General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

[ant8904]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

So they banned bikes on Sunday wasn't related to the Midnight Bike Ride after all?

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

So the T makes an exception for the midnight bike ride? I'm confused.

 

[bigeman312]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

So they banned bikes on Sunday wasn't related to the Midnight Bike Ride after all?

If I had known all of this, I definitely would have done the midnight marathon ride rather than an unplanned lonely late-afternoon ride from Lowell of eerily similar length. Haha.

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

If I had known all of this, I definitely would have done the midnight marathon ride rather than an unplanned lonely late-afternoon ride from Lowell of eerily similar length. Haha.

Hah my thoughts exactly. You basically did your own Marathon ride.

 

[saulblum]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

So the T makes an exception for the midnight bike ride? I'm confused.

Nope, no exception.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/midnight-marathon-truck-n-train-2015-tickets-16468641149

The organizers arranged for a truck to transport the bikes.

We’ll be taking the Worcester/Framingham commuter rail train. The train DEPARTS at 11pm, so be at South Station, ticket in hand no later than 10:30pm!!! DO NOT TRY AND TAKE YOUR BIKE ON THE TRAIN. The MBTA is enforcing a strict no-bikes policy for Marathon weekend on Sunday and Monday on all trains. You will be turned away if you try. DON’T MISS THE TRAIN!

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Nope, no exception.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/midnight-marathon-truck-n-train-2015-tickets-16468641149

The organizers arranged for a truck to transport the bikes.

Absurd.

What a stupid irresponsible waste of resources prompted by the MBTA. The damn train is probably empty heading out there that late and you're gonna send a truck polluting the air to drive alongside the sustainable transit? God forbid the T does something positive to promote its image.

"There's a fun annual event tonight. Hop on the T! We'll get you there!" Heck, even charge a bike fee if you want.

Heck, they could even use the ski train.

 

[saulblum]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Absurd.

What a stupid irresponsible waste of resources prompted by the MBTA.

Why do I have little doubt this directive came from the State Police or was somehow otherwise related to "security"? "What if one of those bikes was hiding something evil?"

 

[Scipio]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

The Midnight Marathon bike ride used to be supported by the T, I think they even brought out the bike car and let cyclists spend up to 45 minutes boarding at South Station. After the bombing the 2014 ride was at first discouraged by the authorities but was finally allowed. The T allowed the usual one or two bikes per commuter rail car, hence the bike truck.

This year there doesn't appear to be any official discouragement, but the T wholly banned bikes from the commuter rail network. The Sunday 4/19 bike ban on the Commuter Rail system seems to be specifically targeted at the Midnight Marathon ride.

 

[Finn]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Other passengers saw how ridiculous the conductor was being, and offered to help. A couple passengers even offered to help me disassemble the bike, then we could each carry on a couple pieces. Surely this wouldn't qualify as bringing a "bike" on the nearly empty, Sunday afternoon, Commuter Rail train.

Nope. "I won't allow it," was all she would say.

This reminds me of an experience I had on the Fitchburg Line last year. A younger woman, probably around 20 years old, fell asleep or wasn't paying attention and missed her stop. The conductor told her she'd need to get off at the next stop. The girl said that she didn't know anything about where the next stop was -- also, it was about 9PM -- but that she had an uncle who could meet her in Concord, three or four stops away. The conductor said, no, she had to pay the additional fare or get off.

The woman said she didn't have any extra money -- just the ticket -- and pleaded to be allowed to stay on and call her uncle. The conductor said no. At this point, numerous other passengers chimed it and offered to give her the extra cash. The conductor said -- I kid you not -- that wasn't allowed. Someone offered to just buy her a full ticket on mTicket for the ride she was taking. The conductor said "No. We don't do that." Multiple people moaned -- they don't do what? Accept fare for tickets? In the face of seven or eight incredulous passengers, the conductor groaned loudly and shook her head and walked away.

 

[Matthew]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Ah yes, the 'wonderful', old-timey system of American railroading, where you have 3 conductors per train, all of them incompetent.

And people wonder why the MBTA is broke.

Time to drag the MBTA Commuter Rail, kicking and screaming, out of the 19th century.

 

[Beton Brut]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Of interest:

http://commonwealthmagazine.org/politics/alvaro-critiques-mbta-panel/

 

[whighlander]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Ah yes, the 'wonderful', old-timey system of American railroading, where you have 3 conductors per train, all of them incompetent.

And people wonder why the MBTA is broke.

Time to drag the MBTA Commuter Rail, kicking and screaming, out of the 19th century.

Mathew -- it seems as if the Carman's Union is trying to dig their claws into the Statehouse dome to keep from being dragged into the 21st Century -- even Steven Badour who used to feed at the Carman's trough when he chaired the Transportation Committee of the Great and General Court [aka the Legislature] has admitted it

from a Herald story
http://www.bostonherald.com/news_op...ow_all_powerful_union_fights_efforts_to_fix_t

Derailing reform: How all-powerful union fights efforts to fix T

Thursday, April 23, 2015
Erin Smith, Matt Stout

The Boston Carmen’s Union — the powerful labor group for MBTA bus drivers and subway operators fighting Gov. Charlie Baker’s plan to fix the troubled transit agency — wields huge clout to derail reforms through political donations and influence, aggressive lobbying and unchecked arbitration, a Herald review found.

The 6,000-member-strong Carmen’s Union Local 589’s influence and reform-blocking tactics include:

• Its political action committee, which poured thousands into the campaign coffers for sitting members of the Transportation Committee and has doled out more than $58,000 in campaign donations to more than 100 politicians and committees since 2014 alone. That’s more than twice the political cash handed out by the powerful Boston Teachers Union during that time.

• The union spent nearly $360,000 lobbying Beacon Hill in the past five years and doubled its lobbying budget, bringing on the firm Travaglini, Eisenberg & Kiley for two years as lawmakers debated 2009 transportation reform.....

They’re clearly a powerful union in the transportation area. There’s no question about it,” Baddour said. “They are a group that the Legislature and the governor will have to deal with. They’re a strong union and it’s always a fight.”

Baker said he intends to work with the Carmen’s Union.

“They have a job to do, as does every union, which is to represent their members, and I get that and I understand that,” the governor said. “And our job is to represent the riding public, the taxpayers, the organization and the folks in organized labor. My hope and my goal is to have a collaborative relationship with them on those issues.”

But the union has already staked out its ground, brushing off criticism of the high absenteeism rate for T employees and fighting a proposal to suspend the MBTA from following the so-called Pacheco Law and allow outside contracts for the backlog of T repairs.

Through a spokesman, Carmen’s Union President James O’Brien declined to be interviewed by the Herald yesterday. But a union bulletin titled “Time to Fight” blasted out yesterday urged its members to phone lawmakers.

“Please know, the fight is beginning and we are NOT going to sit idly by and allow this to take place,” the bulletin said.

In the missive, the union also touted a public relations campaign led by outside media consultant Steve Crawford, as well as meetings union lobbyist Mike Morris has already had with more than 40 lawmakers.

Baddour, who took past donations from the union, explained how the union operates.

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I'm really curious to see how buses & GL perform today. Free fare is a simulation of POP. In theory, they should be running more on time because of dramatically reduced dwell times.

 

[Matthew]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

That's assuming everyone gets the memo.

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

111 was flying today! Similar reports on Green. This is fantastic. Hopefully (doubtfully) the MBTA is paying attention to the efficiency of today's service!!

 

[Arlington]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

111 was flying today! Similar reports on Green. This is fantastic. Hopefully (doubtfully) the MBTA is paying attention to the efficiency of today's service!!

Yes please.

 

[George_Apley]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

111 was flying today! Similar reports on Green. This is fantastic. Hopefully (doubtfully) the MBTA is paying attention to the efficiency of today's service!!

They won't. Part of the sanctified report that the Governor's panel recommended was fare retention. I guarantee that no one at the MBTA has the correct frame of mind to even consider PoP as a legitimate opportunity in Boston.

I'd love to eat crow on this, but I don't see it happening.

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

They won't. Part of the sanctified report that the Governor's panel recommended was fare retention. I guarantee that no one at the MBTA has the correct frame of mind to even consider PoP as a legitimate opportunity in Boston.

I'd love to eat crow on this, but I don't see it happening.

The key is to not let the MBTA turn a deaf ear to it. Make noise.

 

[George_Apley]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

The key is to not let the MBTA turn a deaf ear to it. Make noise.

Oh I know. I've been striking the activism drumbeat in threads here for a while. We can whine from behind keyboards all day, but we need to get involved if we actually want to affect outcomes.

 

[Scipio]

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I think a lot of decisionmakers in Mass think that proof of payment is an honor system or a giveaway. It isn't! There's an enforcement mechanism that the no-free-lunch rural legislator crowd need to brush up on.

Seattle uses private security guards (cheap Securitas mallcops) who inspect fare tickets visually and check fare cards with a handhold scanner. If you didn't pay you might get a warning, but if you have no ID, are a dick, or are a repeat offender it's a $130 fine. The fines pay for the security guards, so there are actually quite a few of them. Daily commuters get checked about once every week or two making the fine frequent enough that is isn't worth trying to dodge the fare.