MBTA Buses & Infrastructure

So as the end of June 2019 approaches... Anyone heard the status of the 194 new New Flyer hybrids that were supposed to be delivered starting in June 2019? (FMCB PPT)

With the current mess I expect the MBTA would be happy to show off new buses if they were delivered so I presume there's a delay... They're supposed to replace all these (pictured below) 2004/5 buses and have new hybrid tech that allows 35% electric drive miles and less engine starts in traffic... Old bus:
640px-MBTA_Neoplan_AN440LF_0557.jpg
 
HelloBostonHi said:
So as the end of June 2019 approaches... Anyone heard the status of the 194 new New Flyer hybrids that were supposed to be delivered starting in June 2019? (FMCB PPT)

With the current mess I expect the MBTA would be happy to show off new buses if they were delivered so I presume there's a delay... They're supposed to replace all these (pictured below) 2004/5 buses and have new hybrid tech that allows 35% electric drive miles and less engine starts in traffic... Old bus:
640px-MBTA_Neoplan_AN440LF_0557.jpg
Click to expand...

NETransit has the delivery range pegged at 6/2019 to 9/2020...a little more drawn-out than the brisk pace of the base-contract deliveries of this model 2 years ago. Since they're the same generic vehicle New Flyer may just be churning through a lot of orders right now and asked for a more relaxed delivery pace.

The T also may be in little hurry because Albany and Quincy garages can't service the hybrids yet. A great swaperoo has to happen as the 2004 Neoplans are retired wherein 2006-08 straight-diesel New Flyers (the last remaining fleet of those) are yanked from the other garages and repopulated at Albany + Quincy. And...for reasons unknown...they haven't issued a scrap contract yet for the Neoplans, for the 32 remaining high-floor buses long retired but still on-property, and for some other pieces of refuse they've still got hanging around. When the base-contract was fulfilled they had the scrappers signed on ahead of time, and had them chowing down new retirees right as they were being yanked from service. They don't have anywhere near enough dead-storage space to juggle new acceptances and old decommissions, so logically the scrap advertisement needs to go out soon or they aren't going to be ready to handle the imminent fleet turnover.
 
I saw one of the new silver line buses in the tunnel (SL3) to Chelsea the other day. They are beautiful, clean, and more spacious.

Otherwise, I've only seen them on the SL4/SL5 outside lines.
 
Woohoo! Davis Sq busway now has bus countdowns! (On an older LED sign that previously only had Subway MIN/ARR/BRD times)

Thanks MBTA/FMCB/Baker-Pollack!
 
I commute through Courthouse Station regularly, and I only noticed this morning that that swoopy, futuristic and completely unnecessary mezzanine doesn't even have an entrance at the other end of it. WTF?!
 
ceo said:
I commute through Courthouse Station regularly, and I only noticed this morning that that swoopy, futuristic and completely unnecessary mezzanine doesn't even have an entrance at the other end of it. WTF?!
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Just to be clear, the "other end" is the eastern end, right? (As shown in this c.2000 image)

figure1.jpg


I think there's your answer right there: when built the entrance would have served just a lot of surface parking.

That's not really unsusual. Nearly every [underground] station in the DC Metro system had a knock-out panel at the "other end" when built for a future entrance when ridership demanded it, with that "other end" usually at a similar "TBD" surface parking or pre-TOD site.

Partly to save $, Partly because the early ridership didn't need 2 half-busy entrances, Partly because they didn't know what was going to get built at the "other end"
 
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head house by District Hall is planned for the station.
 
Yeah courthouse has a planned second headhouse as part of that private development, I think it's actually going to be pretty soon too...
 
Huh, OK. I assume that's Parcel D, where that little Cisco (beer, not networking hardware) beer garden is now?
 
Can some supply a marker on a map showing the appropriate Geo for the second entrance?
 
There is some sort of structure here (and not related to construction - it's been there since at least 2007). I suspect it's an emergency exit that could be upgraded to a full headhouse.
 
Why doesn't the Silver Line show up as a Transit line on Google Maps' Transit layer?
 
Granted it's kind of pathetic, but it IS one of the major ways people get to the airport.
 
JeffDowntown said:
Because no one in their right mind would consider the glorified bus, 10 mph "Silver Line" joke a transit line?
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Coyote137 said:
Granted it's kind of pathetic, but it IS one of the major ways people get to the airport.
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My morning rush hour commute on the orange line averages 12 mph from Wellington Station to Chinatown.

The green line B branch averages 6 mph to get from Back Bay to Packards Corner.

And the red line... we're all fully aware of its condition at the moment.

Given Google Maps' ubiquitous adoption among commuters across all modes, I think it's important for people that use transit to see the transit lines available to them, no matter how 'pathetic' or 'shitty' the service is. This extends to bus service as well.
 
dshoost88 said:
My morning rush hour commute on the orange line averages 12 mph from Wellington Station to Chinatown.

The green line B branch averages 6 mph to get from Back Bay to Packards Corner.

And the red line... we're all fully aware of its condition at the moment.

Given Google Maps' ubiquitous adoption among commuters across all modes, I think it's important for people that use transit to see the transit lines available to them, no matter how 'pathetic' or 'shitty' the service is. This extends to bus service as well.
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How would you even show it without confusing the daylights out of people?

The SL1 route to the airport literally passes World Trade Center station THREE TIMES.
 
Think there is some confusion here, the SL1 shows up in Transit routing on Google maps (complete with the Silver color scheme) along with the rest of the the SL routes, and in fact Google prefers to route you on SL1 to the airport. However, when you turn on the "layer" for transit which overlays the lines on the map, it doesn't show up as a colored line instead it shows up with bus stop icons. I think that's a fair representation of what is offered with the silver line. But it's still offered as a transportation option on Google maps: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Massachusetts+Ave,+Massachusetts+Avenue,+Boston,+MA,+USA/Boston+Logan+International+Airport+(BOS),+1+Harborside+Dr,+Boston,+MA+02128,+USA/@42.3578492,-71.0473081,12z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m2!1m1!1s0x89e37a173b9b2c99:0xdf191308f87f458f!1m2!1m1!1s0x89e37014d5da4937:0xc9394c31f2d5144!3e3!5i2
 
They really just need to block off a loading zone on Summer St (near where the 7, 11, 4 buses stop at South Station) and run a Logan Express that leaves on a clock-facing schedule every 15 minutes.

- Beats the crap out of dragging luggage through fare gates and down stairs to access the SL1 platform.
- No mode-switch or seaport zig-zag required. Turn onto Congress st, right on W service rd, and right onto the I-90 HOV lane. On the return trip, take the Congress st exit, head back up Congress st towards downtown. The SL1 will never even come close to competing with cars in travel times, while this will be competitive.
- Relieves the overcrowded SL1 and SL Transitway tunnel for seaport commuters & SL3.
 
sneijder said:
They really just need to block off a loading zone on Summer St (near where the 7, 11, 4 buses stop at South Station) and run a Logan Express that leaves on a clock-facing schedule every 15 minutes.

- Beats the crap out of dragging luggage through fare gates and down stairs to access the SL1 platform.
- No mode-switch or seaport zig-zag required. Turn onto Congress st, right on W service rd, and right onto the I-90 HOV lane. On the return trip, take the Congress st exit, head back up Congress st towards downtown. The SL1 will never even come close to competing with cars in travel times, while this will be competitive.
- Relieves the overcrowded SL1 and SL Transitway tunnel for seaport commuters & SL3.
Click to expand...

It's been proposed a few times, it would also eliminate the need for the difficult to procure and aging dual modes that are limiting the Ts ability to run more frequent SL service. However, so far it's been shot down because of potential customer confusion of when SL1 buses will be arriving at surface level vs underground and how to direct people to know which way to go, and also how to maintain connections for Seaport riders to Logan.
 
dshoost88 said:
Why doesn't the Silver Line show up as a Transit line on Google Maps' Transit layer?
Click to expand...

AFAIK, Google doesnt show any BRT line on their transit layers - not even in cities like Mexico City that have real BRT. They also dont highlight ferries, even in cities where Ferries are a critical part of transit. Nor do they show commuter rail.
 
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