Here's how to tell whether a T driver thinks they're carrying the customers who pay their salaries or cattle: Are useful announcements made along the way.
Any Bostonian knows that the place to get off for Fenway Park is not, in fact, Fenway stop, but rather, Kenmore. Your average non-Bostonian, however, is unaware of these facts. So when I ran into a confused family on the T, I pointed them to Kenmore. But here's the bigger question: Why doesn't the drive make an announcement, "Get off here for Fenway Park?" Why should the tourists, particularly those who get on at a stop without signs for Fenway, not get a little extra info?
To be fair, there are the helpful drivers who just miss their cues. As we got back to street level, the driver announced that those who boarded need to come up front and pay their fare. Now, this is a genuine attempt at revenue collection, although it is usually futile, as most passengers just ignore it. The problem is, the driver was making the announcement as we pulled into the station, before the passengers had even gotten off. It doesn't do much good to tell your departing passengers to pay their fares.
This morning, we took a nice five minute pause underground. We sat, and sat and sat. Announcements? None. Would an announcement have gotten us out any sooner? Of course not. But would some rationale for the delay been nice to have. Of course.
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