General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Is there any good reason they are giving for this move? It's not something inane like "trolley wires are unsightly" is it?
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

metasyntactic said:
Is there any good reason they are giving for this move? It's not something inane like "trolley wires are unsightly" is it?
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Pretty much. They've made that claim before; they're doing it again. And there's at least one councillor in Watertown who's doing it where many have done it before.

Cambridge will never, ever go along with this. It's been tried before at Belmont's insistence, and Cambridge has dug in every time. As long as it requires all 3 towns to vote in unison, it'll never happen.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Do they realize how loud the CNG buses are? I don't understand what is so offensive about overhead trolley wires. I think power/phone/cable lines drapped all over the place look like crap, but trolley lines give a street character.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I assume that Belmont will continue to want their busses using the Harvard Busway. I thought that CNG busses couldn't go in the Busway. Is this restriction due to the fact that it is underground, or because of the trolley wires in the tunnel?

Regardless -- spending $$$ to REMOVE infrastructure seems like a foolhardy approach.

I doubt that the Belmont pols that are pushing for this change are infrastructure wonks -- but perhaps they want to remove the trolley overhead power system and implement something like "Online Electric Vehicles, or OLEVs" -- which uses wireless under-pavement power delivery. MASSPORT is interested in the technology.

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/01/31/2011013100308.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_Electric_Vehicle
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Also, if 71 and 73 buses don't use the trackless wires, they can't easily load in the lower busway as they do now. That busway assumes left-hand entrance doors and can't reasonably be converted to right-hand entrance.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

The 77 has no problem sending people directly into the wall in the lower tunnel.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

People get off buses on the wall side routinely, but not onto them.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Cross posted at railroad.net...

I was just at the Watertown hearing. The subcommittee is against the trackless trolley's remove and will pass along this recommendation to the full town council and the town manager. The recommendation is for the town manager to send a letter to Belmont stating Watertown's opposition. Cambridge while not represented at the Watertown hearing sent a letter in opposition of the trackless trolley remove. Just for reference the actual remove would be discussed after the trackless trolley expected life has been reached (2019).

Belmont had asked the T to share poles for their street lights as part of an upcoming Belmont St. and Trapelo Rd. redesign. The T balked citing safety concerns and instead suggested petitioning Watertown and Belmont for the removal.

A few interesting side discussion were held. One was the lack of bike racks on the trackless trolleys (the T stated it was because of how the buses are towed but I think it has to do with them potentially becoming electrified in an accident). The 71 and 73 are also part of the core 15 bus routes and are receiving a small federal grant for upgrades like shelters, curb cuts and signal prioritization.
 
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Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

crash575 said:
Cross posted at railroad.net...
A few interesting side discussion were held. One was the lack of bus racks on the trackless trolleys (the T stated it was because of how the buses are towed but I think it has to do with them potentially becoming electrified in an accident).
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You mean bike racks right? I wonder why the T can't while other cities that use trackless trolleys manage to have bike racks just fine. Example from Vancouver (image from Wikipedia):

Vancouver_trolley_bus_-_New_Flyer_E60LFR.jpg
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

yeah bike racks..."bus racks" would be awesome
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

So the T is advocating for trackless removal? Why?
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I wouldn't say that the T was advocating the removal but rather told the Belmont town manager that removal was an option. This is the impression the town manager was giving during his few minute remarks. Belmont was looking to reduce the amount of utility poles when they reconstruct the road. Part of that idea was to combine the utilities, street lights and MBTA overhead on the same poles. The T viewed this as a potential safety issue and an impact to service if they had to wait for a utility company to come onsite during an incident.

The T representative seemed ambivalent to the issue. Being at least 8 years away from actually having to discuss the removal. According to the T rep the trackless trolleys were partly purchased with federal funds they can't/won't be scrapped until they exceed their useful life.

Also, I think Watertown jumped the gun on holding a hearing (I'm all for Watertown being proactive in this case). This issue hasn't been brought before the Belmont board of selectman.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I have a great story about the my trip on the T today.

I normally leave an hour early on Bus 93 at around 5:30 am in the morning to get to Ruggles to take the Providence CR down to Rt 128. I would arrive by 6:00 am, about 33 minutes before the CR arrives. Unfortunately today I missed the bus and must take the 5:50 am bus up to Sullivan Station instead which is fine because two things must go wrong for me to the commuter rail. Or so I thought, stupid me. The first thing that has to go wrong is that the Bus would be late returning from DT which would make me miss the Orange Line train that arrives at 6:03 am. The second would be to have the 6:13 am Orange Line train arrive late as well. Note that if the trip went perfectly, I would arrive 13 minutes before the CR and if the bus was late and I have to take the 6:13 train instead, I would still arrive around 4 minutes before the CR.

The bus came on time and I arrived at Sullivan 5 minutes before the 6:03 train was set to arrive. The train didn't reach Sullivan until 6:08 which was fine because that's still before the 6:13 train. Unfortunately, the T decided that 5 minutes late was late enough to run the fucking train on express, bypassing Sullivan Station, which was still fine because I can still make it by taking the 6:13 am train. However, LO and BEFUCKINGHOLD the 6:13 am train didn't pull into the station until 6:18 am. The train driver then literally strolled its way through each station and waited for everyone including their grandmas to run down the stairs to catch their train. Needless to say, I missed my train and was forced to wait an extra hour for the next train and leave work an hour late. Seriously, if the train behind the first one is late as well, DON'T RUN THE FIRST TRAIN ON EXPRESS because that just leaves the rest waiting an extra 10 minutes.

To this I say, FUCK YOU MBTA, fuck your workers, fuck your trains, and just plain fuck you.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Get your MBTA gear starting June 1st!

http://www.metro.us/boston/local/article/864650--t-store-prepared-to-launch-online-video

T store prepared to launch online (VIDEO)

MICHAEL NAUGHTON
BOSTON
Published: May 18, 2011 7:34 p.m.
Last modified: May 18, 2011 7:42 p.m.


Hoping to generate some revenue, the cash-strapped T is set to launch its new online store MBTAgifts.com.

?It?s a T lover?s paradise,? said Rose Yates, the T?s director of marketing communications.

The site will launch June 1 offering items like magnets, T-shirts, shower curtains and bracelets all covered in T maps and logos.

But for true T lovers, the best items are likely to be the authentic memorabilia. Old T subway line maps, some dating back to the 1970s, will be sold.

T officials announced plans to start selling the swag earlier this year.

Immediately after the announcement, Bostonians took to the Internet and suggested sarcastic slogans.

Yates said the T is open to making fun of itself and welcomed suggestions.

Watch video of the T t-shirts being made, courtesy of AntiDesigns:
Click to expand...
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Ron Newman and the rest of railroad.net just found a new place to dispose of income.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

? Subway map from Copley station circa ?70s ? $2,000
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Friggin loved that thing when it was uncovered. I've got pictures, but it'd be so cool to own the real thing.

I also love how in the video, he does the Red & Blue lines first clearly showing their lack of connection.
 
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