General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

jass said:
Lets not pretend that 8 years of Deval resulted in anything food for the MBTA
Click to expand...

I'm not, but the push for capital work without new funding is the principal goal (and proudest achievement) of the current administration.
 
Equilibria said:
I'm not, but the push for capital work without new funding is the principal goal (and proudest achievement) of the current administration.
Click to expand...

The Baker administration is calling for new funding for the T.
 
whittle said:
The Baker administration is calling for new funding for the T.
Click to expand...

There's action in that? I don't see anyone going out on a limb to twist arms in the House to ensure it gets done. This year's Legislative session ended on that transpo funding note like a good many sessions prior: talking a decent game then making a big ol' predictable PUNT tabling the issue until next session on preordained conclusion that they ran out of time.

Wake me when the usual Beacon Hill kabuki dance has some different moves to it. Neither the Gov. nor the autocrat Speaker approached this with any expectation or urgency that talk would turn to any action greater than ineffectual tokenism. Same as it ever was. The process is still fundamentally broken, and all the players not only know it but count on it year after year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FK4
jass said:
Lets not pretend that 8 years of Deval resulted in anything food for the MBTA
Click to expand...
Ah Yes, the Orange and Red line trains and GLX bonding and construction starting are terrible or neutral for the MBTA.

What's the deal with this hyperbole? You don't have to like Patrick and his policies in absolute to recognize successes where they exist. We're talking about a Governor who vetoed the transportation bill because it wasn't enough funding, not because it was too much. It's revisionist to pretend that Patrick did nothing.
 
Today's AFC 2.0 presentation in a nutshell: we took a nice simple system that's proven to work at various transit agencies worldwide, heavily customized it and integrated it with our old system, and delayed the complete rollout to 2024.
 
HelloBostonHi said:
Today's AFC 2.0 presentation in a nutshell: we took a nice simple system that's proven to work at various transit agencies worldwide, heavily customized it and integrated it with our old system, and delayed the complete rollout to 2024.
Click to expand...
Would it be cheaper to just make the T free during the implementation period instead of paying all this money to make it "seamless"?
 
sm89 said:
Would it be cheaper to just make the T free during the implementation period instead of paying all this money to make it "seamless"?
Click to expand...
Arguably during the transition period probably yes. But once you've given people free transit, it's hard to take it away again...
 
jass said:
As a reminder, I think its worth comparing the 70 people per day of this pilot program to the 27,000 per weekend that used the late-night service. That pilot was deemed a failure by the MBTA.
Click to expand...
buses.PNG


27,000 a weekend? Not on the actual late night buses. The real stats were more like 2-5 people per trip.

EDIT: Apologies I was looking just at the buses not ridership overall.
 
jass said:
The Foxboro comparison is 7 riders per run, or 3.5 individuals per day.
Click to expand...

At a single stop along a much longer line though. While my comparison is completely wrong that is for all stops on a route
 
Equilibria said:
We have the system we've wanted to pay for.
Click to expand...
A better iteration would be the Game of Thrones quote: “The people get the ruler they deserve”.
We all have a share in the state of things, as they are.
 

Alerts | MBTA

Live service alerts for all MBTA transportation modes, including subway, bus, Commuter Rail, and ferry. Updates on delays, construction, elevator outages, and more.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com

Shuttle UPCOMING
On most weekends from January 11-April 26, shuttle buses replace Red Line service between Alewife and Harvard for track work.
Click to expand...

Didn't they literally replace floating slabs earlier this year?

Update: here was the original work in March 2019

Floating Slab Replacement, Spring 2019 | Updates | 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
 
Replacing the floating slabs seems to be an annual ritual at this point.

Anyone know why this has to be done so often? I get that rubber probably wears out a lot faster than other materials, but if a slab's lifetime is 1-2 years that seems like a fundamental flaw in the project's design.
 
It can't be the same set of physical slabs as the last round. What they most likely have done is spot-replace the most worn ones on the whole Harvard-Alewife stretch such that 1 out of every X slabs is new from the most recent replacements, 1 out of every X is old and earmarked for replacement this coming round, and 1 out of every X is medium-age and neither here nor there on a replacement schedule. That is exactly how crosstie replacements generally go, whether they're wood, concrete, or composite material: non-consecutively and by batch age or wear profile, with the same area of track getting worked through on multiple renewal cycles until it's aggregately caught up on repair.

It's probably also the only way they can physically replace the slabs within a weekend shutdown period. You can lift the connected track off a slab that's being replaced using a track machine and just drop it quickly back into place when done without any ill effects to the rail itself, but tearing out more than 1-2 consecutive slabs either takes more lifting power than any track machine you could fit into a tunnel and/or requires cutting and replacing a whole length of welded rail to do it at all thus lengthening the time of the job well beyond what's feasibly accomplishable on a night/weekend shutdown.
 
Not sure if this is the right thread for this, but --

Boston's Public Improvement Commission on Thursday morning approved the renaming of Dudley Square to Nubian Square (WBUR).
Kambon said the coalition is now looking to change the name of Dudley Station to Nubian Station. MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said that process is dictated by their Station Naming Policy, which says that proposed names for existing stations will be taken up by a Station Naming Committee.
Click to expand...

I wonder if they will succeed!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top