get used to it or move to Phoenix

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

The only legitimate excuse is that as of Today it is colder than normal and its been snowier than ever in a 7 day period

Um, no. The only legitimate excuse is that the MBTA has been fiscally choked by politicians for decades. That is what's to blame. The age of stock & track infra all stem from this single point.

 

[whighlander]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Um, no. The only legitimate excuse is that the MBTA has been fiscally choked by politicians for decades. That is what's to blame. The age of stock & track infra all stem from this single point.

data -- you are entitled to your own opinion of course

However -- you are not entitled to your own facts -- do a bit of investigation and you will see that nearly an average years snow fall has descended on Boston in the past week

It has also been substantially colder than the typical early February for the past week -- so cold and snow stresses are going to greater than normal on people and equipment

 

[Arlington]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I interrupt with this praise: the Red line in Cambridge is smoother and quieter (particularly in newer cars) than any time I can remember in the 15 years I have been riding it--near as smooth as DC's. The PA on my train was clear and the human announcements were crisp (if a bit too rapid)

My 94 Bus (0510) was new, smooth and quiet, and full and skillfully operated. And this on Boston's snowiest week ever. Thank you. I appreciate how well the T has held up while being asked to maintain 100% ops.

I didn't ride the T for work from July to December (biked and occasionally drove). There must have been trackbed upgrades I missed and I'd missed the rollout of the new buses too. Yes the T needs more capital help, but it is really doing well with what it has got.

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

The MBTA's Real Problem: Political Hypocrisy, Not Cold And Snow

http://wgbhnews.org/post/mbtas-real-problem-political-hypocrisy-not-cold-and-snow

 

[winstonoboogie]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

A couple questions on the disabled trains on the Red Line this winter, these came to me while delayed on various trains and platforms these past few weeks:

* Is there a particular part or system that is breaking, or is it a different problem every time?
* I would guess that the older 1500 and 1600 series cars are the ones failing. Is that right?
* Is there any interim solution that could make existing service more reliable before the new cars are delivered in 2018-2019?
* Would delivery be faster if CNR were to build them in existing factories in China rather than setting up the new plant and training new workers in Springfield?

Blown motors are the big problem. It's not just the oldest Red and Orange Line cars, 1994 Red Line cars and 2007 Blue Line cars also having problems. Snow gets blown in, melts, refreezes, causes problems.

They are going to rebuild the trucks (the wheels/motor/brake) on both the oldest Red Line cars and the existing Orange Line cars before they are replaced. The are also overhauling some other sub-components on the older cars.

It takes awhile for a rail car builder to order and assemble all of the sub-components required to complete an order. I don't think the assemble in Mass requirement is going to delay the order.