Apparently, the D Line broke yesterday. C Line trains were packed and breathing was, well, difficult. Oh, lady standing behind me, I don't have eyes in the back of my head, so if you are looking for a place to stand, a simple "excuse me" will do the trick and everyone will try to make some room for you. Don't give us snarky comments after you go flying.
Sarcastic kudos to the driver who made the announcement for people who boarded on the back to come up front and pay their fares. The only way to get those people up front would be for them to get carried along the top of the mosh pit.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Advisory Board recommendations
Well, let's add another bit of complexity to the situation. The MBTA Advisory Board issued a set of recommendations that included a nice little mix of pain. It was happy to absolve the T of a number of responsibilities, including the transit police and ferries, while pushing some of the costs on others elsewhere. That would take care of just over 40% of the budget. Another 45% or so would come from a 25% fare hike, which is unpopular, but necessary. The final 15% would be "a little of this and a little of that," including a $.50 surcharge on event tickets and wage freezes for MBTA employees (Welcome to our world, guys!) and a few million bucks from local institutions and advertising.
I guess this proposal is good, at least from the point of view of the MBTA. It minimizes the increase in fares while maintaining virtually all current routes. Of course, if you are a Massachusetts taxpayer that doesn't benefit from the T, you're kinda screwed. Furthermore, what happens the following year when expenses spike or employees want raises? I really hope the band-aid holds, since I don't want to see the pain if we need stitches.
I guess this proposal is good, at least from the point of view of the MBTA. It minimizes the increase in fares while maintaining virtually all current routes. Of course, if you are a Massachusetts taxpayer that doesn't benefit from the T, you're kinda screwed. Furthermore, what happens the following year when expenses spike or employees want raises? I really hope the band-aid holds, since I don't want to see the pain if we need stitches.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Signal problems
Arrived at work 15 minutes late today due to switching problems on the Green Line. Of course, these things happen, except they had the same problem Friday. I don't know what's worse: either they haven't fixed the problem from Friday, or they did fix it and it happened again.
The driver only slammed the door in passengers' faces once this weekend out of my three trips. That's a pretty good ratio. How sad that the employees view the customers as the enemy.
The driver only slammed the door in passengers' faces once this weekend out of my three trips. That's a pretty good ratio. How sad that the employees view the customers as the enemy.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Rush hour jerk
This week's winner is the woman who shouted, "Everyone, it's rush hour, take off your backpacks!?" and then started to swing her backpack-sized purse around while trying to read. Hypocrisy at its finest. What's good for me is, well, good for me. Not so much you.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
As negotiations continue...
I am delighted to see that so many people have shown up at the MBTA's town halls to voice their opinions about the upcoming fare hikes/service cuts (or T 2.0, as we will call it from now on). It appears that most of the attendees have voiced strong opposition to 2.0, which does not surprise me. Those who are most affected are most likely to show up, while those in favor of the T's plan don't want to risk their lives.
But there's a harsh reality that we need to look at: the T doesn't have any money. It's running a $166m deficit and has a ton of debt. One woman at a town hall called for "creative solutions." Give me a break. You don't think they've been looking for ways to get every penny out of costs? Heck, they even opened a store to sell T memorabilia. They're desperate. With the sales tax not generating what the state expected, the state simply doesn't have the money to give to the T. It isn't there. It sucks, but it's the reality.
The cost side of the equation isn't changing. I don't see the workers rushing to give back salary increases or benefits. They already got hit with a switch to a cheaper health care plan. Energy isn't coming down. Repairs certainly won't get cheaper. You get the point.
Personally, I'd rather see fare increases than service cuts. We owe it to each other to maintain services for those who need it the most. Those are often the people who live farthest from the city and would face the biggest cuts. Likewise, shutting down several lines on the weekends is a non-starter. The downtown economy is bad enough on the weekends; Let's not keep the students away.
If the American political system is any indicator, we're going to see half the cuts we need that will make nobody happy but still leave a significant budget deficit. Hopefully, it won't come to that, since I don't want to be having this same conversation three years from now.
The solution won't make anybody happy but it will make for a financially stronger MBTA. And frankly, we don't have a choice. Routes will get consolidated, schedules will get cut back and fares will go up. I'm still in favor of subsidizing those who need help. But we have to accept the fact that somebody needs to be the adult around here.
But there's a harsh reality that we need to look at: the T doesn't have any money. It's running a $166m deficit and has a ton of debt. One woman at a town hall called for "creative solutions." Give me a break. You don't think they've been looking for ways to get every penny out of costs? Heck, they even opened a store to sell T memorabilia. They're desperate. With the sales tax not generating what the state expected, the state simply doesn't have the money to give to the T. It isn't there. It sucks, but it's the reality.
The cost side of the equation isn't changing. I don't see the workers rushing to give back salary increases or benefits. They already got hit with a switch to a cheaper health care plan. Energy isn't coming down. Repairs certainly won't get cheaper. You get the point.
Personally, I'd rather see fare increases than service cuts. We owe it to each other to maintain services for those who need it the most. Those are often the people who live farthest from the city and would face the biggest cuts. Likewise, shutting down several lines on the weekends is a non-starter. The downtown economy is bad enough on the weekends; Let's not keep the students away.
If the American political system is any indicator, we're going to see half the cuts we need that will make nobody happy but still leave a significant budget deficit. Hopefully, it won't come to that, since I don't want to be having this same conversation three years from now.
The solution won't make anybody happy but it will make for a financially stronger MBTA. And frankly, we don't have a choice. Routes will get consolidated, schedules will get cut back and fares will go up. I'm still in favor of subsidizing those who need help. But we have to accept the fact that somebody needs to be the adult around here.
Goofus and Gallant
Goofus: The T driver who refused to open the door at Government Center, no matter how long I knocked on the door of the stopped train. Nice, thanks. Way to win the hearts and minds of your customers with budget cuts looming.
Gallant: The teenager standing next to me who was able to discuss the health care insurance industry in-depth. Wow, an amazing amount of knowledge for a kid. He also spoke about the problems the T is facing and mentioned one of the solutions that we have, namely, raising fares while subsidizing those who cannot afford them.
Gallant: The teenager standing next to me who was able to discuss the health care insurance industry in-depth. Wow, an amazing amount of knowledge for a kid. He also spoke about the problems the T is facing and mentioned one of the solutions that we have, namely, raising fares while subsidizing those who cannot afford them.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Wear some #$%&! headphones
I don't care whether you are 3, 30 or 300. If you have a portable device, iPad, Gameboy, etc., wear some headphones. I don't need to hear your freakin' Q-bert game halfway across the train.
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