General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

Highwayguy said:
At minimum, headways should be returned to normal on the other lines now that the operations center doesn’t have to monitor an entire line, right? JK, they wont.
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I asked about this and the mbta hasn’t told the city one way or the other.
 
KCasiglio said:
I just confirmed with BTD that the Green line will be shut down between Government Center and North Station as part of this.
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On 7/25 (and as recently as yesterday) I saw an alert at Kenmore saying shuttles Union Square to North Station combined with "use Orange Line" from North Station to Government Center from 8/8 to 8/17.
That makes it sound like they were planned separately, and planned to have the Orange Line open while the Green Line was closed.
 
TrolleybusFoaming said:
On 7/25 (and as recently as yesterday) I saw an alert at Kenmore saying shuttles Union Square to North Station combined with "use Orange Line" from North Station to Government Center from 8/8 to 8/17.
That makes it sound like they were planned separately, and planned to have the Orange Line open while the Green Line was closed.
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Odd. There were planned Green Line shutdowns (the E's in August), which I think are still happening, but those dates don't match up with any of the shutdown schedules I've seen.
 
Highwayguy said:
l miss Beverly Scott.
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Which part of the Beverly Scott administration do you miss the most?
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Not sure if you're just trying to lighten the mood or trying to meme away the increasing recognition in the debacle of the conflict between Scott and Baker that Scott is looking increasingly prescient and Baker has failed (or you can't say his policy look like he did any real good) to the 7 years of "reforms" post-2015 winter.
 
The link to the Board of Directors meeting is available on the T’s website now. Having slept on it, I’m increasingly wondering whether this was a deliberate leak and if they are actually aiming for something smaller (eg 2 weeks). I guess we’ll see.

Board Meeting | MBTA Board of Directors (Virtual) | Events | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com
 
Riverside said:
The link to the Board of Directors meeting is available on the T’s website now. Having slept on it, I’m increasingly wondering whether this was a deliberate leak and if they are actually aiming for something smaller (eg 2 weeks). I guess we’ll see.

Board Meeting | MBTA Board of Directors (Virtual) | Events | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com
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I just attended this and it was quite infuriating. The final member (I don’t know who it was) ended with a remark that he was “thrilled about this opportunity” and talked about how great of a success closing Wollaston for reconstruction was.

These hacks are pissing on our feet and telling us it’s raining.
 
That meeting was petty short. They presented these main points

  • The bus contract
  • A response to a comment that pass holders can use the commuter rail within zone 1A and zone 2
  • A follow-up question to look into a solution to fare-only users which Poftak says he'll look with but says he think the best solution is probably getting them a Charliecard
  • and yes, the final comments singing praises
  • and then it was just the rollcall and that's it.
There also comment at the beginning saying how this was all unacceptable, but I am not sure who said it. I was in the middle of switching from browser to zoom.
 
ant8904 said:
There also comment at the beginning saying how this was all unacceptable, but I am not sure who said it. I was in the middle of switching from browser to zoom.
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It was the one and only comment from the “public.” Identified as Adam. I was on the loading screen and the took the comment within 10 seconds of the meeting beginning and immediately determined that there were no other comments, so definitely fishiness there. I think that he must have hit the “raise hand” button within the first five seconds of the meeting beginning and the board didn’t want to hear from anyone in the public.
 
stick n move said:
Not to mention this is absolutely shafting the people who rely on the T for their ride to work/school etc. Im worried that along with the already lower post covid ridership numbers that weve seen, many of these ppl are finally going to say screw it and permanently find an alternate means of travel. So after this 30 day pause, now how long is it going to take to get back to pre pandemic numbers? Lower ridership is always used as a way to try to divert funds toward other things, and this really is the moment where we need to be tripling down on our public transit and investing in it for the future to not only get ridership back to pre pandemic levels, but way beyond it going forward.

Weve already started to see creeping downgrades to the system like planning to remove the overhead wires for the buses in watertown to be replaced with unproven, expensive battery electric buses. On top of that the grand plan to electrify the commuter rail and turn it into regional rail is similarly now being chipped away at to where theyre now also trying to go back on stringing up catenary and instead go with battery electric trains. These things show that theyre not serious no matter how many times they pinky promise theyre for real this time. Ridiculous.
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Only two ways this mode shift isn't permanent: either these shutdowns cause gridlock severe enough to push people back or political action is taken to force the issue, such as draconian parking restrictions or heavy congestion fees to enter Downtown Boston.

As a brand, the MBTA is finished. Maura Healey should promise to work with the Legislature to dissolve the agency entirely and try again under a different name and governance/funding structure.
 
ant8904 said:
Not sure if you're just trying to lighten the mood or trying to meme away the increasing recognition in the debacle of the conflict between Scott and Baker that Scott is looking increasingly prescient and Baker has failed (or you can't say his policy look like he did any real good) to the 7 years of "reforms" post-2015 winter.
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Yes to both
 
Any way you slice it, this mismanagement is causing real, lasting harm to Boston.
Equilibria said:
Ah yes, remember when we had a woman of color with extensive experience running a big city transit agency as GM, and then we dumped her for a series of unqualified mediocre white men the Governor gelled with better? Who could have guessed that would backfire!
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I question whether one's gender identity or skin color has much to do with their competence, but I agree that Bev Scott's experience made her far more competent than the unqualified individuals who followed her.
 
bigeman312 said:
I question whether one's gender identity or skin color has much to do with their competence, but I agree that Bev Scott's experience made her far more competent than the unqualified individuals who followed her.
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Skin color and gender have nothing to do with competence (I'm a white man myself). Networks of white men giving each other jobs based on "getting" each other and knowing each other from school or a club - that's the issue here.

I'd also add that in this particular case, Charlie Baker's image as a "competent fix-it rational manager" was absolutely tied to his race and gender. Just as Dr. Scott's image as out-of-depth, tax-and-spend, and subsidy-dependent was tied to hers. Baker appointed guys like him to run the T, which was an obvious mistake at the time and is approaching catastrophe now.

Regardless of the identity politics, privilege here has had observable consequences. It's reasonable to talk about them.
 
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Equilibria said:
Skin color and gender have nothing to do with competence (I'm a white man myself). Networks of white men giving each other jobs based on "getting" each other and knowing each other from school or a club - that's the issue here.

I'd also add that in this particular case, Charlie Baker's image as a "competent fix-it rational manager" was absolutely tied to his race and gender. Just as Dr. Scott's image as out-of-depth, tax-and-spend, and subsidy-dependent was tied to hers. Baker appointed guys like him to run the T, which was an obvious mistake at the time and is approaching catastrophe now.

Regardless of the identity politics, privilege here has had observable consequences. It's reasonable to talk about them.
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I agree with this.
 
My silver lining is we know that the GL shutdown will end two days before the OL shutdown.
inb4 a "tool cart derailment" BL-style makes them overlap
 
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