Any pics of this freight house?
General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)
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hipster_garbage
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Looks like DCR will be doing closures of the Southwest Corridor path during the Orange Line shutdown. Might as well make it even harder to get around at this point.
I’ve updated my bustitution map and shared on Twitter:
One experiment I tried was adding in the additional bus routes that the T is suggesting as alternatives. It occurred to me that the 47 could probably be given some love here, particularly for its ability to serve Tufts.
One experiment I tried was adding in the additional bus routes that the T is suggesting as alternatives. It occurred to me that the 47 could probably be given some love here, particularly for its ability to serve Tufts.
KentXie
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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
MBTA apologizes for signs with incorrect Orange Line shutdown dates
As the MBTA prepares for a month-long shutdown of the Orange Line, confusion spread among commuters over the exact dates that the line will be closed.
www.boston.com
It feels like there is zero quality control in the MBTA and I doubt they are going to get things right during the shutdown
Brattle Loop
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Couldn't even get the dates on the signs right.
MBTA apologizes for signs with incorrect Orange Line shutdown dates
As the MBTA prepares for a month-long shutdown of the Orange Line, confusion spread among commuters over the exact dates that the line will be closed.www.boston.com
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.
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.
Brattle Loop
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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!
BeyondRevenue
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Just take the larger view, y'all. (Awesome goth trigger alert)
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
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
Man Injured After Being Hit by MBTA Commuter Rail Train in Concord, Mass.
A man was seriously injured after he was struck by an MBTA Commuter Rail train in Concord, Massachusetts, on Wednesday morning. Concord police said the crash occurred around 10:30 a.m. at the Commonwealth Avenue crossing. The Concord police and fire departments both responded to the scene...
www.nbcboston.com
Another suicide by train attempt in Concord.
notthemonthaugust
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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.
Brattle Loop
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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.
We are 21 days through the 30 day shutdown = 70%
I wouldn't read too much into the numbers they publicize
HelloBostonHi
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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.
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.
Brattle Loop
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All of that is true, but at the same time, how much of that is useful information to general audiences? Most people, when considering transportation options, aren't going to care much about things like whether the T's more efficient or that it's essentially 'added' an extra trainset by eliminating slow zones. "Getting there faster" is one of the most important points, along with it being reliable. People who could but don't take the T are probably doing so because it's either a.) too slow or b.) too unreliable. Focusing the general-audience marketing on "getting there faster" and (at least implicitly) more reliably speaks to both of those things without the cruft of jargon that most people aren't going to care very much about. (Though they can and should absolutely be talking up those more-specific things in appropriate contexts, including to media outlets better positioned to put that kind of info in context than a short update video.)