General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

as02143 said:
I'm a bit confused by the implication that there's a three-seat ride. The reliable Kenmore to Sullivan trip has always been a two-seat ride - wait for a GL car that takes you to North or Haymarket (why would one, tho) and then transfer to the OL. If you see something pop-up and make the trip to Park or Gov't - that's always been an option, but, it's not like this is anything new about the system.
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Or take any GL car and transfer at Park/DTX, that's also an option.
 
Multi-seat rides are only such an issue on the T because of its lousy headways and poor operation controls.

Systems around the world with efficient and predictable operations make multi-seat rides a no penalty activity via coordinated cross-platform transfers. Such a capability is a total fantasy in MBTAland.
 
as02143 said:
I'm a bit confused by the implication that there's a three-seat ride. The reliable Kenmore to Sullivan trip has always been a two-seat ride - wait for a GL car that takes you to North or Haymarket (why would one, tho) and then transfer to the OL. If you see something pop-up and make the trip to Park or Gov't - that's always been an option, but, it's not like this is anything new about the system.
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TheRatmeister said:
Or take any GL car and transfer at Park/DTX, that's also an option.
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And it's going to be the same issue and problem with the unfunded BNRD's T7 route.

The T7 in the unfunded bus network redesign (BNRD) is slated to:
1. Provide last mile connections from Sullivan to Haymarket busways connecting with GLX, Blue, Orange, and Red Libes,
2. Provide a crucial north-south connection between North Station and South Station in a OSR, serving Haymarket,
3. Give the Seaport one seat access to the GLX, Red, Orange, and Blue Lines.
4. Run every 11 - 15 minutes off peak (8 min rush hours only)

Bus riders at Kenmore transferring to the Green Line do not have access to the E branch for service to, only the B, C, and D, but most service is truncated at Government Center.

Government Center will NOT be served by the T7 bus, and with the street grid all shredded to pieces at City Hall Plaza, there's no way for the T7 bus to get to it.

This means the main north-south link fron North Station and South Station in Downtown giving last mile riders from Sullivan and the Seaport connections to 3 and a half subway lines won't get easy access to the Green Line's Kenmore busway for continued connections.

JeffDowntown said:
Multi-seat rides are only such an issue on the T because of its lousy headways and poor operation controls.

Systems around the world with efficient and predictable operations make multi-seat rides a no penalty activity via coordinated cross-platform transfers. Such a capability is a total fantasy in MBTAland.
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The best way to make subway & bus connections really annoying and lousy to deprive ridership is to run the subway and the KBR system on an untimed 11, 13, or 17 minute headway as opposed to
a) evenly spaced single digit headway departures, or.
b) double digit clockfaced 10, 12 or 15 minute headways
--- this could be for example: xx:x6 "every 10 minutes on the 6"
--- xx:01, 13, 25, 37, 49 every hour, or, xx:05, 20, 35, 50, past the hour repeating every hour.

The same goes for lower frequency bus routes (The T loves running 27, 42, 56, and 63 minute headways for buses so no one can remember what time the bus comes or transfer between low freq buses). Why not run 20, 30, or 60 minute clockfaced pulse transfers for local bus routes at bus terminals so riders can connect between low frequency buses and plan for them? Even Brockton here in MA can figure this out.

-----
In my original post, I included a screenshot of the TM dashboard at North Station and the live departures on the GLX.

My outbound GLX train I took that day had a second E train 45 seconds right behind it, followed by an 18 minute gap of service. My train was put on express from East Somerville to Medford and the trip still took 7 minutes (the same had it made all stops), and the following train (it made all GLX stops) came into Medford-Tufts 25 seconds after my expressed train pulled into the platform.

Heading back inbound for the return trip I saw 22 minute headways on the departure board for the opposing direction throughout the GLX stations, followed by 24, 37, and 39. My return train into downtown was then stopped along the Lechmere viaduct with a Union Sq. train directly in front of my train, meaning every single signal required a stop for my train. Then after I got off the Green Line I ran into the aformentioned "OL trains every 10 - 14" on the departure board.

There are constantly 11 - 15 minute headways at North Station, most common during off peak hours, for the Green Line AND the Orange Line (OL weekday rush seems meh/okay). And this is with North Station having both the D and the E and yet the headways are this bad. On June 8th, there were multiple instances of 14 - 20 minute headways despite having TWO branches D and E.

Kinda wild both the outbound and return trip my train was bunched with another train. Either it's bad luck or the problem is actually getting worse. (Links showing March vs. the data for June 8th shows no clear difference at N. Station, but in the case of East Somerville, it seems like it)

Now, with attention on the T7 bus under BNRD. The T7 is also going to have 11 - 15 minute headways... and that darn high frequency bus route from North Station - South Station won't serve Gov'y (with no way to get to it) to pick up the high frequency B and C service to the Kenmore busway. T7 bus riders coming from the Seaport or Sullivan. under BNRD are still going to have to suffer the same garbage headways transfers at Haymarket to get to the B and C at Gov'y since Haymarket/North Station is the only Green Line station the T7 will serve. The Kenmore busway is literally cut off from BNRD's T7 bus.
 
GP40MC said:
I've always been against attaching a pedestrian walkway to the railroad drawbridge. And I speak as a retired dispatcher who worked the Terminal Desk. This would be a potential nightmare for the railroad and bridge tender in Spring/Summer/Fall attempting to make openings for boats between train movements. There wouldn't be any more quick openings due to people lollygagging on the bridge. From a safety standpoint, I hope the T puts their foot down on this one.
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And yet somehow people "lollygagging" on road drawbridges that have sidewalks doesn't seem to be much of a problem, at least in my experience. Generally when people see the flashing lights and hear the horns they get off the bridge right smart.
 
The MBTA Board of directors has signed off in the FY2025 budget in a board meeting earlier today, draining the entire rainy day fund of it's $307 million completely, and leaving the T with shortfalls of $700 million - $1 billion at the state level, beginning July 1st, 2025.

commonwealthbeacon.org

MBTA’s next budget is the one to worry about

THE MBTA’S BOARD of directors has signed off on a $3 billion budget, as well as a capital investment plan, keeping the public transit agency’s flickering
commonwealthbeacon.org commonwealthbeacon.org

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The MBTA's fiscal cliff that arrives in mid-2025 comes at a time where the federal FTA's funding may be cut/gutted to $0 completely at the federal level, if the former 45 returns to the White House under Project 2025.


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Delvin4519 said:
Another 5 weeks has passed, another update on the bus service/bus operator shortage at the T. Data through the end of April.

DateCountVacantChange% of pre-COVID maxMax count
5/2/20231,622201N/A88.97%1,823
6/29/20231,611212-1188.37%1,823
7/26/20231,548368 (275 pre COVID)-63 (-93)84.91% (80.79% BNRD)1,916
8/30/20231,559357 (264 pre COVID)+1185.51% (81.36% BNRD)1,916
10/4/20231,572295 (251 pre COVID)+13 (+49)86.23% (84.19% BNRD)1,867**
10/23/20231,644223 (179 pre COVID)+7290.18% (88.05% BNRD)1,867**
11/28/20231,642225 (181 pre COVID)-290.07% (87.94% BNRD)1,867**
12/29/20231,635***232 (188 pre COVID)***-7***89.68% (87.57% BNRD)****1,867**
1/25/20241,697***170 (126 pre COVID)***+62***93.08% (90.89% BNRD)****1,867**
2/23/20241,714***153 (109 pre COVID)***+17***94.02% (91.80% BNRD)****1,867**
3/26/20241,728***139 (85 pre COVID)***+14***94.78% (92.55% BNRD)****1,867**
4/26/20241,743***124 (70 pre COVID)***+15***95.61% (93.35% BNRD)****1,867**

****/***The formula the MBTA used to calculate bus vacancies has been changed again this January, to exclude in trainees from the operational count (those in training will now be included in vacancies). No changes to historical data was provided by the MBTA, meaning the data since December 29, 2023 is not directly compariable with May - November data.

**Updated figure from the Boston Globe
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5 weeks later, another update on the bus operator shortage at the T.

Hundreds of bus operator vacancies remain as of Memorial Day weekend.

As far as I'm aware, the values published in the T's powerpoint slides includes all inactive and training positions, so it only counts vacancies that are not filled by anyone at all. The actual number of active bus operators that can be used to run service is around 220 - 240 less than the value published in the figures below (but prior in 2023 the actual count was only 100 lower than the actual value).

DateCountVacantChange% of pre-COVID maxMax count
5/2/20231,622201N/A88.97%1,823
6/29/20231,611212-1188.37%1,823
7/26/20231,548368 (275 pre COVID)-63 (-93)84.91% (80.79% BNRD)1,916
8/30/20231,559357 (264 pre COVID)+1185.51% (81.36% BNRD)1,916
10/4/20231,572295 (251 pre COVID)+13 (+49)86.23% (84.19% BNRD)1,867**
10/23/20231,644223 (179 pre COVID)+7290.18% (88.05% BNRD)1,867**
11/28/20231,642225 (181 pre COVID)-290.07% (87.94% BNRD)1,867**
12/29/20231,635***232 (188 pre COVID)***-7***89.68% (87.57% BNRD)****1,867**
1/25/20241,697***170 (126 pre COVID)***+62***93.08% (90.89% BNRD)****1,867**
2/23/20241,714***153 (109 pre COVID)***+17***94.02% (91.80% BNRD)****1,867**
3/26/20241,728***139 (85 pre COVID)***+14***94.78% (92.55% BNRD)****1,867**
4/26/20241,743***124 (70 pre COVID)***+15***95.61% (93.35% BNRD)****1,867**
5/29/20241,764***103 (49 pre COVID)***+21***96.76% (94.48% BNRD)****1,867**

****/***The formula the MBTA used to calculate bus vacancies has been changed again this January, to exclude in trainees from the operational count (those in training will now be included in vacancies). No changes to historical data was provided by the MBTA, meaning the data since December 29, 2023 is not directly compariable with May - November data.

**Updated figure from the Boston Globe

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ceo said:
And yet somehow people "lollygagging" on road drawbridges that have sidewalks doesn't seem to be much of a problem, at least in my experience. Generally when people see the flashing lights and hear the horns they get off the bridge right smart.
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It’s also a vertical lift bridge, so if someone gets stuck on it they just get a scenic elevator ride. People pay good money for that at the Prudential Center’s View Boston experience 🤷‍♂️
 
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Longfellow said:
It would be a stretch but Mass could pay for the T on its own. Just a matter of making a serious commitment to it
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bigeman312 said:
At what point do we question why the overwhelming majority of our tax dollars go to the federal government?
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This state is a similar size to Belgium with a higher GDP and $7bil more annual tax revenue with a few million less people. If we were to be as financially independent as certain states like to pretend they are we'd have a lot more potential to do big things. Theoretically.
 
Koopzilla24 said:
This state is a similar size to Belgium with a higher GDP and $7bil more annual tax revenue with a few million less people. If we were to be as financially independent as certain states like to pretend they are we'd have a lot more potential to do big things. Theoretically.
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Sure, if we joined the Eurozone maybe.
 
Koopzilla24 said:
This state is a similar size to Belgium with a higher GDP and $7bil more annual tax revenue with a few million less people. If we were to be as financially independent as certain states like to pretend they are we'd have a lot more potential to do big things. Theoretically.
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All true, but it’s not right to pretend that Mass’ government spends its money wisely and well. Inefficient use of public funds is the norm across the entire country, especially regarding infrastructure spending. We have a lot to learn from other developed countries; only our stupid and unfounded national pride seems to be preventing us just hiring Korean/Spanish/Italian/Japanese/French/Swedish civil servants away to help us run things better.
 
aquaticko said:
All true, but it’s not right to pretend that Mass’ government spends its money wisely and well. Inefficient use of public funds is the norm across the entire country, especially regarding infrastructure spending. We have a lot to learn from other developed countries; only our stupid and unfounded national pride seems to be preventing us just hiring Korean/Spanish/Italian/Japanese/French/Swedish civil servants away to help us run things better.
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There's a lot more hurdles than just national pride. How many foreign civil servants would even want to relocate to the U.S. in the first place? These planning jobs, with their inherent fragility to political machinations from above, are not very attractive on-spec and certainly don't pay enough above market value to entice relocation and cultural reassimilation from abroad. There aren't one thousand Andy Byfords out there willing to hop the pond for any old job. It's very, very hard to competitively hire foreign transportation expertise for local jobs. Transpo blogosphere dogma keeps bleating that things would be so much better if we just self-satisfyingly fired every locally-bred failson in the ranks, wholesale-imported their European or South Asian replacements like it's one big ol' Berlin Airlift, and let the good old days begin. But they never bother to articulate what job market conditions would lead that to utopia actually becoming a possibility. It's not nearly as simple as it sounds. While foreign transpo experience should be treated as a crucial asset in hiring where we can find it, we can't pretend that simply pulling our heads out of our asses and welcoming world best-practice experience for a change is going to lead to our beaches being stormed with qualified applicants. We're going to have to learn how to home-grow some adherence to world best-practices if we hope to fill those positions and make them continually more attractive.
 
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Saw a uniformed “MBTA Inspector” gentleman today. Is this some position other than the new fare inspectors we are assuming start soon?
 
Longfellow said:
Saw a uniformed “MBTA Inspector” gentleman today. Is this some position other than the new fare inspectors we are assuming start soon?
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I'm pretty sure those are the on-the-ground supervisors - AFAIK their primary responsibility is operational - ie, if GL trains are bunching, they're the ones making the call to go express or short turn, or if something has gone wrong they're supposed to show up and troubleshoot. I don't think fare collection is part of their responsibilities, and I think that role is supposed to go to a separate team, but that would need an insider to comment.
 
Does anyone know how the Type 9 LRVs were delivered? Did they use the spur off the Worcester Line at Riverside?
 
All subway car deliveries for at least the past 30 years have been by flatbed truck, including the Type 8s, 0700-series Blue Line cars, Type 9s, and CRRC Red/Orange Line cars.
 
RandomWalk said:
Has there ever been a non-flatbed delivery in the T era?
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Yes. The Orange 01200's, Blue 0600's, Red 01500's/01600's and 01700's, and Boeing LRV's (but I don't think Type 7's) were all delivered by freight rail flatcar to their respective lines via the Wellington lead/Medford Branch hookup, the former Airport/East Boston Branch hookup, the Cabot/Track 61 hookup, and the Riverside/Lower Falls Branch spur.
 
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