General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Today four buses in a row broke down on the 39 route.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

MBTA looking to sell Newburyport parcels:

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2012/05/mbta-seeks-bids-on-newburyport-parcel.html

The T has set the minimum bid price at $1.57 million and it comes as the transportation agency is facing a $185 million deficit in 2013. The T’s TOD program also helps to fulfill the agency’s goals and statutory obligations to increase ridership, provide attractive services to its riders, and maximize its revenues from sources other than passenger fares, the T said.
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Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I'd rather they don't develop it at all and place the station between Merrimac St and Washington St.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

If the TOD fairy didn't show up 14 years ago at the massive slab of asphalt in the middle of nowhere, what makes them think it's going to now?

Caving to the NIMBY's about reinstating the downtown stop in favor of the half-solution (but TOD™-dier!) was not quite the debacle it was in Plymouth with Cordage Park, but...almost as bad. And almost as long an odds of salvaging.

Parallel steel rails and a platform are not some sort of magic pixie dust that turns a suburban big-box parking lot into Mixed Use Funland. There has to, you know, be a compelling reason to develop something there. Newburyport's got a compact downtown that this station is out of reach of (and which the old station served just fine, thank you), and there's not a good way to build some sort of dense transit village in an enclosed space when the surrounding wetlands are going to inhibit a sudden and very incongruous isolated spike in density. It's a divided highway rotary. What's gonna go there that isn't diffuse, big-boxy, and car-exclusive? This isn't Westwood Landing or Raynham Park...oh wait, but those aren't thriving TOD™ = Winning™ success stories either!


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Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

"Stanton" a new (?) stop on the Newburyport/Rockport Line.
Bad news is that the trains were delayed as camercrews and movie extras milled about.
Good news is that the Swampscott Depot got a fresh coat of paint.
Don't she look pretty?

IMG_0643
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I don't know what condition the depot was in before, but looks great right now!
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Grown Ups 2 staring Adam Sandler. They will be shooting in Marblehead and Swampscott until mid August.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

MBTA offering free rides to Logan Airport starting today

I think this may have been mentioned previously? Or perhaps I am hallucinating. :)

Massport is paying for the 90-day pilot which will subsidize boardings coming from Logan. I really don't see this doing much more than having a negative impact on Blue Line boardings inbound at the Airport station as people opt instead for a Silver Line service to connect at South Station. If the intent is to speed up boardings (in addition to raising awareness about using transit to get to/from the airport), why not just do a campaign and station customer service agents at the terminals to help with buying tickets/boarding?

I guess at the end of the day it won't matter as Massport is essentially guaranteeing $100K/month in revenue for the MBTA.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I still maintain the fact that this is crazy (but here's my number, so call me maybe) because it gives the users completely-free access to the entire system. They should somehow force the riders at South Station back to the fare lobby through one-way exits.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

datadyne007 said:
I still maintain the fact that this is crazy (but here's my number, so call me maybe) because it gives the users completely-free access to the entire system. They should somehow force the riders at South Station back to the fare lobby through one-way exits.
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But then what about people who already paid at WTC or Courthouse?

I don't think it's too much of a big deal.

And it is merely a trial anyway. Lets see how it goes.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

datadyne007 said:
I still maintain the fact that this is crazy (but here's my number, so call me maybe) because it gives the users completely-free access to the entire system. They should somehow force the riders at South Station back to the fare lobby through one-way exits.
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But what's wrong with this "free" access? It's still being paid for, by Massport.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I'm fine with MassPort giving them free rides from the airport to a downtown hub (in this case South Sta), but once they are downtown, they need to pay the fare that all of us locals pay to get anywhere else. It's still astronomically cheaper than a cab.

I think it's absolutely crazy for someone to be able to go from the airport to Braintree completely free of charge.

What do the numbers show? Is the amount MassPort is paying the T greater than, equal to, or less than the projected T revenues lost from this? How about for maintenance and use of vehicles? I'm not just talking about the Silver Line buses. This means free Red, Blue, Orange, and Green trips too - which all have stock that requires maintenance.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

datadyne007 said:
I'm fine with MassPort giving them free rides from the airport to a downtown hub (in this case South Sta), but once they are downtown, they need to pay the fare that all of us locals pay to get anywhere else. It's still astronomically cheaper than a cab.

I think it's absolutely crazy for someone to be able to go from the airport to Braintree completely free of charge.
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Its not free.

Why does it matter who pays the $1.70?

If I give you a charlie ticket with two bucks, should the MBTA kick you off after one station because you shouldnt ride for free?
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

datadyne007 said:
I think it's absolutely crazy for someone to be able to go from the airport to Braintree completely free of charge.

What do the numbers show? Is the amount MassPort is paying the T greater than, equal to, or less than the projected T revenues lost from this? How about for maintenance and use of vehicles? I'm not just talking about the Silver Line buses. This means free Red, Blue, Orange, and Green trips too - which all have stock that requires maintenance.
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On your first point, if people aren't using the 'T to get from the airport to Braintree for the incredibly low rate of $1.70, they might not do it for free, either. Be that as it may, many who do decide to go for this deal will realize that it's actually a pretty good way to get there, even at full price.

on your second point, the fare is being paid. Whether it's MassPort or the individual, the 'T has a uniform fare system, which means a fare paid at the airport gives the rider the right to the entire system, just as much as a fare paid at Park Street does.
 
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Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

took the "free" silver line yesterday from logan on my way back to porter (I have a monthly pass so a wash for me anyway)- but let me say that no one on the bus will be very impressed with the service. It took forty minutes to get from terminal E- the last airport stop- to silver line way. (granted a cab would have taken the same). But they should have made this a train or light rail with direct on stop service even just to central parking and let people go from there.

I am now solidly in the blue line and shuttle bus even if i have to do a one stop green line jump.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

choo said:
took the "free" silver line yesterday from logan on my way back to porter (I have a monthly pass so a wash for me anyway)- but let me say that no one on the bus will be very impressed with the service. It took forty minutes to get from terminal E- the last airport stop- to silver line way. (granted a cab would have taken the same). But they should have made this a train or light rail with direct on stop service even just to central parking and let people go from there.

I am now solidly in the blue line and shuttle bus even if i have to do a one stop green line jump.
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I'm assuming there were bad backups in the tunnel? Or were the backups in leaving Logan?
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

essentially once you got out of terminal E into the roadway going to the tunnel all the way through to Silver Line Way. Then you get off in the Seaport and have to loop back through which was also clogged with traffic.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

choo said:
essentially once you got out of terminal E into the roadway going to the tunnel all the way through to Silver Line Way. Then you get off in the Seaport and have to loop back through which was also clogged with traffic.
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Choo, et al

If you take the segments of the trip:
Logan Term E to Ted W Tunnel
Ted Williams Tunnel
Ted W ramp to Silver Line Way
Silver Line change-over at Silver Line Way
Silver Line Way to WTC crossing D Street
WTC to CourtHouse
CourtHouse to South Station
Red Line to where-ever

its obvious the "simple fix" is to burry a direct connection between the Ted W Tunnel and Silver Line Way where the change to/from electric tranction occurs -- getting the diesel powered Airport Silver Line off the streets

And of course to dig under D street to bringing into tunnel the entire electric traction phase of all the Silver Line buses to/from South Station to Silver Line Way

When the Tunnel had its problem - Silver Line Buses entered the Ted Williams Tunnel portal through the special ramp reserved for Emergency Vehicles -- it was amazingly effecient except the time while waiting to crossing D Street
 
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