I don't know what it's like on weekdays, but whenever I use Ruggles on weekends there are plenty of other people getting on or off commuter trains with me.
If Ruggles is to have two separate commuter rail platforms, a train announcement system in the lobby (both audible and visual) is going to be very important!
Would be interesting if/when they ever get commuter rail Charlied to track that, because there probably are a couple surprises.
From what I heard at the UI testing session for the mobile ticketing app, rolling out Charlie to the commuter rail is dead. There are no plans to implement Charlie on the commuter rail.
This is the kind of crap that drives me f-ing crazy. For an agency that continually struggles to justify itself and fight for funding, they really don't have a damn clue who actually rides the train. There is no actual data collection on where people board and where people get off every day. If they instituted Charlie on the Commuter Rail, they would know where people got on, what sort of pass they had, if the ticket is legit, and lots of other info. They cold get a sense of transfers to bus and subway. They could see how the trains are actually utilized on any given day. But no, we will just have conductors wandering through nodding at people with passes, occasionally punching tickets, and occasionally selling some. Whatever is in that Blue Book on the CR is probably bullshit because there is no way they are actually counting every rider. How the F is the T supposed to legitimize itself without real numbers?
Dead for now, yes. Because they are commitment-breaking cowards who need some excuse to justify having way too many conductors per train clogging up the staff ranks. CR Charlie was supposed to be A Very Big Deal™ back when they first announced the rollout. But then the Empire struck back against itself.
This is the kind of crap that drives me f-ing crazy. For an agency that continually struggles to justify itself and fight for funding, they really don't have a damn clue who actually rides the train. There is no actual data collection on where people board and where people get off every day. If they instituted Charlie on the Commuter Rail, they would know where people got on, what sort of pass they had, if the ticket is legit, and lots of other info. They cold get a sense of transfers to bus and subway. They could see how the trains are actually utilized on any given day. But no, we will just have conductors wandering through nodding at people with passes, occasionally punching tickets, and occasionally selling some. Whatever is in that Blue Book on the CR is probably bullshit because there is no way they are actually counting every rider. How the F is the T supposed to legitimize itself without real numbers?
If I recall correctly one of the issues was it was impossible to verify what pass is on the Charlie Card if it became cracked. You could imagine what would happen to a conductor if they told someone who claimed they had a Zone 8 pass that they would have to pay the fare for that ride because the Charlie Card wasn't reading? Sending them to Downtown Crossing also wouldn't help if they got that pass through their employer.
Same thing that would happen if they lost or severely damaged their CharlieTicket?
The card can be registered online and easily replaced if lost or stolen too...
Same thing that would happen if they lost or severely damaged their CharlieTicket?
The card can be registered online and easily replaced if lost or stolen too...
Not only that, but if they're trying to justify hugely expensive parking expansion it's critical that they get actionable Charlie tracking data straight from who's using the lots to where they are going on the train to where they are going when they get downtown.
This is just like the service cuts and the asinine Green Line front-door boarding: the poverty cry has NOTHING to do with finances and everything to do with protecting institutional fiefdoms. Nothing will ever change with this until the Legislature is arsed enough to reform it all. For real, not for show.
I'm pretty abusive to my CharlieCard and I haven't experienced it cracking open. Even if it did happen, I think it's a fairly rare issue and tantamount to the problem of losing the card or ticket.
The Route 39 bus improvement project has been delayed once again.
The project was supposed to start this fall, but according to MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo in an email to the Gazette, it has been delayed until winter, weather permitting. Completion is expected in summer 2013. The planning began in 2008 and has been delayed several times.
The Route 39 bus is slated to undergo several changes, including the consolidation of some stops and improved amenities like new shelters and benches and “bump-out” sidewalk extensions. The project is meant to speed service and improve accessibility.
The MBTA held a meeting in June where it announced it had not secured abutters’ approval for the some curb extensions, including at the Perkins Street, Roseway Street and Seaverns Avenue stops. That left doubt whether some curb extensions might be dropped from the project.