General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

[statler]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I assume these types of leaks aren't common in Europe and Asia?

 

[sidewalks]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I think these conditions are noticeably worse in the new stations than the old. It is something I've noticed closely over the last several years.

 

[kennedy]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

This is half-joke and half-guess. Maybe the water that leaked in when the old stations were new was actually a suspension full of lime, etc. Over the years, the debris gets left behind and hardens - creating a free watertight seal for the city!

 

[jass]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

The first brand new articulated hybrid diesel-electric bus has arrived.

25 were poached from a new mexico order for the planned 28X route.

3 will be going to the silver line, with the other 22 entering regular service....probably routes 39, 28 and one or two other lines.

SirRickyT posting at http://www.transithistory.org took a photo

 

[czsz]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

So now there will be even less of a difference between the Silver Line and a regular bus line.

 

[JohnAKeith]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Do these squeal as much as the natural gas ones?

 

[Arborway]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I'm really happy to see more articulated buses enter the fleet. They are desperately needed on a number of lines, though some schadenfreude-afflicted part of me would like to see them not go to Route 28 simply because the community shit all over the EOT/MBTA's plans to give them greatly-improved service that would actually stake out a real ROW for future rail conversion. It was a one-off chance to get the whole thing paid for and built immediately. But they blew it.

One thing Neoplan (RIP) got right was the seats around the center of their articulated buses. The forward and backward facing combo was always better than the kneecap unfriendly configuration we are going to face on the New Flyers.

Do these squeal as much as the natural gas ones?

Nope.

 

[jass]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I'm really happy to see more articulated buses enter the fleet. They are desperately needed on a number of lines, though some schadenfreude-afflicted part of me would like to see them not go to Route 28 simply because the community shit all over the EOT/MBTA's plans to give them greatly-improved service that would actually stake out a real ROW for future rail conversion. It was a one-off chance to get the whole thing paid for and built immediately. But they blew it.

One thing Neoplan (RIP) got right was the seats around the center of their articulated buses. The forward and backward facing combo was always better than the kneecap unfriendly configuration we are going to face on the New Flyers.

Nope.

The problem with excluding the buses from route 28 as retaliation is that 99% of the bus riders had nothing to do with the decision. Every single one of them would have benefited from 28x, it was the greedy, rich property owners who cried to their state rep who decided that fighting the 28x was an easy way to score points.


Bus seating is actually an agency decision, not the manufacturer, so we dont know yet what the inside of these look like.

 

[Arborway]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

The problem with excluding the buses from route 28 as retaliation is that 99% of the bus riders had nothing to do with the decision. Every single one of them would have benefited from 28x, it was the greedy, rich property owners who cried to their state rep who decided that fighting the 28x was an easy way to score points.

True. I was just joking, though I'm still infuriated about that whole process. The community will get offered the same thing again... in about 20 years. It just got kicked to the bottom of the pile of transit projects because a few people got ridiculously pissy and thought they could drag out the process until their egos were satisfied. "You didn't ask US about it first." "We didn't have enough time to consider the proposal" "The median was just rebuilt". Too bad, the stimulus funding application deadline set the schedule.

The T is funny in the way it will kill a line despite overwhelming community opposition, but fail to build one because of a few NIMBYs.

/rant

Bus seating is actually an agency decision, not the manufacturer, so we dont know yet what the inside of these look like.

New Flyer does not offer seating arrangements similar to those on the Neoplan models. You can barely make out the crappy arrangement through the glass in one of the photos linked at Transithistory.

 

[jass]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

New Flyer does not offer seating arrangements similar to those on the Neoplan models. You can barely make out the crappy arrangement through the glass in one of the photos linked at Transithistory.

If thats the case, the "knee cap unfriendly" design does offer more capacity by giving people a wider corridor to push their way to the back.

 

[statler]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Boston.com - March 22, 2010

Commuter rail boss nominated for MBTA general manager's job
March 22, 2010 02:12 PM

By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff

Richard A. Davey, general manager of the MBTA's rail consortium, has been tapped by the Patrick administration to manage all of the state's public transit operations, including the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

If confirmed by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Board at a special meeting on Wednesday, Davey would be the first person to oversee both the MBTA and the rest of the state's mass transit operations since it was consolidated into one agency, according to Colin Durrant, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

Davey spoke earlier this month with the Globe's Noah Bierman in an extensive conversation.

In a statement, the administration called Davey an "experienced rail and transit manager.'' He is currently general manager at the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad (MBCR), the private company hired by the state to provide commuter rail service for the MBTA.

?This is an exciting time to be joining MassDOT and the MBTA,'' Davey said in a statement. "I share the governor?s commitment to strengthening rail and transit throughout the Commonwealth. As we move forward in this next era for transportation reform our priorities must be on public safety, customer service and our employees, innovation and fiscal responsibility. ''

Davey will meet the press accompanied by state Transportation Secretary Jeffrey B. Mullan this afternoon at Back Bay Station. In a statement, Mullan's boss, Governor Deval Patrick, said Davey was the right choice for the job.

?Rich?s commitment to customer service and safety, combined with his no-nonsense leadership style, is exactly what we need to keep the MBTA moving forward," said Governor Patrick. "I look forward to working with h

Good luck, dude. I don't envy you at all.

 

[ablarc]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

"As we move forward in this next era for transportation reform our priorities must be on public safety, customer service and our employees, innovation and fiscal responsibility."

And I can be confident that you are also firmly in favor of motherhood, apple pie, and the American Way.

Correct?

 

[kennedy]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Tried to squeeze employees in the middle there, hoping no one would notice. Like shit they care about anything but their own asses.

 

[statler]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Boston Globe - March 26, 2010

T board OK?s new manager at lower pay

By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff | March 26, 2010

The MBTA board voted yesterday to pay its new general manager $145,000 a year, a salary that is about 40 percent less than the last general manager earned.

The board voted unanimously to approve Richard A. Davey Jr. for the top job in the transit system, which transports 1.2 million people a day with a network of subways, buses, trains, and boats. Davey?s contract will pay him less than top officials at more than a dozen similar transit agencies around the country, several of whom earn more than $200,000.

Daniel A. Grabauskas, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority?s previous general manager, earned a salary of $255,000 before he resigned under pressure last August. The T board at the time voted, 5-3, to pay Grabauskas $325,000 to settle the remaining nine months of his contract.

The MBTA board is made up of five people who are appointed by the governor. The same five people also serve as the board of the new Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

The MBTA board voted to approve Davey?s nomination as general manager, and the Department of Transportation board voted to approve his salary, which will compensate him not only for his duties at the T, but also for his role overseeing the state?s 14 other regional public-transit agencies and its freight rail program.

Davey?s contract expires Feb. 28, 2013, and calls for him to be reviewed annually in five categories: safety, service, employee management and relations, innovation, and fiscal responsibility. Among the items to be reviewed are whether trains run on time and how well he manages the T?s budget.

If Davey is fired without cause, he will receive six months? salary as severance; if he is fired with cause, he will receive no severance or benefits.

Introducing Davey prior to the vote, Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey B. Mullan commended Davey?s no-nonsense leadership in his previous role as general manager of the private company contracted to manage the T?s commuter rail, as well as his commitment to customer service and safety.

In his own remarks, Davey, a 36-year-old Randolph native who now lives in Boston?s Back Bay, thanked officials, offered an olive branch to employees, and expressed his hopes for the job.

?I look forward to implementing the governor and secretary?s vision, to make MassDOT and MBTA the premier public agency, transportation agency, in the United States,?? Davey said.

The executive director of the oversight board representing MBTA member communities and T riders acknowledged the challenges facing Davey and the MBTA while wishing him luck.

?Every time I come up here I say, ?This has got to be the most challenging time the MBTA has ever faced,? ?? said Paul Regan, a member of the MBTA Advisory Board.

?And then six months later we go to a new standard.??

The T?s interim general manager, William A. Mitchell Jr., will return to duty as the T?s general counsel.

Eric Moskowitz can be reached at emoskowitz@globe.com.

 

[jass]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

"The MBTA board voted to approve Davey?s nomination as general manager, and the Department of Transportation board voted to approve his salary, which will compensate him not only for his duties at the T, but also for his role overseeing the state?s 14 other regional public-transit agencies and its freight rail program."


So if the MBTA overseas the other transportation agencies.....why arent they all just part of the MBTA?

Why does Arlington, Burlington, Worcester etc etc need their individual agency with their own buses, their own fares, their own websites etc?

 

[statler]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Boston.com - March 28, 2010

For new head of the MBTA, it?s been a steady ride to the top

By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff | March 28, 2010

You may have read here last week that Noah Bierman has moved on to cover politics at the State House, entrusting me with the wheel on the transportation beat.

Here?s a bit about my own transportation and professional history: I?ve been with the Globe for three years as a general-assignment reporter, writing a little about transportation, as well as about life, death, local government, history, politics, philanthropy, prostitution, even wildlife. I live in Somerville and own a well-used CharlieCard and a battered Volkswagen Jetta, with 10 years, 180,000 miles and a rusted hood. I grew up in Needham and rode the T consistently even then; before I had a driver?s license, my mom used to drop me off and pick me up at the Green Line in Newton so I could get to a job selling souvenirs at Fenway Park.

Of course, I?m not the only new face around here. This past week, the MBTA board of directors confirmed Richard A. Davey Jr. as the T?s general manager.

However daunting my new beat might seem to me, Davey?s job is exponentially harder: managing an agency with staggering debt and aging infrastructure, tasked with overseeing more than 6,000 employees and carrying a million riders a day. He also has to keep an eye on all of the state?s other public transit and freight interests as well.

I accompanied Davey on his commute home after his confirmation ? or rather, his ride to meet his wife for dinner at the South End?s Union Bar and Grille ? for a question-and-answer session about his personal transit history, knowing harder questions would come later. (His new contract calls for him to be judged on his ability to manage the T, including whether the trains run safely and on time.)

Davey, who had been running the T?s privately managed commuter rail operations, is a transit buff, so we walked east three-quarters of a mile to take one of his favorite T lines (Silver) for 1 1/4 miles southwest, a half-hour trip, when we could simply have walked just under a mile south to reach the restaurant.

Here are edited excerpts of our exchange:

Q. Tell me about your history using public transit.

A. I went to BC High, grew up in Randolph, and I would take the T home, which included the Red Line to Ashmont Station, and then I?d take the 240 bus . . . to Randolph. I went to college out in Worcester [at Holy Cross] and the Worcester Line wasn?t open yet at the time, so I didn?t really use public transportation or use the T when I was out there.

[Then I] moved out to Portland, Ore. ? doing a volunteer program, called Jesuit Volunteer Corps, like the Peace Corps but domestic. And then I ended up going to law school in Spokane, Wash., of all places, at Gonzaga. I didn?t own a car out there, so I?d either rely on friends, or I used the Spokane Regional Transit Authority as well, so I?ve sort of had the bug.

I lived in Hoboken for 12 months and took the PATH [Port Authority Trans-Hudson] train actually to the World Trade Center. [Then] I lived on the Upper East Side and took a job in Midtown, so I was on the 4-5-6 [subway line] all the time.

And then moved back to the Boston area in 2002, lived in the Davis Square area, drove a little bit, took the T a lot.

My wife and I just have one car now, the famous ?97 Nissan Altima with, I think, it?s 59,000 miles on it now.

Q. Do you have a favorite T line? Are you allowed to say?

A. That?s a good question. You know, I guess I have a couple of great experiences. One is certainly taking the Silver Line to the airport. I love it ? it?s got the big luggage racks, it runs every few minutes. Never any traffic, which is terrific, and very reliable.

Q. Do you have a favorite stop?

A. The Kendall stop has that great air sculpture, with the wind, when it blows through ? right now it?s not working but repairs are going to be made, and that will be working again very soon. I think having more public art if possible in the stations ? if we could infuse a little more public art, a little more civic pride, I think that would be the way to go. That?s a long way of saying I love the Kendall Sation.

Q. Have you ever been on the T during a service failure?

A. A couple weeks ago I was on a Green Line train that broke down ? or was having issues, I should say ? coming out of Hynes. They removed all of the passengers, including myself, off this particular car, and immediately behind it was another two-car train with plenty of room. So you know, minor inconvenience, 10 minutes in life, but they did a great job of handling it.

Q. What is your commute like?

A. My old office was actually right around the corner from here [near South Station]. So I?d take the Green Line and Red Line, get on at Hynes Convention Center, switch at Park Street, and then go two stops to South Station. . . . Sometimes at night if it was a good night, like tonight, what I would do is jump on a commuter rail train from South Station to Back Bay and talk to employees. It?s only about a six-minute trip, so there?s not a lot of time to engage passengers, but I?d chat with employees. By the time I left, they all knew who I was. And it?s a good way to just sort of wander up and down the coaches, make sure that the PA systems were working, the lights were working, if I saw any graffiti. I have a little BlackBerry, and I?d say, ?I?m on coach 241. I saw some graffiti.?? ?I?m on coach 1628. There are four lights that are out.?? Whatever. I?d just send that to the chief mechanical officer, or I?d say, ?I?m on coach whatever. It looks good. Good job.??

Q. Do you have favorite transit references in movies, or television, or other pop culture that stand out for you?

A. Certainly ?Charlie on the MTA?? is by far the most popular, and a favorite of mine for sure. My dad used to sing that to me when I was a kid. You can put that in the paper. He?ll be embarrassed, but that?s true.

Probably the other reference from pop culture is for kids. We sort of have this new emergence over the last several years of Thomas the Tank Engine and these other toys. I have a 4-year-old niece, Emma, who came in to Boston with her mother to visit me, last summer, and it was her first train ride. They got on at Holbrook-Randolph, took the commuter rail in, and she couldn?t have been happier. Running down the platform, to greet me, [she said,] ?I rode your train!?? Inasmuch as things break down, it?s frustrating, but I think when it runs well there?s still a romanticism about it, for sure.

Q. In China, I took the Maglev train, which can reach 268 miles an hour. Will we ever see anything like that here?

A. Clearly the US is so far behind Asia and Europe. We?re looking at high-speed rail opportunities between Vermont, Springfield, down to New Haven, and then opportunities perhaps between Springfield and Boston. Europeans would probably say 80 miles per hour, 110 miles per hour is not high speed, but for the US it?s high-speed.

Q. Did you discover that you get special CharlieCard powers as general manager?

A. I haven?t found that out, and if I do, I will reject those. I feel very strongly about paying.

Q. I live near one of the proposed stops on the Green Line extension, and my girlfriend and I have a bet going about whether it will actually be completed by 2014, when it?s supposed to be. You?re 36 now. Do you think it will be done when you?re 40?

A. [Chuckling] I hope so.

If you have ideas for transportation stories, or questions you?d like to see addressed, you can reach me at emoskowitz@globe.com.

 

[Arborway]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

A. I haven?t found that out, and if I do, I will reject those. I feel very strongly about paying.

Shit is about to get real on the Green Line.

(I hope)

 

[blade_bltz]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Davey, who had been running the T?s privately managed commuter rail operations, is a transit buff, so we walked east three-quarters of a mile to take one of his favorite T lines (Silver) for 1 1/4 miles southwest, a half-hour trip, when we could simply have walked just under a mile south to reach the restaurant

wtf, is Boston the new Phoenix? Hope the novelty factor entices people to go out of their way to ride public transit when driving or walking would have been cheaper, easier, and faster?

 

[statler]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Boston Globe - March 28, 2010

T chief, here?s some advice

By Yvonne Abraham, Globe Columnist | March 28, 2010

Congratulations on your massive new job, Richard A. Davey.

You?re taking on billions in debt, a woefully underfunded system, a much-pilloried workforce, and embarrassing safety issues ? all for a salary 40 percent lower than your predecessor?s. Being head of the MBTA is going to be super duper fun!

Maybe you?re looking for some advice on where to begin? Well, the harried commuters who ride your buses and subway cars each day have plenty.

For example, Tricia Nesti could use more service during rush hour, and less crowded cars.

?I get butt in my face first thing in the morning,?? said the 23-year-old executive assistant, waiting for a trolley at the Park Street station Friday morning. ?There?s not a lot of personal space.??

A few of your customers are wondering why the T has to be so darned loud. Are the ear-piercing screeches of trolley on track absolutely necessary? Vince Welch, a 21-year-old Berklee student who does not recall the same auditory assaults on the DC Metro, is curious. So is BU librarian Dan Herlihy, a Green Line regular who would like to know if the MBTA has heard of WD-40.

Some of the commuters I picked out of the ear-budded, rain-booted masses Friday morning complained about surly drivers, and too-loud, too-frequent announcements on trains. Some are frustrated that they wait 20 minutes for buses only to see three show up within seconds of one another.

Some have been stranded for hours on broken-down trains with no hint why.

And could you let the sorry souls waiting on platforms know about delays sooner?

?One time I was waiting for 20 minutes, I said ?Screw this, I?ll start walking,? ?? said Katie Droney, who takes the Red Line from Park Street to her publishing job in South Boston every morning. ?Then, midway through the walk, I get a text saying the train is delayed.??

These are all problems to be addressed, Mr. Davey. But if you want to make a really big hit with your new customers, make a beeline for the B Line.

In my unscientific survey of a couple dozen commuters, that trolley ride up Comm. Ave. is the most infuriating in the whole system. Talk to anybody who uses it during rush hour, and you?ll get an earful: The trolleys never seem to arrive, and when they do, they?re mobile mosh-pits. That?s if they stop at all, of course.

The B Line is so unpredictable, it can take a half-hour to get to work, or an hour. Legal intern Amy Schneider leaves her Allston home a full 90 minutes before she has to be at Ashmont, just in case.

?Guaranteed, you?re going to be delayed,?? she said.

And what?s with all those stops, so close together? After the B Line trolley leaves Kenmore, the PA system blares one continuous announcement:

Next stop Boston University West entering Boston University West next stop St. Paul Street entering St. Paul Street . . .

?You?re young college students, like, walk a block!?? said Anna Goldman, who catches the trolley to her job in Brookline. Amen to that.

It?s not all bad news though. Several people I spoke to couldn?t think of anything they dislike about the system.

?They?re great in a storm,?? offered one woman, who said she has been using the T for 20 years, and didn?t want to give her name.

?Sometimes they?re on schedule,?? she added, without a hint of irony.

That just might be the best thing you?ve got going for you, Mr. MBTA chief: After years of dealing with the T?s shortcomings, some commuters have such low expectations you can?t disappoint them.

Yvonne Abraham is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at Abraham@globe.com.

 

[jass]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

"The B Line is so unpredictable, it can take a half-hour to get to work, or an hour. Legal intern Amy Schneider leaves her Allston home a full 90 minutes before she has to be at Ashmont, just in case."

Im pretty sure there are faster ways to get to Ahsmont from Allston that do not involve the B line.