General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Ron Newman said:
Photo please?
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I tried to snap one on my phone the other day, but it was too busy in the area.

But I also saw the woman, while sitting down, shouting instructions, to what I assumed to be tourists, on how to work the machine.

To my amusement, I saw a couple of people walk by and shake their heads at the women.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I have 2 questions:

1) Why weren't the Green line platforms converted to High-level during the renovations? It seems like this would be the next logical step for the underground stations.

2) Can one transfer between Copley station and Back Bay stations for free?
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

1 - that would require replacing or modifying every Green Line car and every surface stop too

2 - No
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I have a question as well.

Has anyone used any of the MBTA smartphone bus apps?

Do they work? Are they accurate?
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

statler said:
I have a question as well.

Has anyone used any of the MBTA smartphone bus apps?

Do they work? Are they accurate?
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Yes, I have used the NextBus site, Catch The Bus, and Pocket MBTA. Except for the few times when the data feed has been down, I have found the predictions very accurate. It definitely makes riding the bus a better experience to know when it is coming.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Thanks. Good to know. I don't actually have a smartphone yet (or ride the bus) but I've read a lot about them, but haven't heard any reviews. I had my doubts but it's nice to see the T got something right.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

NextBus works very well. Used it 4x last week for the #43. Right every time.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Sorry about the formatting but that's the way it was on their site. Seems they haven't discovered paragraphs yet.

I-Team: Green Line Trolleys Caught Speeding
Reporting
Joe Shortsleeve
CHESTNUT HILL (WBZ) ―


Call it a safety problem for the MBTA.

Speeding trolleys on the Green Line.

After the I-Team contacted the MBTA last week about this story, the T immediately installed "radar speed indicators" for above ground trolleys.

THE PROBLEM

The speed limit at a graded crossing in Chestnut Hill where pedestrians and cars can cross over the tracks is 10 miles per hour.

The I-Team watched as trolley after trolley sped across those paved locations at two and three times the speed limit.

In fact, the I-Team never saw any trolley obeying the 10 mph speed limit.

One college student put it this way.

"We got trains just flying by, cars flying by, it is a problem."

Yes it is.

THE 2009 CRASH

Last April, an MBTA trolley slammed into a SUV carrying eight Boston College students including three hockey players from BC's 2009 NCAA championship team.

Luckily no one was killed.

The T initially blamed the students who were under age and had open alcohol in the crumpled vehicle.

However, the student driver was not drinking and the T finally admitted their driver was going more than three times the speed limit.

He was suspended.

So are T drivers slowing down?

THE RADAR TEST

The I-Team rented a radar gun and went back to that exact same crossing several times.

We found widespread violations, one after another.

36 miles an hour from one train.

31 mph from another, even with someone standing near the tracks.

A third train was clocked going 30 mph ? three times the limit.

One student told us "they are supposed to slow down at these crossovers. Some people just walk and they have their iPods on."

It is an issue which infuriates Boston College.

We asked BC spokesman Jack Dunn "is the MBTA being responsive?"

Dunn answered "That is not our experience. Twice in the past two years there have been incidents where trolleys have struck BC students."

MBTA RESPONSE

Richard Davey, the new MBTA general manager, says he is "not happy" with what the I-Team found.

Davey, who took over the MBTA five months ago, says all drivers take an eight-week safety course and the 10 mph speed limit is made very clear.

He could not explain why the I-Team found so many blatant violations.

"I don't know why it was so easy, but I do know that we are going to make sure this does not happen in the future and we will be activating discipline against the drivers who are violating the speed limit," he told WBZ.

Speeding trolleys can present a real public health threat, particularly in a city packed with pedestrians and college students.

Dr. Michael Siegel is with Boston University's School of Public Health.

He says "The question is, why is the MBTA not being responsive to these concerns, at least until it is too late?"

"This is a major public health issue and it is something that the city, state, and MBTA need to be concerned about."

It also concerns Matt Deluca, the editor of BC's student newspaper. He says speeding trolleys have become part of day-to-day life in Chestnut Hill.

As he talked to the I-Team, one trolley barreled across the paved opening.

"Here we go. Does it look like he is going ten?" I asked.

"It does not look like it to me," Deluca responded.

THE PUNISHMENT

The MBTA says if a driver is caught going faster than 10 mph over one of these crossings it is a suspendable offense. The T says 46 drivers have been disciplined this year for speeding.

As a result of our story, the MBTA says it is also trying to decide if 10 mph is an unrealistic speed, meaning it is too slow.

The T says they are considering raising the speed limit at those locations to perhaps 15-to-18 miles an hour.
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Why should the trains have to slow down at all at any of these locations (aside from tight corners)? The speed limit for the trains should match that of the cars on Comm. Ave in almost all cases.

Also, I saw one of those radar speed signs in my neighborhood: it was picking up the speed of all the cars on the road and a bunch of drivers were slamming their brakes trying to get down to 10mph. Hell, it even picked up the speed of vehicles moving in the opposite direction. Got a good laugh that morning.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Also any idea why the green line has stop signs where it goes into some tunnels? I know that where it ingresses at North Station there is a maintenance access door right after, but can't the workers look before crossing the tracks instead of making every train stop?
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Can anyone explain why some red line trains run slower than others? I was at Park Street the other day and could see a Braintree tree sitting in the tunnel between Charles and Park street. It sat there for about 2 minutes not moving. Then it slowly crept into Park Street and the slowly crept to Downtown Crossing and then slowly crept to South Station.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Traffic? Maybe the train in front is malfunctioning like it always does.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

So yesterday a man was killed at Malden Center for falling onto the third rail. Has the T ever considered converting all the third rails into catenary wires? One would say that they are safer and could have prevented something like this.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

KentXie said:
So yesterday a man was killed at Malden Center for falling onto the third rail. Has the T ever considered converting all the third rails into catenary wires? One would say that they are safer and could have prevented something like this.
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If the Reading extension happened, I think the conversion point from 3rd Rail to Cantenary was going to be Community College.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

There are "safe" third rails which involves short segments only being activated when a train is imminently approaching them. Some street-running trolley systems that don't use catenary wires use this type of third rail.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

There is also under running third rail and third rail covers. These both lessen the chance of shock. I'd prefer them instead of overhead wires.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Boston Metro - Sept 4, 2010
Real-time train data? Now there?s an app for that

NICOLAUS CZARNECKI/METRO

In addition to releasing real-time train data to third-party developers, the MBTA also unveiled the technology at Back Bay and Ruggles Stations for customers.

?Now you don?t have to worry about whether you have enough time to put money on your card before the train comes.? ?Greg Gomer, 25, Brookline

When the T released real-time bus data to third-party smartphone app developers a year ago, riders were thrilled but really wanted to know where their train was.

Train data was finally released officially on Friday when Bostonbusmap added the Blue, Orange and Red Lines to its app. This week, the maker of the popular Catch the Bus app will release Catch the T.

?I?m excited to see what happens, obviously this is a delayed process,? said BostInnovation.com editor Greg Gomer, 25, of Brookline. ?My qualm is, I live on the Green Line.?

Real-time apps for the above-ground trolleys are a few years off because it uses a different signaling system, but the commuter rail will be added in months.

?It?s always one more,? MBTA GM Rich Davey joked of the Green Line gripes. ?Is the technology there, absolutely. Do I have the millions of dollars today to roll that out, I don?t. We?re really focused on improving reliability to service.

?The Green Line will be the last. I know it?s the gold standard for many customers, but it?s something we?ll work hard at over the next many months.?

The T also installed boards at Back Bay and Ruggles stations to ease riders? anticipation.

?You always see people peering down over the pit, down the line, to see the headlight of the train,? Davey said. ?By having displays both on phones and at stations can alleviate folks? anxiety.?
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T apps available soon
While Jared Egan?s app Catch the Bus won the MassDOT/ MBTA Real-Time Challenge this spring, his Catch the T app is likely to be added to app stores this week.

George Schneeloch?s new version of Bostonbusmap, however, was in app stores on Friday. But who is keeping score?

?As long as the data is out there, I don?t really care,? Schneeloch, 25, said.
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Welp, I guess it may be time to break down and get a smart phone.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

MBTA on watch for train fare evaders
By L. Finch
Globe Correspondent / October 8, 2010

It is not a good week to try to bamboozle the T.

The MBTA is cracking down on fare evasion, stepping up efforts on the commuter rail, subway, and bus systems against passengers who attempt to slip through the turnstiles without paying or sneak by with expired passes and counterfeit passes, transit officials said.

?Unfortunately, there?s always the temptation by a handful of customers to try these tricks, and that is to the detriment of our paying customers,?? said General Manager Richard Davey. ?If it happens once, that?s too much.??

Commuter rail passengers on several trains in North and South Station will be asked to purchase tickets before boarding, and conductors with UV flashlights will scrutinize each ticket; special ink causes the orange arrow on the pass to glow in black light.

Inspectors will also be out in force at subway stations, keeping their eyes peeled for passengers hopping the turnstiles or piggy-backing their way through. And at stations without turnstiles, such as above-ground stops on the Green Line, plainclothes officers will be around, making sure passengers do not sneak onto the train in back without paying.

Fare evasion is not very common, but it happens, Davey said. When the transportation agency cracked down last year, officials netted a dozen or so counterfeit passes and even arrested a man in South Station for selling them.

The MBTA will periodically repeat its concentrated efforts against fare evasion, Davey said.

? Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.
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http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...0/10/08/mbta_on_watch_for_train_fare_evaders/
 
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