General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

themissinglink said:
No more Frank Oglesby? This is a tragedy!
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I like Frank but from a tonality standpoint, his dulcet tones were too bass. This is an issue that many cis-male VO deal with. Sometimes having that Barry White/Issac Hayes bass voice is a blessing and a curse. You need a clean tenor or higher to make announcements on public transit in my opinion. And many times FO’s voice was just too low for my tastes. It’s even harder to hear his voice with everything else going on (screeching breaks, people chatting etc).

“Entrrrrruuuuumnng Puurrrk Strrrruuuttt.” Huh? No! Leave the Darth Vader voice at home. Go do some AMSR.
 
kingofsheeba said:
“Entrrrrruuuuumnng Puurrrk Strrrruuuttt.” Huh? No! Leave the Darth Vader voice at home. Go do some AMSR.
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Oddly, the "Darth Vader" effect seemed really only noticeable (to me, at least) on the Green Line, which at least to my ear seemed noticeably deeper than his other recordings. (I don't know if it was the tone, the volume, or the speakers, but the announcements often seemed to get buried - and sounded, well, muddier, for lack of a better word - on the Type 7s, while I don't recall having any issues understanding the same announcements on the Type 8s.)
 
kingofsheeba said:
I like Frank but from a tonality standpoint, his dulcet tones were too bass. This is an issue that many cis-male VO deal with. Sometimes having that Barry White/Issac Hayes bass voice is a blessing and a curse. You need a clean tenor or higher to make announcements on public transit in my opinion. And many times FO’s voice was just too low for my tastes. It’s even harder to hear his voice with everything else going on (screeching breaks, people chatting etc).

“Entrrrrruuuuumnng Puurrrk Strrrruuuttt.” Huh? No! Leave the Darth Vader voice at home. Go do some AMSR.
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I don't disagree, but Frank's voice is pretty iconic and I'm sad to see him go.
 
themissinglink said:
I don't disagree, but Frank's voice is pretty iconic and I'm sad to see him go.
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Particularly odd decision given that he definitely did the recordings for the Orange Line's new cars (did he do the new Red Line cars too?), though if I recall correctly the Green Line never got the Frank-recorded next train announcements that the HRT lines got either, for whatever reason. (Almost seems like a Green Line thing, if that's possible? Are they seriously that internally siloed that LRT and HRT can just go off and do their own things, no matter how duplicative or inconsistent?)
 
Now, with the new Orange Line trains, ALL of the lines have GPS announcements. The Orange Line was actually the last one to get it until the new trains came into service. 😱
massachusetts-boston-new-mbta-orange-line-car-1021x640.jpg
 
Brattle Loop said:
Particularly odd decision given that he definitely did the recordings for the Orange Line's new cars (did he do the new Red Line cars too?), though if I recall correctly the Green Line never got the Frank-recorded next train announcements that the HRT lines got either, for whatever reason. (Almost seems like a Green Line thing, if that's possible? Are they seriously that internally siloed that LRT and HRT can just go off and do their own things, no matter how duplicative or inconsistent?)
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I don't know if they so silo-ed but I think it's reasonable to speculate there different gears going on. Frank retired from the MBTA years ago now, so it's not like people would remember just by seeing him in the office. Someone has to deliberately remember and contact him to bring him in. But the MBTA is a big organization along with being retired for years. Probably many at this point are not aware or don't care he's the voice. I can easily imagine someone who still remembers would take the effort to bring him in, but another just stipulate to read things out with a computer.
 
Ski train service resumes on December 17 after not being operated last year:

Updated Schedule Released for Fitchburg Line: “Ski Train” Returns for the Season | News | 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

There's also a Wednesday evening trip for night skiing, which is pretty cool. Apparently that trip operated for a few years previously, though it wasn't well advertised.
 
A friend said they saw an old orange line train pass through Jackson Square this morning- doors didn’t open and the lights were off. Maybe testing for return to service for better frequencies soon?
 
thepianoperson said:
A friend said they saw an old orange line train pass through Jackson Square this morning- doors didn’t open and the lights were off. Maybe testing for return to service for better frequencies soon?
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At yesterday's BSRA meeting it was announced that the T is planning to shift to 8-minute headways on the Orange Line for the winter schedule, which will require the return to service of some of the old trains, so yes, that most likely is what your friend saw.
 
Also, it seems like a good chunk of the T's Charlie card system has suddenly crapped out. I was just at North Station and watched as an entire concourse of passengers were unable to load money onto their charliecards with credit/debit cards. The machines are now displaying the following warning:
PXL_20221204_214856220.jpg
 
Wash said:
Also, it seems like a good chunk of the T's Charlie card system has suddenly crapped out. I was just at North Station and watched as an entire concourse of passengers were unable to load money onto their charliecards with credit/debit cards. The machines are now displaying the following warning:View attachment 31411
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Update: This may be related to banks' automated fraud detection units detecting monthly pass holders renewing their passes as fraudulent (because they're all identical transactions posting at around the same time). Apparently this used to happen pretty regularly.
 
The semiannual accessibility initiatives update is out. Highlights:

  • As previously rumored, inflation etc has resulted in the Ruggles Phase II design blowing its budget. Looking at possibilities including splitting into two contracts and getting additional funding.
  • D branch stations: Newton Highlands, Beaconsfield, Chestnut Hill, Eliot, and Waban are all planned to start construction in summer 2023
  • Symphony was split into two phases. Utility relocation work beginning in spring 2023; station construction in spring 2024.
  • Hynes design is still on hold at 30% while the developer gets their act together. Apparently the ped tunnel will need renovations so that the Parcel 12 entrance is actually accessible.
  • B Branch stations to be reconstructed fall 2023 to summer 2024; C Branch stations 6 months behind that. I have no clue how that project is going to happen, since there's no room for wider platforms at many of the stops.
  • A previously unannounced detail about Natick Center: the new ramps, which are almost complete, will be used to reach temporary (non-accessible) platforms on the east end of the station that open later this month. The new accessible platforms will open in fall 2024.
  • Newton stations: accessible ramps (in addition to planned elevators) have been added to the scope for West Newton and Newtonville (but apparently not Auburndale). Design completion now expected February 2024.
  • Lynn: temporary platforms expected to open in summer 2024. Yikes.
  • South Attleboro: still unfunded
  • North Wilmington: mini-high design to be complete spring 2023, with one year of construction
  • For stations not currently accessible, the MBTA is "working to design a temporary free-standing platform solution that would allow for accessible boarding. ... The design of a free-standing temporary raised platform is nearing completion. Plans to deploy and evaluate the solution at Beverly Depot station are expected to be complete before Spring 2023. Parallel to this work, site surveys at 13 stations where primary station infrastructure is comprised solely of inaccessible low-level asphalt platforms have occurred to identify potential locations for such a platform as well as other additional station work required to provide an accessible path to the raised platform."
 
The EGE said:
  • For stations not currently accessible, the MBTA is "working to design a temporary free-standing platform solution that would allow for accessible boarding. ... The design of a free-standing temporary raised platform is nearing completion. Plans to deploy and evaluate the solution at Beverly Depot station are expected to be complete before Spring 2023. Parallel to this work, site surveys at 13 stations where primary station infrastructure is comprised solely of inaccessible low-level asphalt platforms have occurred to identify potential locations for such a platform as well as other additional station work required to provide an accessible path to the raised platform."
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Wait...Beverly Depot already has an ADA mini-high. Shouldn't they be trying this out at an actual non-accessible station???
 
Reconstruction of the mini-highs at Beverly has been listed in that report for a couple years now. Like a lot of the other mid-1980s mini-highs on the N/R Line, they're in poor shape and lack canopies:

www.google.com

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
www.google.com www.google.com

I suspect that Beverly will soon be on the list for full-high platforms (possibly an island, given the stated intentions for additional short turn service). But that would require tricky maneuvering around the National Register-listed station building and possible property takings, which would take a few years.
 
The EGE said:
Reconstruction of the mini-highs at Beverly has been listed in that report for a couple years now. Like a lot of the other mid-1980s mini-highs on the N/R Line, they're in poor shape and lack canopies:

www.google.com

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
www.google.com www.google.com

I suspect that Beverly will soon be on the list for full-high platforms (possibly an island, given the stated intentions for additional short turn service). But that would require tricky maneuvering around the National Register-listed station building and possible property takings, which would take a few years.
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Ugh. So...not so much a novel solution to correcting widespread accessibility deficiencies as much as another piece of chewing gum to try to plug gushing SOGR leaks springing up all over the system (in this case, multitudes of crumbling mini-highs to join the multitudes of crumbling stairs). :(
 
Speaking of non-accessible stations, I can't wait for the day when Franklin/Dean finally gets reconstructed with a full high platform. Maybe someday...
 
Healey and Driscoll retain Krauthamer & Associates to find MBTA’s next general manager
Governor-elect Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor-elect Kim Driscoll retained Krauthamer & Associates, an executive search firm, to find the MBTA’s next permanent general manager following Steve Poftak’s resignation announcement in November, according to a Tuesday press release.

Krauthamer & Associates is “the premiere transit search firm,” according to the release, and has found hundreds of executives for transit agencies in Massachusetts and across the country.

“Choosing the best person to be the next MBTA General Manager is critical for the future of Massachusetts’ transportation system, economy, workforce, housing sector, and economic competitiveness,” Healey said in the release. “K&A will be looking statewide, nationally, and internationally to identify strong candidates who have transit and management experience and who understand the urgency of ensuring safety, reliability, and accessibility issues across the system.”

The search for a new MBTA general manager comes at a time when the agency is facing myriad challenges, including a series of serious accidents on the transit system. Earlier this month, the Federal Transit Administration rejected a dozen of the MBTA’s plans to improve its hiring process, safety management, risk assessment and monitoring, and quality control, according to a Globe report, sending the agency back to the drawing board.

The MBTA has also been under fire throughout the year for heavy cuts to subway and bus services. This July, service on the Red, Blue, and Orange lines decreased by more than 20 percent following safety edicts from the federal government after a series of terrifying incidents, including the death of a passenger whose arm was caught in the faulty door of a Red Line car, according to another Globe report. And just two days ago, the MBTA implemented additional service cuts on nine bus routes, many of them decreasing service during rush hour, according to the MBTA’s website.

The ongoing issues add up to a daunting challenge for the next person to manage the MBTA, but Healey and Driscoll are confident that Krauthamer & Associates is equipped to hire an effective executive to lead the troubled transit agency.

“K&A has a proven track record of hiring strong, qualified, and diverse candidates for transit roles in state government. They understand the industry and are uniquely qualified to support this critical search,” Driscoll said in the release. “We look forward to engaging with advocates, legislative leaders, labor partners, and community members to find the best candidate to move the MBTA and Massachusetts forward.”
 
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