General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

nbcoram said:
The 9's are definitely a lot more popular among riders than ops employees. I like driving them, but the 9's force you to be more careful when driving. The legitimate gripes I can come up with for the 9's:
-the mirror is slow to retract
-at very slow speeds the non-emergency braking can be a little laggy
-the mirror is reflective as anything

My responses:
-yes sure. however, needing to wait a second before taking off isn't 100% bad from a safety perspective
-in the areas where this can become an issue (B/C surface), you have to drive more defensively on a 9, also not a bad thing
-the curtain helps solve this

Some operators also don't like the cabs on the 9's. That's an eye of the beholder thing. The 9's are designed to force you to drive differently, which being honest is not a bad thing with the reputation some GL ops have.

A lot of the hatred of the 9's boils down to "they're new and they make you drive differently as a safety check".
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it seems like some more senior operators appreciate the 'streetcar'-ness of the previous types, while, to be honest, most of us riders really appreciate the newness of the 9.
 
That part of the Red Line is still under speed restrictions.

Also, now with the 4 day Orange Line diversion having passed, the slow zone map will not have many signficant changes until May 1st, since the next significant slow zone work will not be until the Blue Line diversions, which is not scheduled to finish work until April 29th.

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...except for the work ending Apr 11, which since it doesn't totally overlap with the subsequent diversion will update the map then?
 
FitchburgLine said:
...except for the work ending Apr 11, which since it doesn't totally overlap with the subsequent diversion will update the map then?
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I suppose.

I wonder if the Blue Line is going to revert to the pre-slow zone scheduled runtime schedule upon the spring schedule April 7th, or if the T is going to retain the slowzone runtime schedule of the Blue Line throughout the spring schedule until the summer rating on July 1st.

Reverting to the pre-slowzone runtime schedule on the BL will cause schedule problems on April 8, and April 12th - 15th, since Blue Line trains will not be able to meet the schedule with actual runtimes taking longer due to slowzones. (There will be special diversion schedules April 9-11 and April 16-29). However, it would allow Blue Line frequencies to return to pre-slowzone frequencies on April 30th, and run full service throughout May and June.

If the T keeps the winter Blue Line schedule throughout the spring, then schedule adherance on the Blue Line can be maintained on April 8 and April 12-15, but it means Blue Line will continue to run reduced slowzone service, after slow zones get lifted, throughout May and June 2024, until the next schedule change on July 1st, 2024.
 
The T is starting "exploratory borings" along the Mattapan Line as part of planning what they need to do to support the Type 9's there:

dotnews.com

MBTA filings show its moving ahead with trolley line upgrades | Dorchester Reporter

It’s moving at a slower pace than some would like, but preparations for retrofitting the MBTA’s “Hi-Speed” trolley line that links Mattapan and Ashmont via Milton continue to advance this month with engineers seeking permits to drill dozens of “exploratory borings” along the 2.6-mile-long right...
dotnews.com dotnews.com
 
as02143 said:
it seems like some more senior operators appreciate the 'streetcar'-ness of the previous types, while, to be honest, most of us riders really appreciate the newness of the 9.
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I don't even think it's just a high-seniority thing. A lot of people even in my hire group, and other recent hire groups, hate the Type 9's (though the hatred is perhaps a bit less common among younger operators). Certainly though I think the 9 hate is borderline universal amongst older and more senior operators.

I initially didn't care for driving them, but they've grown on me a lot in operating - and I've always liked them as a rider. Always a pleasant ride on a Type 9 as a passenger. They, like the CRRC rolling stock on the Orange and Red Lines, feel fresh and bright and much-needed.

devnull said:
The T is starting "exploratory borings" along the Mattapan Line as part of planning what they need to do to support the Type 9's there:
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Since you mention this, it brings up a related point. I'm still trying to get a read on people, but Mattapan is polarising among operators. Some people absolutely love reporting to Mattapan and some absolutely hate it. Most people who say they love it is because there is less supervision over there. Reasons for disliking Mattapan tend to be either it's too many trips for a shift, or the PCC's. The PCC's are the only type of train we have that I just absolutely hate driving. As a passenger, they also aren't really a comfortable ride, but at least the nostalgia is cool, albeit absolutely ridiculous for an operation that is meant to provide serious transit rather than as a tourist trap. I have even met one person who absolutely hates the Type 9's but would be much more willing to go to Mattapan if the line ran Type 9's right now.
 
nbcoram said:
Most people who say they love it is because there is less supervision over there. Reasons for disliking Mattapan tend to be either it's too many trips for a shift, or the PCC's. The PCC's are the only type of train we have that I just absolutely hate driving.
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I think this speaks a bit to the issue with the PCCs seemingly ending up in smashes seemingly often.
 
as02143 said:
I think this speaks a bit to the issue with the PCCs seemingly ending up in smashes seemingly often.
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Yep.

Many people who like Mattapan also like it because it's relatively quiet, but at least anecdotally, less supervision is a big part of that. I obviously have not surveyed every single operator, as much as I might want to in order to get into the brains of some people.
 
as02143 said:
I think this speaks a bit to the issue with the PCCs seemingly ending up in smashes seemingly often.
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There's no signal system on Mattapan, so the line is entirely reliant on the line-of-sight alertness of operators because there's no block occupancy indicators. That's where the lack of supervision comes from; much-simplified dispatching meaning fewer dispatchers and inspectors needed for routine ops.

That the T wants to use the High Speed Line as a test bed for GLTPS positive train control crash-avoidance tech is probably an admission that the level of supervision is lacking down there for the average operator.
 
as02143 said:
I think this speaks a bit to the issue with the PCCs seemingly ending up in smashes seemingly often.
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Well that and the whole seemingly failed attempt at rehabbing the PCCs to last until the hand-me-down Type-9s get to the line. Seems like the Type-9s will eventually arrive before the rebuild is complete.
 
There's a type 8 car where one set of accessible doors doesn't open, so the operator has to announce it at each stop. Somehow I've managed to get stuck with that car twice this week. Type 10 can't come soon enough!
 
Delvin4519 said:
Spring 2024 schedules are OUT!!!

(A bit too excited, at long last)

Spring 2024 Service Changes | Previous Service Changes | 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

Schedule files available as well: https://cdn.mbta.com/archive/archived_feeds.txt
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Changes:
  • Red Line frequency increases all day due to reduced slow zones
  • Green Line will operate more 2-car trains on weekends (unsure if they're entirely 2 cars, or if there are still some 1-car trains)
  • Green Line weekday frequency increases for all branches: B and D during rush hours, C and E all day
  • Some Green Line trips on Sundays shift from E to B, C, D branches
  • Frequency increases at certain periods of the day on Blue Line and many bus routes due to "crowding"
  • Routes 83 and 91 will move from the Central Square busway to River St @ Green St due to construction
 
Delvin4519 said:
Spring 2024 schedules are OUT!!!

(A bit too excited, at long last)

Spring 2024 Service Changes | Previous Service Changes | 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

Schedule files available as well: https://cdn.mbta.com/archive/archived_feeds.txt
Click to expand...
My updated MBTA minimum frequency map is now updated to reflect Spring 2024 schedules.

Here are the following changes to the MBTA frequency map. Additional details can be found below the map. At this time, I am not updating the comparison to Amsterdam maps (just yet).

Routes moved to lower frequency ranges:
Route 112 moved to "Every 2 hours or less" from "Every 1 - 2 hours" - updated Sunday schedule now below 11 trips (11 -> 10).
Route 134 moved to "Every 1 - 2 hours" from "Every 30 - 60 minutes" - updated Sunday schedule now below 21 trips (21 -> 18).
Routes moved to higher frequency ranges:
Route 714 moved to "Every 1 - 2 hours" from "Every 2 hours or less" - updated Sunday schedule exceeds 11 trips (9 -> 13).
Route 71 east of Waltham Square moved to "Every 20 - 30 minutes" from "Every 30 - 60 minutes"- updated Sunday schedule exceeds 41 trips (40 -> 42).
Green Line D moved to "Every 10 - 12 minutes" from "Every 12 - 15 minutes"- updated Sunday schedule exceeds 101 trips (100 -> 107).

Note: While Ashmont Branch meets the 61 Sunday trips threshold required to be displayed as "Every 15 - 20 minutes" on this map, the Braintree Branch doesn't yet meet this threshold (60 is below 61). As such, I will not update any portion of the Red Line on this map, until the next schedule change (2024 June 16th) to updated frequency threshold ranges.

Old maps: Winter 2024 (2024Q1) Fall 2023 (2023 Q4) Summer 2023 (2023 Q3), Spring 2023 (2023 Q2v2), Pre-slow zone map (2023 Q2), Original map (2023 Q1) (Oldest map available)
1711493734652.png


Detailed changes:
42 routes have service increases or decreases. An additional 77 weekday trips, 10 Saturday trips, and 10 Sunday trips have all been added to the systemwide schedule. Excluding rapid transit and Silver Line routes, 23 weekday bus trips and 4 Sunday bus trips were removed from the systemwide bus schedule, and 4 Saturday bus trips were added systemwide.

Service cuts and frequency reductions:
2 subway routes and 16 bus routes will see reduced service this Spring.

Subway frequency reductions:
  • GL B weekend frequency decreases by 12 Saturday roundtrips and 2 Sunday roundtrips (132 -> 120, 114 -> 112)
  • GL E Sunday frequency decreases by 5 roundtrips (117 -> 112)
Bus service cuts and frequency reductions:
  • 34 - 8 fewer weekday trips (51 -> 43)
  • 34E - 7 fewer weekday trips (43 -> 36)
  • 66 - 5 fewer weekday trips (106 -> 101)
  • 120 - 3 fewer weekday trips (35 -> 32)
  • 121 - 3 fewer weekday trips (14 -> 11)
  • 96 - 3 fewer weekday trips (30 -> 27)
  • 134 - 2 fewer weekday trips and 3 fewer Sunday trips (23 -> 21, 21 -> 18)
  • 8 - 2 fewer weekday trips (39 -> 37)
  • 41 - 2 fewer weekday trips (26 -> 24)
  • 52 - 2 fewer weekday trips (15 -> 13)
  • 18 - 1 fewer weekday trip and 2 fewer Saturday trips (10 -> 9, 10 -> 8)
  • 94 - 1 fewer weekday trip (30 -> 29)
  • 19 - 1 fewer weekday trip (27 -> 26)
  • 109 - 4 fewer Sunday trips (36 -> 32)
  • 104 - 4 fewer Sunday trips (35 -> 31)
  • 112 - 1 fewer Sunday trip (11 -> 10)
Service increases:
8 subway routes and 17 bus routes will see increased service this spring.

Subway:
  • GL D - 2 more weekday trips, 5 more Saturday trips, and 7 more Sunday trips (128 -> 130, 114 -> 119, 100 -> 107)
  • RL - 6 more weekday trips, 4 more Saturday trips, and 4 more Sunday trips per branch (x2 north of JFK-UMass) (133 -> 145, 117 -> 125, 113 -> 121 north of JFK-UMass)
  • OL - 9 more weekday trips (132 -> 141)
  • GL E - 10 more weekday trips and 3 more Saturday trips (147 -> 157, 120 -> 123)
  • BL - 11 more weekday trips (169 -> 180)
  • GL B - 13 more weekday trips (132 -> 145)
  • GL C - 23 more weekday trips, 6 more Saturday trips, and 2 more Sunday trips (119 -> 142, 116 -> 122, 109 -> 111)
Bus:
  • 1 - 1 more Sunday trip (81 -> 82)
  • 70 - 2 more Sunday trips (40 -> 42)
  • 716 - 1 more weekday trip and 1 more Saturday trip (8 -> 9, 9 -> 10)
  • SL3, 9, 47, 21, 435, 7, and 65 each see 1 more weekday trip each. (weekday trips#: 96, 88, 55, 67, 18, 63, 37 -> 97, 89, 56, 68, 19, 64, 38)
  • 111, 32, and 501 each see 2 more weekday trips (weekday trips#: 204, 139, 22 -> 206, 141, 24)
  • SLW - 2 more weekday trips and 1 more Sunday trip (47 -> 49, 52 -> 53)
  • 117 - 2 more weekday trips and 1 more Saturday trip (61 -> 63, 48 -> 49)
  • 714 - 3 more weekday trips, 4 more Saturday trips, and 5 more Sunday trips (14 -> 17, 9 -> 13, 9 -> 13)
  • SL1 - 17 more weekday trips and 3 more Sunday trips (99 -> 116, 107 -> 110)
Some routes have departure time changes or routing changes, however, none of them impact this analysis or the map above, as such they aren't listed here.
 
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Teban54 said:
Green Line will operate more 2-car trains on weekends (unsure if they're entirely 2 cars, or if there are still some 1-car trains)
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All scheduled service will be 2-car trains.

You may still see unscheduled 1-car trains at times for various reasons (mechanical issues, extra detail car, high number of call outs, etc.) Recently I drove a morning rush hour train on the B branch as a single, 19 minutes after the previous train, because of a mechanical issue and I happened to be in the Type 8. You'll still see those sorts of things happen every now and then.
 
Thanks for the data @Delvin4519 !

Put another way (in case this is helpful for others):

The Orange Line will run 7% more trips each weekday, going from an average of:
- every 8.75 minutes
… to …
- 8.2 minutes

The Red Line (trunk) will run 9% more trips each weekday, going from an average of:
- every 8.7 minutes
… to …
- 8.0 minutes

The Blue Line will run 7% more trips each weekday, going from an average of:
- every 6.8 minutes
… to …
- 6.4 minutes

I’ll take those wins!
 
bigeman312 said:
Thanks for the data @Delvin4519 !

Put another way (in case this is helpful for others):

The Orange Line will run 7% more trips each weekday, going from an average of:
- every 8.75 minutes
… to …
- 8.2 minutes

The Red Line (trunk) will run 9% more trips each weekday, going from an average of:
- every 8.7 minutes
… to …
- 8.0 minutes

The Blue Line will run 7% more trips each weekday, going from an average of:
- every 6.8 minutes
… to …
- 6.4 minutes

I’ll take those wins!
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The situation with the buses is just disappointing. 16 bus routes with reduced frequencies even though 17 routes get improved frequencies. A net loss of weekday service for buses once subway service is excluded, as well as a loss in of some Sunday bus service.

The new contract was 8 months ago, and yet the winter 2024 and spring 2024 service have hardly restored any bus service at all. The summer 2023 bus service cuts have yet to be undone.

How can I be so confident in BNRD happening, if 8 months after the new contract we've yet to see bus service have any meaningful service RESTORATION, let alone improved service. The MBTA has a 93 million shortfall in FY25, and if the national election later this fall goes south, that could mean federal support for transit becoming a lot more hostile for the rest of the decade.
 
Delvin4519 said:
The situation with the buses is just disappointing. 16 bus routes with reduced frequencies even though 17 routes get improved frequencies. A net loss of weekday service for buses once subway service is excluded, as well as a loss in of some Sunday bus service.

The new contract was 8 months ago, and yet the winter 2024 and spring 2024 service have hardly restored any bus service at all. The summer 2023 bus service cuts have yet to be undone.

How can I be so confident in BNRD happening, if 8 months after the new contract we've yet to see bus service have any meaningful service RESTORATION, let alone improved service. The MBTA has a 93 million shortfall in FY25, and if the national election later this fall goes south, that could mean federal support for transit becoming a lot more hostile for the rest of the decade.
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I get it. There are some unaddressed issues, but look at your post about frequency changes:

I count a net loss of 6 bus trips per week and a net gain of 382 train trips per week. This is a win! Is it perfect? No. But let’s celebrate the wins when they happen.
 
Delvin4519 said:
The situation with the buses is just disappointing. 16 bus routes with reduced frequencies even though 17 routes get improved frequencies. A net loss of weekday service for buses once subway service is excluded, as well as a loss in of some Sunday bus service.
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Gotta have bus drivers to drive the bus?
 
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