MBTA Winter 2015: Failure and Recovery

Let's face it, the T has been putting commuters' lives in danger since last winter, and the hits & mishaps just keep on coming.
 
That is a completely unfounded statement. The T is a huge organization with many individuals working in it and yes some individuals have put people in danger such as in this instance but that is not the fault of the organization as a whole. The winter issues were beyond what they were prepared for but they did what they could in a bad situation and are trying to work on things to protect people. There is nothing either in this situation or the others you mentioned including any issues with rolling stock on any of the lines that suggests the T is purposefully putting people in danger.

The reality is by leaving in every situation the T acted as quickly as they could to protect people and have done a pretty good job.

The winter issues were more about Boston having a really bad winter and an underfunded subway system that has not been maintained how it should be because of a lack of political support in the past.

Please stop trying to make this out to be something it isn't it is unfair and dishonest to paint the T as endangering commuters on purpose when nothing like that has happened.

To be frank it is also irritating to see posts about that all the time. Please continue to post but be thoughtful about how your post sounds and what it implies.
 
citylover94 said:
That is a completely unfounded statement. The T is a huge organization with many individuals working in it and yes some individuals have put people in danger such as in this instance but that is not the fault of the organization as a whole. The winter issues were beyond what they were prepared for but they did what they could in a bad situation and are trying to work on things to protect people. There is nothing either in this situation or the others you mentioned including any issues with rolling stock on any of the lines that suggests the T is purposefully putting people in danger.

The reality is by leaving in every situation the T acted as quickly as they could to protect people and have done a pretty good job.

The winter issues were more about Boston having a really bad winter and an underfunded subway system that has not been maintained how it should be because of a lack of political support in the past.

Please stop trying to make this out to be something it isn't it is unfair and dishonest to paint the T as endangering commuters on purpose when nothing like that has happened.

To be frank it is also irritating to see posts about that all the time. Please continue to post but be thoughtful about how your post sounds and what it implies.
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Is that so?

Then why have they been in the news since last winter, and most everything said about them has not been good at all?

Yet every 2 years, they want to raise the fares. Charlie Baker is not happy with the way that things have been going with the MBTA. Can you blame him? I don't.

They have old aging equipment that should've been replaced eons ago. I speak my mind, and though it is nothing against you at all, the blame should be put right where it lies. Reckless & careless employees who are just reckless & careless, putting innocent lives at risk. How many incidents and crashes have resulted from employees not being more careful?

Yes, new equipment is in the works, but at this point, some of the employees need to be more careful and do their jobs responsibly.
 
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Javon, saying that the T is dysfunctional is a completely different thing than saying that they have been actively putting their passengers in danger.
For all it's faults the T is an exceptionally safe mode of travel.
 
The News is not a good measure of what is happening, since the media (TV, papers, blogs, forums, etc.) MUCH prefer scary stories about 1 bad guy than the decent job that 10,000 people do every day. The news is designed to scare you into watching the next commercial break before you get details, or getting you to click or turn another page.

In contrast, annual reports and safety stats (like accidents per passenger-mile or per vehicle mile are much better ways of trying to understand 99.99% of T than the scary/scarily-irresponsible operator who is the 00.01%

Winter readiness is going to come down to plows (reportedly installed) and feet of track heaters, and new de-icing fluid--stuff that most news outlets consider filler on days that not enough disaster has struck or threatened.
 
statler said:
Javon, saying that the T is dysfunctional is a completely different thing than saying that they have been actively putting their passengers in danger.
For all it's faults the T is an exceptionally safe mode of travel.
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I am really not saying that they are dysfunctional, but they HAVE been under tremendous fire, especially since last winter. And some of those problems came back to haunt them when the warm weather came back.

It's just that I think that they should be learning from their past experiences. We all do that in life. Sure, they are planning to buy new rolling stock and want to improve on things. But the one thing that they should not do is let those things keep resurfacing. Learn to do a little bit better and try to be one of the best transit systems in the United States. :cool:
 
Winter preparedness in full display today on the Orange Line.

Second disabled train today causing service delays.

Yep, Winter Happens!
 
I will be so glad when those "Relics of the Dinosaur Age" are replaced on the Red & Orange Lines!
 
Trouble on the Blue Line!

Service is closed between Bowdein Sta. & Maverick Sta. due to a pipe sticking out in the tunnel. Shuttle buses are in use in the affected area.
 
MBTA is reporting a metal ceiling grate fell in the Harbor tunnel. "Urgent repairs needed."

Total disaster with bustitution right now.
 
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Commuters are forced to wait for an exasperating hour before they could board the buses because they are so packed.

Not starting off on the right foot for the first winter storm! I just knew that this was going to be a bombshell.
 
From the MBTA Twitter:

https://twitter.com/MBTA/status/681974976711421953

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A recap of yesterday's "quiz" by the Globe:

MBTA has mixed results during first winter test

If snowstorms will pose a major test for the MBTA, Tuesday morning’s commute was the equivalent of a quiz.

With less than an inch of snow and significantly fewer riders because of holiday vacations, many commuters thought the MBTA passed with flying colors. But for those who had to deal with delays on their subway trains, or those who got stuck on shuttle buses because of emergency tunnel repairs on Blue Line stations in downtown Boston, the agency still has much more room for improvement.



Rarely are transit systems’ mixed results amid mildly messy weather worthy of a story, but after the MBTA failed last winter, commuters are eager for any signs that point to improvements.

...
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bigeman312 said:
A recap of yesterday's "quiz" by the Globe:

MBTA has mixed results during first winter test
Click to expand...

The Blue Line had nothing to do with the weather and likely was the result of not maintaining a tunnel that is literally 111 years old* - again, something that will not be fixed by freaking out about one guy making a lot of overtime.

*It still amazes me that they built a trolley tunnel under the Harbor in 1904. What a feat of engineering...
 
datadyne007 said:
The Blue Line had nothing to do with the weather and likely was the result of not maintaining a tunnel that is literally 111 years old
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True it has nothing to do with the weather, but has everything to do with decades of dis-investment and mis-investment in our mass transit. Much like the overtime practices of the union: a result of mis-investment in our mass transit.
 
Had a CR drawbridge fail over the Saugus River by the Riverworks during the morning rush,.... I assume the bridge failed to close properly. Whether weather related?????
 
A commuter rail train has derailed in Haverhill. Officials seem to think that it was because of the deep freeze that NE is presently under.
 
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