General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

A series of portraits on Twitter of Orange Line riders who will be affected by the shutdown (with a full article at the end). Communications are always hard, but it’s dismaying to read that riders haven’t heard about it yet. The lack of signage in cars and the decision not to display the closure messages more prominently in the digital signs seems unfortunate.

 
Couldn't even get the dates on the signs right.


It feels like there is zero quality control in the MBTA and I doubt they are going to get things right during the shutdown
 
Couldn't even get the dates on the signs right.


It feels like there is zero quality control in the MBTA and I doubt they are going to get things right during the shutdown

Pretty obvious that they accidentally substituted the Green Line's shutdown dates. It's kind of mind-boggling, both that no one caught it before the signs went out, but more worryingly that the error was made in the first place. Either they did a dreadful job of providing information to their own employees, or someone really fell down on the job (which makes me wonder if they even do these kind of signs in-house or not).
 
Poor quality control yes, but this shouldn't be something that needs QA in the first place. Just members of the workforce itself is should be able to recognize and have initiative to correct without public embarrassment - from the sign makers, to the delivery person, to the station attendants. If I am to speculate if this is a sign of anything, it's a sign that the workforce's level of flexibility and initiative.

Maybe I'm wrong, I mean I tend to try to look to examples of others systems, particularly internationally when it comes to transit and I'm not aware other transit system have such organizational flexibility. But nobody "caught" this because nobody has the "authority" to take action. Sign maker who prints it, delivery people who drives it over, station attendants who place it around the station, and informed riders all see it and all can do nothing. Only by putting on blast on Twitter that someone who authority can be made aware and order someone to fix it.
 
Poor quality control yes, but this shouldn't be something that needs QA in the first place. Just members of the workforce itself is should be able to recognize and have initiative to correct without public embarrassment - from the sign makers, to the delivery person, to the station attendants. If I am to speculate if this is a sign of anything, it's a sign that the workforce's level of flexibility and initiative.

Maybe I'm wrong, I mean I tend to try to look to examples of others systems, particularly internationally when it comes to transit and I'm not aware other transit system have such organizational flexibility. But nobody "caught" this because nobody has the "authority" to take action. Sign maker who prints it, delivery people who drives it over, station attendants who place it around the station, and informed riders all see it and all can do nothing. Only by putting on blast on Twitter that someone who authority can be made aware and order someone to fix it.

That's part of what makes me wonder if some of this stuff gets outsourced. Like, if they're just sending these things out to get printed, I don't expect some kind of sign-printing company to fact-check the things they're getting (in this case it's doable because it's public information, but if I was in the printing business I'd probably generally assume that the customer sent what they wanted printed). If this stuff is in-house, of course, that doesn't apply.

Also worth wondering to what extent the "authority" question (whether taking initiative is permissible) is tied to "not my job" considerations (please don't tell me there are union contracts/rules limiting who can "install" station signage) where someone may notice something amiss, but it's not their job to do so (regardless of whether it is officially permitted or forbidden to take initiative) so they simply...don't. (Not necessarily out of laziness, incompetence, or malice, mind you. They may, in this hypothetical, assume that the problem will be or is being addressed by the appropriate people.)
 
Seen out on Route 128 in Lexington....... PLAN AHEAD VISIT MBTA.COM

52296286503_e5fc08e69f_k.jpg
 
That's part of what makes me wonder if some of this stuff gets outsourced. Like, if they're just sending these things out to get printed, I don't expect some kind of sign-printing company to fact-check the things they're getting (in this case it's doable because it's public information, but if I was in the printing business I'd probably generally assume that the customer sent what they wanted printed). If this stuff is in-house, of course, that doesn't apply.

Also worth wondering to what extent the "authority" question (whether taking initiative is permissible) is tied to "not my job" considerations (please don't tell me there are union contracts/rules limiting who can "install" station signage) where someone may notice something amiss, but it's not their job to do so (regardless of whether it is officially permitted or forbidden to take initiative) so they simply...don't. (Not necessarily out of laziness, incompetence, or malice, mind you. They may, in this hypothetical, assume that the problem will be or is being addressed by the appropriate people.)
This is a shit show piled on a fiasco!
 
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The FTA has released its final SMI Report today, with additional safety directives. Full Disclosure - I haven't had a chance to read the thing yet, but largely, 3 of the 4 directives appear targeted at management practices - things like communicating safety hazards, how safety related data is handled, training. Other issues are that radio coverage is apparently not great, and the 4th directive is focused on staffing levels. As summarized by their titles;


Full Report Here: https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulat...anagement-inspection-report-massachusetts-bay

Directives Here: https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulat...t-inspection-massachusetts-bay-transportation
 

Another suicide by train attempt in Concord.
 
I can't help but see that 69% number and think that with 31% to go we only have ~25% of the shutdown left...I'm sure the numbers don't really match up 1 to 1 like that, but it makes me nervous.
 
I can't help but see that 69% number and think that with 31% to go we only have ~25% of the shutdown left...I'm sure the numbers don't really match up 1 to 1 like that, but it makes me nervous.

I read that as 69% of the planned tasks having been completed, but not providing any information about how far along any of the rest are. Meaning that some or all of that 31% that is "not done" could be, say, 75% done (or more, or less), which would be perfectly fine if it's in accordance with the schedule. I'd honestly be surprised if there was anything close to a 1:1 matchup between the work items and the days/weeks/etc of the shutdown.
 
I can't help but see that 69% number and think that with 31% to go we only have ~25% of the shutdown left...I'm sure the numbers don't really match up 1 to 1 like that, but it makes me nervous.
Generally a percentage complete generally refers to the percent of budgeted money that has been spent (which in turns relates the amount of budgeted time used). It doesn't move linearly with time though, some work tasks are more expensive and will move the percent more than others.
 
Orange line work at 69% week 3

Includes a videos with a bunch of updates.

I really wish they would communicate/appreciate how absolutely important travel times/removing slow zones are. It is so much more than just "getting riders where they need to go faster". Running trains at track speed will:

- Reduce car traffic on streets by improving travel times of alternatives to driving (Downs-Thompson Paradox), effectively speeding up trips for BOTH car and transit users
- Improve the public's faith in transit being a viable transportation option. I'm talking about all the business people, bar hoppers in southie, and yuppie's who just automatically call a uber from wherever they are without thinking if the T would be faster or more economical.
- Reduce the amount of rolling stock and train operators needed to provide the same level of service & headways. Or, if we keep the amount of rolling stock fixed, increase the amount of service we can provide with the same equipment (need to buy & maintain fewer train cars). Removing the 5-6 mins of slow zones on the Orange Line is literally equivalent to having an ENTIRE extra trainset in service. I don't know how much it costs to fix slow zones, but I'm sure it costs a hell of a lot less than a 6-car trainset, not to mention the extra wages and pensions of the people operating and maintaining that extra train.
- Since faster trip times = lower headways, this reduces the dwell time at each station (since more frequent trains = fewer people that need to enter/exit each train)
- Reduce the amount of train bunching (trains can clear their fixed block in the signal system faster, reducing the chance that the train behind would hit a red signal).

Like, it's about time that speeding trains up is taken seriously as a solution to fixing traffic.
 

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