Silver Line - Phase III / BRT in Boston

That was my point all along, Van. Double the bus service.

Painting the buses silver and building wacky giant bus stops is something only people as far out of touch as Deval Patrick could ever even image as an "improvement" - especially when you can look to the Washington Street Silver-Colored Bus Corridor to see the exact (exact) same failure replicated.

Just double the current service. This would save these so-called "stimulus" dollars to retire T debt. This way, the T can continue to over-charge at just $2/ride, instead of their proposed fee hikes and service cuts. THIS will increase T ridership far more than creating some zany silver-painted bus "line".

But why talk common sense? The stimulus money is for unions, it's not allowed for retiring debt, it's not for improving our lives, it's not for increasing T ridership, and with a due date of around 2016 it is certainly and decidedly NOT for "stimulating" an economy that is in a temporary recession.

What a joke!
 
pelhamhall, with all due respect, you have no idea what you're talking about. Part of the problem with existing bus service is that it's not just crowded but it's slow. It's slow because the stops are close together, the buses get stuck in traffic, and each passenger has to pay when they board. The existing Silver Line IS better than a regular local bus route. It's not as good as BRT could possibly be. By creating bus lanes, reducing the number of stops, and adding prepayment the service WILL be much better than a local bus (not as good as a subway of course, but better than the local bus that's there now). You seem to have it in your head that it's all about painting the buses Silver. It has to do with far more than that.
 
RE: Somerville Green Line extension

It's part of the big dig mitigation.
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But there were a lot of transit projects tagged for Big Dig mitigation, including restoration of the Arborway trolley and even work on the Urban Ring. Why was a lawsuit brought from/by/regarding Somerville and not with regard to those other projects?
 
Cden4, spoken like a true politician.

Politicians already tried an extremely similar project with the silver-painted buses along Washington Street. The result is perhaps marginally better than the yellow-painted bus service elsewhere. I speak as a regular passenger for years.

This is nothing to celebrate. Not at $115/5 years (which is $230M/10 years in union-speak).

For the perhaps marginally better service, I'd prefer a much more common sense approach which would not include any whimsical bus stands or super neato silver paint.

I understand there will be even more enhancements to this version of the silver-painted bus line than the failed Washington Street silver-painted bus line, but its still shit.

But you're right, it will perhaps marginally enhance service in that area, a bit. Maybe.

But $115M in a time of fiscal crisis could be used to stimulate our local economy right now - in 2009. This project is a complete and total joke.
 
Well, what's the real story here? I heard tonight that there used to be direct bus service from Dudley Sq to the airport but that it was cut due to lack of use. Any truth to that?

I'm going to check out the MBTA's site, but any info or opinions on what was there in the past would be appreciated.

On an unrelated note, in case you hadn't heard, neighbors in the South End are petitioning to have "Berkeley Street" changed to "Dover Street" from Tremont Street back all the way over the Fourth Street bridge in South Boston. Neat.
 
JohnAKeith said:
On an unrelated note, in case you hadn't heard, neighbors in the South End are petitioning to have "Berkeley Street" changed to "Dover Street" from Tremont Street back all the way over the Fourth Street bridge in South Boston. Neat.
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Changed back, you mean.
 
The CT3 bus, for a year or two, continued past Andrew station to Logan Airport. That leg didn't get enough use and was cut out.

There is a bus route from Dudley to Logan Airport, the 171, but it makes only two trips, 3:50 am and 4:20 am daily, one way only.
 
Ron Newman said:
The CT3 bus, for a year or two, continued past Andrew station to Logan Airport. That leg didn't get enough use and was cut out.

There is a bus route from Dudley to Logan Airport, the 171, but it makes only two trips, 3:50 am and 4:20 am daily, one way only.
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Are you sure about the first part? I dont think the Andrew service was ever implemented, just CT3 to city point (which no longer exists).

The second point is true. 24 hour MBTA service! If I remember correctly the buses had in 2007 around 20 passengers each (from MBTA pdfs) making the line sustainable.
 
WTF!? Why is there a 3:50 AM bus from Dudley to the airport but no other transit running that time of day?
 
czsz said:
WTF!? Why is there a 3:50 AM bus from Dudley to the airport but no other transit running that time of day?
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Because airport employees dont work 9-5?

And enough of them live around a single point (Dudley) that its a sustainable line?

Im sure theres more behind it, union lobbying and such, but still. Its a nice service.
 
jass said:
Are you sure about the first part? I dont think the Andrew service was ever implemented, just CT3 to city point (which no longer exists).
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I recall the CT3 going all the way to the airport.
 
I think some of you guys are confusing CT3 with SL3.
 
Right - CT3 goes to Andrew, and for a short time continued to Logan Airport. SL3 went to City Point, and has been discontinued.
 
czsz said:
RE: Somerville Green Line extension

But there were a lot of transit projects tagged for Big Dig mitigation, including restoration of the Arborway trolley and even work on the Urban Ring. Why was a lawsuit brought from/by/regarding Somerville and not with regard to those other projects?
Click to expand...

I go to this site for T info:
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=65

This posting may answer your question:
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=65&t=41685&start=225
It's part of the Big Dig Transit Commitments so they've been on the hook since--god, 1990--to fund it and don't have a choice but to pony up despite the budget deficit. This and the Fairmount line upgrades are two of the last ones the state has to pay out-of-pocket for the commitments since Silver Line Phase III is pretty much dead...although if they lose an Arborway lawsuit that could also be one they have to open the coffers for without choice in the matter.
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Lot's of goodies over at the EOT:

http://www.eot.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=content/transit_direct&sid=about

DIRECT CONNECT FROM DUDLEY TO SOUTH STATION
In the first stage of the initiative, Silver Line Washington Street service will be enhanced by instituting a new route between Dudley Station and South Station. A new street-level terminal at South Station will allow a direct connection to the Silver Line Waterfront serving the Seaport District and Logan Airport. The terminal will include bright lighting, seating, heaters, CharlieCard machines, and trip countdowns
to improve passengers? waiting experience. Dedicated
bus lanes will also be created along Essex Street and a portion of Atlantic Avenue to improve reliability. This new route will serve all existing Silver Line Washington Street stops except for Temple Place and Boylston. This new initiative will not reduce existing Silver Line service to Downtown Crossing.
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So it is new service, not changing the current service that connects to the Green Line.
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
No wonder the Glode is going down, I'd pay for journalism like that.
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Seriously, I gotta congratulate him next time I see him at a civic event, bookmark www.dotnews.com for a lot of journalism along these lines. And no, I don't even know the guy, I just read his work every week.

It's a peak at the future of the news industry... national news becomes nationalized, and local news becomes localized.

Super regional papers like the Globe?

Who needs them?
 
People who want both national and local news in one package, or at least region-wide news. That could be a dwindling market thanks to the internet...but I'd be pretty annoyed if I lived in Dorchester and got excellent hyperlocal reporting about my block, but had to go to 20 more websites to find out what was going on in the region as a whole.

I mean, the Silver Line doesn't even run in Dorchester, but how many people who take it could use this info and probably won't think to look here?
 
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