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Fri, Oct. 10th, 2008, 05:27 pm
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) boblothrope: 1- and 7-day passes on a CharlieCard?
As we all know, the Charlie machines in subway stations won't let you get a 1- or 7-day pass on a CharlieCard, because those passes are valid on the inner harbor ferries and commuter rail zone 1A where they can't read RFID cards.
However, I recently saw a message on the scrolling LED screen on top of a vending machine, which said you can now get such passes on a CharlieCard at a staffed pass sales office (of which there are only 2 or 3). Does anyone know how this works? Do they just ask you if you understand you can't use the pass on the commuter rail or ferry? Wed, Oct. 8th, 2008, 11:23 am
boblothrope: Red Line problems last night
Last night the Red Line was all messed up.
Yeah, it happens. But the annoying part is the lack of (correct) information from the T.
The brand new computerized station announcement system only said that there were delays on the Red Line. That can mean anything from no delay at all to a 2-hour wait until any trains move at all.
So I asked a conductor what was going on, and she said we'd be moving in a few minutes, and then it would be a quick trip to Central, where the train would go out of service.
What followed was 15 minutes of sitting around, followed by 20 minutes sitting in the tunnel to go one stop, followed by 10 minutes sitting in the next station with the doors open. That's when I gave up and took a bus.
T employees: if you don't have reliable information, please just say you don't know how long the delay will be!
T staff manning the electronic sign system: please provide more details than "there are delays"! Tell us where the problem is, in which direction, and how long a wait is expected. Sat, Sep. 20th, 2008, 05:42 pm
horizon_radar:
Avoid the E branch of the green line if possible. I was just witness to a small explosion on a train at Lechmere. It's not moving and is smoking. Supervisors are running around. Thu, Sep. 18th, 2008, 03:16 pm
dmcgettrick: Train derailment at South Station to affect evening commute
Tue, Sep. 16th, 2008, 12:56 pm
anne182: Ashland or Holliston to South Station
Does anyone do the Ashland to South Station commute? What about Holliston to South Station? We currently live in Rhode Island and have an hour and a half commute one way. Trying to find a place to live in Massachusetts, still close to Providence but needs to be on the line that goes into South Station. Any help much appreciated. Sun, Sep. 14th, 2008, 01:09 am
boblothrope: No Ashmont trains this weekend
There are NO trains on the Ashmont branch of the Red Line this weekend (Saturday and Sunday September 13-14). Shuttle buses are running from JFK/UMass to Ashmont branch stations.
Don't count on the T to tell people. Today there were Red Line conductors happily going about their business announcing their trains as Braintree trains, while people headed to Ashmont stayed on the platform waiting for a train that would never arrive. Wed, Sep. 10th, 2008, 06:19 am
madfilkentist: MBTA runs ad promoting malingering
Yesterday on the commuter train, I saw an ad openly urging people to call in sick and take a vacation trip to Maine. Evidently the MBTA sees nothing wrong with ads that promote dishonesty. Or should I be blaming MBCR? Do they handle their own in-train ads independently of the T? Sat, Sep. 6th, 2008, 11:58 pm
willycicci:
I'm new to the area, and recently got a job which my boss told me is accessible via trolley service from the Ashmont Station. I'm familiar with the Red Line, but really only the Braintree/Alewife line. I've tried searching the MBTA website, but I can't seem to find a schedule for said trolley service (it's apparently marked 'Mattapan') at Ashmont.
Thanks for any info! Thu, Aug. 21st, 2008, 09:41 am
en_ki: Bikes on the T; bikes not on the T
[X-posted from a friends-only version on my journal by popular demand.]Commuting home last night, I had my bike with me, but I was a little less than wholly sober and a fair bit tired, so I went to catch the 11 PM 80. I got to Lechmere right on time (+/- 30 seconds for clock calibration, obvs.), but the dude closed his doors right as I got up and wouldn't stop, never mind that that there was another bus in front of him. ( in which I chase the bus to Arlington ) So, what with being legitimately at the stop and all, I stood and waited for him like a good citizen... And he blew past me! What a dick. The friendly spirit of the contest being gone, I went back homeward along the MVP, and (to my delight) found myself in front of him on Boston Ave. We got caught by the same red light a little ways down at the cross street where I'd usually turn, so I stopped smack dead in front of him, then smiled and waved and went home. Next time I find myself in this situation, of course, I will ask myself "What Would Dan Grabauskas Do?" Wed, Aug. 13th, 2008, 08:44 pm
bobquasit: The Mystery Train
My ride in on the Franklin line this morning inspired me to write the following poem:
The Mystery Train
The Mystery Train is a train of excitement,
With windows so clouded that you cannot see
Which station you're passing - or IF there's a station,
Or where in the world you might happen to be.
You stare in confusion at windows so frosted
An x-ray machine couldn't peer through the haze.
Is my stop coming up? Or have I just passed it?
Or am I a minotaur lost in a maze?
The conductors all thoughtfully aid in the mystery,
Never breathing a word which might pierce that dark veil
Where is the train going? Are we passing a station?
Was that blob Back Bay station, or was it Montvale?
If YOU want to ride on a train full of mystery
They're rolling along on the tracks every day
You might never get to the place you were going,
But that's how it is on the MBTA.
I hope it's okay to post here in rhyme.  I know that Montvale isn't on the Franklin line, by the way. Sorry; poetic license.
Tue, Aug. 12th, 2008, 05:02 pm
boblothrope: Hub Station knows nothing about T delays
Last night there was a problem on the Red Line. A train was sitting on the outbound track at Harvard for about 10 minutes, and no inbound trains had come for about 20 minutes.
I wanted to know if the delay would be long enough so that I should take a bus instead, so I pushed the INFO button on the customer service phone. The phone autodialed what sounded like 2422, and nobody answered. Then it dialed another number (2423?) and someone who identified himself as "North Station" answered. He didn't know anything about the delay, and said there would surely be an announcement explaining the problem.
After another 10 minutes (with no announcements), a train came in going the wrong direction on the inbound track, dumped its passengers, and reversed to become an inbound train back to Boston.
I think the phone was dialing the South Station and North Station Hub Stations, the new fancy booths full of flat-screen CCTV displays and other gadgetry. What exactly is the point of spending all this money on fancy talking electronic signs, glass booths full of flashy equipment, and paying T employees to sit around in the booths staring at it, if the dispatchers still know nothing about why the trains aren't running? Tue, Aug. 12th, 2008, 04:38 pm
davidn: 125 journeys
I know you're going to think I'm a bit sad, but a post ages ago in the ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) b0st0n community about the Green Line and the imbalance between its various trains prompted me to start recording which trains arrived during the wait at Park Street during my commute home - everyone invariably thinks that their train is always the last to arrive. This file shows the statistics from 125 journeys - I forgot about the file for ages because of starting to work at home for a while, but now I'm back on the T again and remembered that I still had it sitting around. So here it is - I apologise for not including the table directly in the post, but it's large and if you've ever seen how appalling Excel's HTML output is you'll know why. I've put up them up here as spreadsheets instead: Excel formatOpenOffice format (Sorry, you'll need to save this out from the browser yourself - the server's too thick to recognize the file type) ( Results and thoughts )Any other ideas to add? I've started recording them on my commutes home again, so if there are any suggestions on how to better record or lay out the information I'd welcome them. (Suggestions to get a life less welcome but appreciated nonetheless.) Fri, Aug. 8th, 2008, 01:59 pm
boblothrope: Green Line D branch shut down this weekend
The Green Line D branch will be running substitute shuttle buses between Reservoir and Newton Highlands this weekend (August 9th and 10th).
The T is not so great at getting the word out, so tell anyone you know who rides the T in Newton. Thu, Aug. 7th, 2008, 11:27 am
maru_mari: fancy meeting you here!
So last night I attempted to return to my house on a certain small, winding residential road in Medford. What does this have to do with the MBTA, you ask? Good question! ( behold )*snicker*
Fri, Jul. 18th, 2008, 08:18 am
verdammelt: Bicycle/Pedestrian Hazard at South Station.
As you turn the corner from Atlantic to Summer St in Front of South Station there is some sort of oil slick. I took a lovely little spill there just about a half hour ago (luckily only some stingy road-rash on my elbow and a potentialy broken headlight). I reported it to Boston Police but i thought I'd pass along the info in case it helps someone keep an eye out there. (xposted to bostoncycling) Wed, Jul. 16th, 2008, 05:36 pm
horizon_radar:
My E line train to Lechmere broke down. Avoid Government Center if you can. Thu, Jul. 10th, 2008, 02:55 pm
boblothrope: Red Line shut down July 12-13
A reminder that the Red Line will be shut down between Park Street and Kendall this weekend, July 12-13. You'll want to leave plenty of extra time for the shuttle bus service, or even for using the operating segments of the Red Line since there will be delays.
The T's website doesn't currently say so, but there might be another shutdown the following weekend, July 19-20.
The signs in stations about the shutdown aren't too prominent, so be sure to spread the word. Sat, Jun. 21st, 2008, 04:16 pm
behold888:
I haven't been on LJ in a while and I was just looking to see if there were a post about the recent Green Line tragedy. Any comments -- or is it passé at this point? Fri, Jun. 20th, 2008, 09:47 am
bobquasit: Graffiti
Does anyone else watch for funny graffiti on the T? I don't create it myself - I'm sure I'd get caught - but some of it is really brilliant. Here are a couple of my favorites. I saw this one over the weekend, and it cracked me up completely:  This next one is from a few years ago. I didn't have a camera back then, so I found a copy of the same emergency poster online and re-created the image:  I'd love to hear about more stuff like this!
Mon, Jun. 16th, 2008, 11:20 am
bobquasit: South Station on Saturday - what happened?
Does anyone know the real story about what happened at South Station on Saturday? I was stuck in the middle of it, and there were a lot of fire trucks and firemen around. It was pretty chaotic, and I got some decent footage and a couple of blog entries out of it. But I never got a clear answer about what the actual problem was. A fire? A bomb threat? A mass medical emergency? A scheduled service interruption for repair work? What? A large chunk of the red line was out of service for most of the afternoon at least, and the T seemed anything but prepared for the outage - it took about half an hour before buses started to show up in any number. So I don't think this was something they anticipated. But what was it? Update: According to WBZ, it was a small fire and a planned outage for repairs. I have to say, though, that a Saturday in June on a day that two festivals are being held in Cambridge - one of them quite a large festival - is a really stupid day to PLAN to take out the red line. And why wasn't the T better prepared? South Station Fire Shuts Down Red Line
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