MBTA Winter 2015: Failure and Recovery

Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

New York City Transit bus and rapid transit, Long Island Railroad, Metro-North Commuter Rail, PATH, and NJ Transit are suspending all service as of 11 PM Monday. If the shut down all service approach can make it there, it can make it anywhere!
"The MTA is committed to the safety of its customers and its employees, and due to the forecast, will be suspending service on all bus, commuter rail and subway service at 11:00 p.m. this evening. If you don't have to travel between now and later this evening, we urge you to stay home."
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

winstonoboogie said:
New York City Transit bus and rapid transit, Long Island Railroad, Metro-North Commuter Rail, PATH, and NJ Transit are suspending all service as of 11 PM Monday. If the shut down all service approach can make it there, it can make it anywhere!
"The MTA is committed to the safety of its customers and its employees, and due to the forecast, will be suspending service on all bus, commuter rail and subway service at 11:00 p.m. this evening. If you don't have to travel between now and later this evening, we urge you to stay home."
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I'm all in favor of full shutdowns for top 5 storms. It's the increasingly-busy tier just below the top (particularly if the top keeps creeping up) that I think is a middle case calling for a middle mode of shutdown.
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

Arlington said:
I'm all in favor of full shutdowns for top 5 storms. It's the increasingly-busy tier just below the top (particularly if the top keeps creeping up) that I think is a middle case calling for a middle mode of shutdown.
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Forecasting models are not good enough for anyone to "know" if it is really a top-5 storm.

So what are the authorities to do without better information?
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

Some 2,000 or so customers west & north of Boston are already without power!!

Gov. Baker is giving an update now. :eek:
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

JeffDowntown said:
Forecasting models are not good enough for anyone to "know" if it is really a top-5 storm.

So what are the authorities to do without better information?
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Models are just that -- only as good as the input data and the detailed understanding of the phenomena:

Both are subject to substantial unknowns and uncertainty

Models should not by themselves be used as tools to manage something as complex as the entire economy

You need to use models judiciously along with historical data

Major Nor'easters [aka "Wikked Big Stahm"] occur roughly twice a decade with the really big ones a handful of times in a century and they follow patch and evolutions that are recurrent

Here are the top 10 snowstorms since 1935 [courtesy NWS]:
  • 1. 27.5 inches Feb. 17-18, 2003:
  • 2. 27.1 inches Feb. 6-7, 1978: The infamous Blizzard of ’78
  • 3. 26.3 inches Feb. 24-27, 1969: In Boston, it snowed for a record 101 consecutive hours
  • 4. 25.4 inches March 31-April 1, 1997: April Fool’s Day blizzard
  • 5. 24.9 inches Feb. 8-9, 2013:
  • 6. 22.5 inches Jan. 22-23, 2005: howling gusts that topped 80 miles per hour
    [*] 7. 21.5 inches (and counting) Jan. 26-27, 2015:
  • 8. 21.4 inches Jan. 20-21, 1978: The “other Blizzard of ’78”
  • 9. 19.8 inches March 3-5, 1960: from Virginia to Maine
  • 10. 19.4 inches Feb. 16-17, 1958: The second of two huge storms in a month
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

MBTA to resume normally at beginning of service tomorrow morning. Some buses will run limited schedules/routes.

Travel ban ends at midnight.

Logan will resume operations tomorrow.
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

I enjoy my second day off tomorrow. Lexington has called off school for Wednesday as well. Thanks for the snow, and thank you wind for a squeaky clean car!
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

I think I got a pretty good hunch that Boston will do the same thing!

I don't want the children to end up being buried in snow banks or killed by a plow or something!! :eek: :eek:
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

Yes, BPS called out Wednesday on Monday afternoon.
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

Yup, thought so! That's what I thought! :cool:
 
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Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

Boston & Chelsea residents are complaining in both cities that the streets are too narrow from the recent snowstorm that dumped almost 3 feet of snow.

That the streets that are normally 2-way streets are so narrow now, that normal motorists find it difficult to get down streets when a vehicle going in the opposite direction is coming toward them.

They are blaming this problem on the cities for not clearing the snow properly, leaving the streets difficult to maneuver through. :eek: :eek:
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

Yeah the same thing is true out here in Franklin, at least on the side streets anyway.
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

The cities actually do pretty remarkable work trying to accomplish the impossible job of removing tons and tons of snow in less than 36 hours. At a certain point we have to ask ourselves if it's reasonable to keep blaming the government for not magically removing the snow fast enough, and acknowledge that it takes a long time to do.

The private sector needs to come together and think of how they can better the post-blizzard commute situation by having protocols for staggered work hours, or having able staff work from home. It's just not reasonable to expect roads to be as passable two days after a meter of snow as they are on a normal day.
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

The cities have done a fabulous job! Beyond what's been done, why is it the city's job to move the snow and not people's job to have put their car someplace better?

Car ownership is a big problem in the city--people addicted to the idea that they can/should store safely store 3000-pound hunks of personal property in the street, and that the city's job is to dig them out without leaving a scratch on them.

The correct response to "I paid $X,000 for my car, I should be able to drive it" is "the City paid $Xbillion for its transit system, you should try it."
 
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Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

The streets around my home have been cleared mostly to pavement, which is ridiculous. The sidewalks are covered with snow.

All it's done is inspired a bunch of lunatic drivers to gun their engines down my street. Really obnoxious.
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

BussesAin'tTrains said:
The cities actually do pretty remarkable work trying to accomplish the impossible job of removing tons and tons of snow in less than 36 hours. At a certain point we have to ask ourselves if it's reasonable to keep blaming the government for not magically removing the snow fast enough, and acknowledge that it takes a long time to do.

The private sector needs to come together and think of how they can better the post-blizzard commute situation by having protocols for staggered work hours, or having able staff work from home. It's just not reasonable to expect roads to be as passable two days after a meter of snow as they are on a normal day.
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Oh don't get me wrong, the work that the different towns have been doing to clear the snow had been terrific. I'm just also saying that the sheer amount of snow has made even the plowed roads quite a bit narrower.
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

We're not out of the woods yet!

Now it's so bitterly cold outside with the bloody wind blowing and driving down temps; AGAIN! Saturday is going to be bitterly cold!! Again!

Another bloody snowstorm is coming; AGAIN!

It's a seemingly continuous vicious cycle with seemingly no end in sight! :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
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Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

Arlington said:
The correct response to "I paid $X,000 for my car, I should be able to drive it" is "the City paid $Xbillion for its transit system, you should try it."
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Goes to show how much the transit system up there sucks.
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

Twelve more inches of snow for Boston tomorrow!! :eek:
 
Re: MBTA & Regualr Driving may be Shut Down During Coming Snowstorm!

A whole season's worth of snow in a week-and-a-half. Well done Mother Nature.
 
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