Train Stopping

The On Time Service Guarantee is No Longer

2011-07-28T10:40:00.002-04:00

Due to a family matter, I had been driving a lot these past few months, but have recently returned to the commuter rail.

Imagine my surprise when I went to put in for a late train and could not find the On Time Service Guarantee form anywhere ... very quietly it seems the MBTA has phased this program out.

It's disappointing ... I'm not saying I lived or died by that extra $$, but it was at least some form of accountability for late trains ... especially in a system plagued by on time service.

Here is the official announcement from the MBTA website:

As discussed and reported during this year’s budget process, the MBTA will stop processing refund requests for service-related delays when the new fiscal year begins on July 1st. By eliminating the only program of its kind in the United States, the MBTA anticipates realizing savings of up to $1 million annually.

“While some customers may be disappointed with the program’s elimination, it’s important that people know that this money will be put to very good use,’ said MBTA General Manager Richard Davey. “By reallocating these funds into the development of more customer service enhancements, we expect a greater number of T riders to benefit from this money.”

Among the initiatives to be rolled out in the coming weeks and months are:

Smart phone apps for Commuter Rail that will provide customers with the answer to the question: ‘Where is my train?’

Countdown clocks that provide subway customers with ‘next train’ information for the Red, Orange, and Blue Lines.

The ability to use a CharlieCard for parking at Alewife, Braintree, and other stations.

Discounted parking rates of just $3 at nine stations throughout the Commuter Rail system and along the Mattapan Trolley Line.

I think they need to extend discounted parking to all of the commuter rail lots, not just some of them. It doesn't seem fair that certain lots (like mine) has to subsidize parking for the rest of them.

Blah, Blah, Blah

2011-03-02T09:14:00.002-05:00

Received this email from the MBTA/MBCR about Monday's delays ...

It's kind of interesting to me that this apology email turns into "the fleet is old, we can't really do anything about it, even though we ordered new cars, it won't really help ..." where is the leadership in this organization that will affect change?

These issues are not new, heck, this blog has been complaining about the MBTA for at least five years and in that time, nothing has really changed except our fares have increased, parking fees have increased, they've changed the schedules to make the run times longer (and to meet their "on time" requirements) ... but delays are still occurring and impacting people's lives.

To all of our Worcester Line Customers,

We realize that many of our customers traveled on both train P508 in the morning and P523 last evening and that a large majority were impacted by, either one of these trains, or at the very least effected by residual delays because of their mechanical failures.

My personal acknowledgement is indeed sincere and we cannot imagine that we could say anything that you would want to hear. Many of you have written in to say that you are aware that the locomotive that broke down on your inbound commute was the same used for the evening return trip home; this is regrettably the truth. While the mechanical department staff repaired the problem that caused the failure in the morning, the evening brought with it a different mechanical issue. Please know that this locomotive has been removed from service and one of the two new locomotives will be added to the train set that leaves this evening as train P523.

This is indeed evidence that the lack of investment in the commuter rail fleet is becoming difficult to overcome with regular maintenance. The winter season certainly took its toll on an already aging fleet of locomotives. While the two new locomotives delivered recently is a positive note it will not have much of an impact on the 483 trains in and out of the city everyday and we welcome the delivery of the five additional locomotives which are enroute from New York; once tested, they will be added to the fleet.

We cannot offer any apology that would justify five additional hours of commuting time in one day; however we do deeply regret the impact that this had on you, your families and your employers.

Members of the MBCR management team will be on the platform in Worcester tomorrow morning, March 2^nd from 5:30am until the departure of train P508 to Boston at 6:55am. Please feel free to speak to us with your comments and concerns.

As always, we thank you for riding the commuter rail.

Sincerely,

Gillian Wood

Chief Customer Service Officer
Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail

Operating the Commuter Rail on behalf of the MBTA

Commuting on 2/28/11

2011-03-01T10:40:00.004-05:00

I can't even begin to express my frustration with the MBTA for the commute that had to be endured yesterday.

The p508 arrived in Grafton on time at 7:09 and we boarded the train ... then never left until the p512 came at 7:49 to hitch to us and push us into Boston. The delay was was due to engine failure on the p508. The engineer and conductors were great with communication, but it was just a frustrating experience. I don't think we ever left Grafton until 8:15 or so. To make matters worse, we then had to become a local, stopping at all of p512 stops. We finally got to South Station at 10:10 or slightly before then. A three hour commute.

All I have to say is THANK GOODNESS I was not on the p523, which is the express 5:00 train, from Boston to Worcester last night. It seems that train also experienced engine issues (though a different issue from the morning) and did not arrive to Worcester until almost 9:00 last night. A FOUR HOUR COMMUTE. Can you imagine? I would have been going crazy if I was on that train. As it were, I wouldn't have been able to take that train anyway since I was so late in the morning.

According to an article in the Globe this morning, MBTA officials feel our pain:

Farmelant said the problems "reflect the age of the commuter rail locomotive fleet" and were "extremely frustrating for everybody involved with MBTA passenger rail service."

"Both the T and MBCR recognize the need for renewed investment in equipment and are actively pursuing opportunities to lease additional locomotives," Farmelant said in a statement.

Well, I sure hope so. This is one reason why I am driving most of the time now, though with gas prices back on the rise, I wanted to return to the commuter rail, but if yesterday's commute was any indication, I guess I'll just stick with my car and all of the Pike traffic.

MBTA News Round Up

2010-08-05T12:20:00.002-04:00

Some odds and ends in MBTA news to share:

The MBTA has agreed with federal regulators to reduce emissions from commuter rail trains by installing new equipment and changing fuel to ultra clean diesel. Costs to implement this program are about $2 million.

A new ferry service from Winthrop to Rowes Wharf was instituted this past week. There are 6 total trips, 3 in the morning and 3 in the evening at a cost of $6 for a one way fare.

No updates on the commute this morning as I drove in due to an early meeting. Hope trains were cool and on time!

Another Late Commute

2010-08-04T17:20:00.001-04:00

Posting a bit late today, but the trains were all screwed up again this morning. I think I finally got to work at 9:30.

What the heck is going on lately w/the Worcester-Framingham line? Seems like more delays than "usual?"

Paying for Parking with your Cell Phone

2010-07-26T16:09:00.004-04:00

I've been out of town for a couple of weeks on vacation, but saw a flyer this morning touting a new way to pay for parking at MBTA lots.

Utilizing the Parkmobile service, you can pay for parking using a credit/debit card and either call, text or use a mobile app on your iPhone or Blackberry (Droid app is coming soon) to provide the space/lot/location of your car.

I think this might be a very convenient option, especially when I don't have the correct bills or change to jam into the slot. And also when I'm running late and barely get the train on time ... I'll have the ability to pay for parking from the train itself. That seems like a win-win.

I started checking out the Parkmobile website, but I'm confused by the transaction fees. I'm curious ... has anyone tried this out yet?

One of the Worst Commutes this Year

2010-07-26T10:55:00.002-04:00

What a wake up call! Thought I'd get on the train and go to work like nothing has changed? Thought I'd still be in vacation bliss, all relaxed and happy? Well ... not so much thanks to this morning's commute.

The p508 started off well enough ... until we came to a halt outside of West Natick. Then we were informed that the train in front of us (the p506) broke down and we had the pleasure of pushing them into Boston. So, that would likely result in a delay.

THEN, we had the pleasure of having our lights and AC shut off for 25 minutes while we tried to link up with the train in front of us.

THEN, we got the great news that we would be making all local stops, since, as you know, the p506 was a local whereas we were an express.

FINALLY, we also had to make two stops at Yawkey and Back Bay to let both the front and back train people off.

I don't think my butt has ever been so sore from sitting in one position for about three hours straight.

I think I might go back to driving!

Smash n' Grab in Grafton and Westborough

2010-07-09T09:43:00.003-04:00

It looks like the vandals are at it again ... smashing windows on cars in the Grafton and Westborough parking lots to grab what they can like GPS units, iPods, laptops, etc. This is similar to a problem that has been persistent in these parking lots since they're quite isolated and set back from the roads.

Grafton and MBTA police have been stepping up surveillance, but unless they're sitting there 24/7, it's going to be difficult to catch these vandals in the act. In fact, it might have been two weeks ago when I stepped off the train and there were 3 Grafton police cars in the lot. I couldn't really tell what was going on, but their presence was felt.

So, this begs the question ... why aren't there video cameras at MBTA parking lots? Especially in rural ones like the Grafton lot? This might help the police do a better job of patrolling the lots and it would give us commuters peace of mind. Especially since we pay $80/month to park there.

The Greater Grafton blog has a great post with pictures regarding these break-ins. You can go here to read it.

MBCR Train Schedule for 4th of July Holiday

2010-06-24T10:04:00.003-04:00

Can you believe Independence Day is nearly around the corner. This is one of my all-time favorite holidays. First - I love being American. Second - it is great to have something to celebrate in the summer.

The 4th falls on a Sunday this year. Which means that many organizations will be closed on Monday, July 5th as their official holiday date. However, some companies will be open business as usual on 7/5. What does this mean to commuter rail riders? Holiday Service!!

The MBCR released the following information regarding the 4th of July Holiday weekend:

On Sunday, July 4th MBCR will operate on the SATURDAY schedule, typical for the observance of this holiday. Please see the online schedules www.mbta.com or the handhelds that are available at North, South and Back Bay stations. Here, you will also find the trains that may be held following the conclusion of the 4th of July fireworks.

On Monday, July 5th MBCR will operate on a SUNDAY schedule in observance of the Federal Holiday celebration. Please note the limited train times if you plan to travel on Monday.

MBCR: Safe Boarding Practices

2010-06-21T12:46:00.001-04:00

New Safer Boarding Procedure All Trains, All Lines.

Effective Monday, June 14th, 2010, every train must have all exterior doors fully closed before the train can move away from the station platforms. Therefore customers on all trains must board and exit their train only where a conductor is present.

This new, safer boarding process was initially tested on some off peak trains during 2009 and rolled out across the system on all Off Peak Old Colony and Fairmount lines on February 1, 2010. Beginning Monday, June 14th, 2010 the closing of all exterior doors while a train is in motion will become mandatory across all Commuter Rail lines. The closing of all exterior doors is common on passenger railroads across the country and will improve the level of customer safety. By having a set number of doors in use, train crews can ensure that passengers board and exit the train safely and prevent customers from boarding or exiting a moving train.

Passengers MUST NOT open their own doors or traps and we ask that you board only where a conductor is present. Conductors will be required to open adjacent coach doors allowing access and egress to two cars per conductor. The practice of passengers opening their own doors will delay trains as train crews will no longer be able to walk through the train while it is in motion to close the doors, but will instead have to walk along the platform or though the train to close doors before the train can depart the station.

We recognize that change is not always easy and wish to thank you for your cooperation. We would like to assure you that we are monitoring train on time performance and boarding issues , so that any adjustments to schedules can be considered if necessary.

Please allow time to board your train at the appropriate door as the closest door will not always be available.

For more information regarding these changes, we encourage you to watch our new informational video on “Commuter Rail Boarding Procedures” by opening the following link:
http://vbrick.powerhost.powerstream.net/003/02584/safetyriding.wmv

We would like to thank you in advance for your cooperation, while we continue our efforts to improve the level of safety for our customers.

Thank you for riding the commuter rail.
Customer ServiceMassachusetts Bay Commuter Rail
Operating the Commuter Rail on behalf of the MBTA

More MBCR Mail

2010-06-21T12:44:00.002-04:00

I guess this post is kind of moot since the delay was a week ago (and luckily I had driven in that day) ...

To All of our Worcester Line Customers

We would like to extend our apologies for the delays some of you experienced the morning of June 14th. There was a mechanical failure on train P508 at Framingham that unfortunately resulted in delays to subsequent service during the morning peak hours of operation today.
The on-board crew worked with our remote technicians but was unable to fully resolve the problem, requiring the train to travel at reduced speed. Upon arrival at South Station this train set was sent to the yard for immediate repairs. Again, we apologize for any delay or discomfort you may have experienced today.

Thank you for riding commuter rail.
Customer ServiceMassachusetts Bay Commuter Rail
Operating the Commuter Rail on behalf of the MBTA

Lots of MBCR Communication

2010-06-21T12:38:00.002-04:00

Hello Fellow Trainstoppers! It's been awhile since I've visited the blog, but I wanted to pass along a bit of correspondence that I've received from MBCR ... and to apologize for the lack of posts. Sadly, my company is now blocking websites with a log in and Commute-a-holic is unavailable as well, so my good intentions are falling by the wayside.

First off, I want to ask what you all think of the new "board/depart only where there is conductor" policy? It doesn't seem to have adversely impacted the schedule, which is what I feared when it first started ... and everyone seems to be doing a good job for the most part.

One thing that is kind of annoying ... the looped announcements at the Grafton T stop thanking us for riding the MBTA. One day last week when the train was late, I would have expected the announcement to change, advising us of the delay, but it did not.

Here is post #1 from MBCR regarding a new commuting survey:

To all of our Worcester Line Customers

Commuter Rail Newsletter and Survey results are now available!

We are pleased to announce that the summer edition of the MBCR customer newsletter, the “Commuter Express” is now available. We hope to provide these informational pamphlets quarterly to provide our passengers with the latest information. If there is anything special that you would like to see addressed in future editions, please feel free to send your comments/suggestions to: www.mbcr.net

The newsletter is available online and can be viewed by clicking on the link below.
http://mbcr.net/customer%20service/Summer_Web.pdf

You may also pick up a copy which can be found at the information booths at Back Bay, South and North Stations.

Thank you to all those who participated in our last survey; please log on to the following link to see the results: http://mbcr.net/Survey_Results.html

Thank you for riding commuter rail.
Customer Service Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail
Operating the Commuter Rail on behalf the of MBTA

Flooded Tracks and Speed Restrictions

2010-03-16T11:06:00.003-04:00

Due to the massive rain storms and floods over the past few days, the Worcester/Framingham line has a 40 MPH speed restriction on the tracks, resulting in delays across the entire line, in addition to the subway.

On the commuter rail, the weather impacted yesterday's morning and evening commutes, as well as this morning's commute. In fact, when I got on the train this morning at 7:09, it was actually the P506, which is the local train. So we made all stops on the way into Boston and finally arrived at 8:45 AM. Not sure how much longer the speed restrictions will be in effect.

On the Lowell line, the Wilmington station was flooded, causing the closure of that station and delays on that line. All other lines were experiencing 15-20 minute delays.

On the T, there was a large sinkhole between the Chestnut Hill and Newton Center stations which shut down the Green Line's D train. Buses replaced the train service on the Green Line, as repairs are expected to take a few days. Flooding was also a concern at Park Street, among other stations.

Late Trains on a Friday Morning

2010-02-12T09:30:00.004-05:00

It figures that the one day this week I take the train (two days off, two days driving), that the train is late by almost an hour. I hopped on the train at about 7:20 at Grafton, only to find out it was the p506 (usual departure time is 6:44 AM), so we made all stops into Boston, arriving at 9:00 ...

I wonder what happened to the p508? Did it ever pass the p506? I recall hearing an announcement in Natick that the p508 was behind us, but I don't recall another train passing us, so waiting for the express wouldn't really have helped.

Hope everyone enjoys the long weekend!

The P508 was Late ... I Assume

2010-01-28T11:31:00.003-05:00

This morning was quite an adventure. While standing at the Grafton T stop, I got a T Alert saying that the p508 which usually departs Grafton at 7:09 AM was delayed by 1/2 hour. A few minutes later, a train arrives, so we all board and we head into Boston.

Not until we're in Framingham do we hear that the train is actually the P506, which is running on the p508 schedule ... but making all stops to Boston. So really, it wasn't on the p508 schedule at all, because the p508 doesn't stop after Natick. Semantics! We arrived at South Station at about 8:40. I definitely submitted for reimbursement today.

I'm not sure what's been going on at night lately, but the P529 (the 6:15 PM departure from South Station) has been all single cars this week, which results in us being jammed into the train like sardines.

Hopefully this isn't a sign of bad commutes to come!

Commuter Rail Schedule Changes and On Time Performance Statistics

2010-01-07T10:06:00.003-05:00

Effective Monday, January 11, there will be schedule changes for the following commuter rail lines: Fairmont, Fitchburg, Greenbush, Haverhill, Middleborough/Lakeville and Plymouth/Kingston.

Updated schedules can be found at http://www.mbcr.net or you can pick up paper copies of the schedules at North Station, South Station and Back Bay Station.

Ah, these must be consistently late trains in terms of on-time performance, hence, let's make a schedule change! (Do I sound bitter?)

I will say that the MBCR website has been recently updated and there is a lot of new information on it ... which FINALLY includes On Time Performance statistics! No more searching out the posters in South Station. The November performance stats can be found here
http://www.mbcr.net/Report_Card/NovOTP.pdf.

Overall for November, trains were on time 83% of the time, down from 88% in October and 93% in September. On the Worcester line, on time performance in November was 89%, 84% in October and 89% in September, with YTD on time performance at 87%.

The best performing line continues to be Greenbush, with YTD on time performance at 95%. The worst performing line is Middleborough, with YTD on time performance at 82%. However, for the month of November, Middleborough only had 26% on time performance. That is completely unacceptable. If I rode the Middleborough line, I would be livid!

Also, MBCR now posts the reasons that on time performance was not reached:

November 2: Crossing Failure on Fitchburg line- 10 delays
November 3: Train 129 Mechanical problems- 11 delays
November 5: Train 442 fatality on Fitchburg line line- 12 delays
November 6: Broken rail at Beverly- 13 delays
November 7: Train 1703 fatality on Franklin line- 5 delays
November 9: Train 328 mechanical failure- 17 delays
November 13: Train 006 mechanical failure- 11 delays
November 24: Lowell line signal failure- 14 delays
November 28: Train 1165 fatality on Newburyport line- 1 cancelled train
Ongoing Speed restrictions on the Middleboro and Plymouth/Kingston Lines due to concrete tie deterioration causing delays.

MBCR Announcement Re: Departing Trains

2010-01-06T11:54:00.002-05:00

Received this MBCR Rail Mail today regarding changes to boarding/departing commuter trains.

Effective January 11, 2010, except in the case of emergency, customers will no longer be allowed to enter or exit from the “operating end” of the control coach. The engineer operates the train from this location on inbound trips. Upon arrival into Boston, there are mandatory safety duties for engineers to perform which do not allow for foot traffic through the operating end of these coaches.

Signs will be placed on the coach door on that end of all control cars to remind customers of this rule. Please enter and exit only through a door that is attended by a crewmember.

We appreciate that there will be some inconvenience to our passengers that are accustomed to using the control car exit door, but for safety reasons we must enforce this new policy. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Commuter rail service information, including updated commuter rail advisories/alerts is available on the MBTA website at www.mbta.com, or by calling the MBTA Customer Support Services Center at 617-222-3200.

I always sit in the first car, so this will make for a bottleneck once we get to South Station. I wonder why all of a sudden it's a safety concern though? I've been taking the commuter rail for six years and this is the first I've heard about it.

Tuesday On Time Commute

2010-01-05T09:13:00.002-05:00

Two for two with on time commutes so far this year as the p508 was on time to South Station this morning, arriving at 8:23 AM.

In other MBTA news, three former MBTA employees plead guilty to filing false time sheets at their MBTA construction/engineering jobs. In essence, they submitted time sheets and were paid for work they did not do because they never even showed up to the work sites. One of the former employees will spend a year in jail and have to pay a $10,000 fine. The other two received two year suspended sentences and two years' probation. Frankly, they should also have to pay back the money they made during this scheme.

Also, MBTA unions have been trying to stop changes to scaled back retiree benefits that were implemented under the new transportation law signed this past summer. The unions have been seeking an injunction on the changes that would reduce health care for retirees. A state judge has rejected the bid, stating that former contracts guaranteeing free health care for life no longer apply. This is a big step in reducing overall costs at the MBTA.

First Commute of 2010

2010-01-04T13:14:00.001-05:00

Now that the holidays are over and work has calmed down somewhat, I'm back to riding the rails on a regular basis. This morning's commute on the P508 was right on time, arriving at South Station at 8:22 AM. We did have some minor heating issues in the first car, but other than that, it was a pretty smooth trip.

Passing along some MBCR news that came into my Inbox a few weeks ago with respect to safety ... interestingly enough, this email arrived just after the news broke about that hidden break room in Somerville ...

Commuter Rail “Putting your Safety First”

Winter is here, thus “tis” the season to be train safe. At MBCR our number one priority is the safety of our passengers and employees. The winter season is upon us and we would like to offer you a few safety tips and reminders:

Please arrive at the station and be on the platform 5 to 10 minutes prior to your train’s departure time. To keep your train on time, our conductors must adhere to the departure time shown in the timetable.
Please be aware that once a conductor has signaled to the engineer that the train is safe to depart, he cannot stop the train to allow you to board, even if he sees you running from the parking lot.
Customers are reminded that they must never open their own traps and doors, but instead MUST board or exit at a door where a conductor is present.
Please watch your step when you are boarding and exiting the train; the platform and train stairs could be covered in freshly fallen snow or it could be slick from rain which has turned into ice. Use the handrail at all times!
When you are on the train, please be aware that the floor of a coach could be wet from passengers boarding and exiting; this could create a slipping hazard.

Following basic safety rules is very important and we ask all passengers to board and exit trains carefully and responsibly. We need everyone’s cooperation to ensure both a safe and pleasant commute.

Most of the this list is just common sense, but I have to comment on the third bullet point. There is no reason why an entire train full of commuters should exit from 1 or 2 doors. At the most, there are three conductors on the train and they cannot monitor every door. This reminds me of the silent strike when they used to make us herd out of 1 door, that delayed train times by almost 20 minutes.

"Safety" First ... Just Wait Until I Finish Watching This Movie

2009-12-15T10:19:00.002-05:00

I've been traveling for work a fair bit over the last month or so and thus have not been taking the train regularly. I do have some MBCR updates to post, but first, I wanted to comment on an article in the Globe today about a secret hideaway for MBCR employees who work in Somerville.

It seems that working is not really their main focus, instead, the employees (responsible for maintaining the safety of the trains) would disappear to watch movies, play video games, surf the web and look at porn. Amazing that they could get away with it for so long ... and really, how focused could they be on train maintenance if they were otherwise occupied? Unbelievable that this is what we pay for.

Here is the article:

An investigation led to a strange discovery hidden in a storage room: a makeshift entertainment center, including three televisions, two DVD players, one VHS player, surround-sound speakers, a video game system, and DVDs, some of them pornographic, a transportation official said yesterday.

The equipment, slyly camouflaged within the commuter rail’s massive Somerville maintenance facility, even had an illegal cable television connection that came through a 1,000-foot cable, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is not yet concluded.

“This was very much concealed among maintenance parts and equipment,’’ said the official. “Nobody was watching at the time [it was found], but all that property was confiscated.’’
No employees have come forward to claim the property since it was found Dec. 8. But six who were absent during a roll call on the evening it was discovered have been suspended as part of the investigation, including one employee who is accused of spending long breaks on the night shift at a bar he is believed to own on the North Shore. It is not clear whether the employee was drinking at the bar while on duty.

“Clearly, being off property and at a bar for several hours, regardless of what you’re doing, is inappropriate’’ while on duty, the transportation official said.
Attempts to reach union officials representing the suspended workers were unsuccessful yesterday.

The employees do not work for the MBTA. They work for a private consortium, the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, which runs the T’s commuter rail service under a contract with the public agency. The employees work as mechanics at the Boston Engine Terminal, a 375,000-square-foot facility in Somerville used for locomotive and coach maintenance.

“As the result of an ongoing investigation, Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad has suspended six employees, indefinitely, for apparent violations of workplace rules and regulations,’’ the company said in a statement. “Pending final outcome of the investigation, these employees will face full disciplinary action, including termination. MBCR maintains a zero tolerance policy toward any inappropriate behavior in the workplace.’’

The investigation began after the new manager took over the facility about six weeks ago and noticed that employees on the 4 p.m. to midnight shift were taking breaks of 1 1/2 to 2 hours at a time, instead of the customary 30 to 45 minutes, according to the official.

While searching for missing employees last week, managers severed two padlocks on the electrical cabinet to find the entertainment center. Two of 14 DVDs hidden in the cabinet were pornographic, the official said. The others were mainstream movies, including “Rambo.’’ Pornography is prohibited under the company’s harassment and discrimination policies, the official said.

The company also prohibits employees from bringing in equipment likely to distract them from their jobs. The facility has a break room, but the entertainment center was located far away from it, the official said.

The suspended employees, who have not been named, are on unpaid leave, but will be paid retroactively for lost time if cleared. They have not been accused of using the entertainment center. Five have been accused of taking long breaks; the sixth was accused specifically of spending time at the bar, the official said.

The company plans to donate the equipment and destroy the videos, the official said.

Parking Tickets

2009-11-17T12:15:00.002-05:00

This is strange ... last night when I got to the Grafton parking lot, I had a MBTA transit police ticket on my car. I know for a fact I paid my $4 parking fee last night, but my ticket was for $15 for "non-payment of parking fee." I'm not even sure how to contest it. Did anyone else have a ticket as well?

The P508 was slightly off schedule this morning, arriving at South Station at 8:26 AM, about three minutes behind schedule. Last night on the P 529 (the 6;15 PM departure from South Station), we had to wait about 15 minutes for "paperwork" until we could depart. We ended up getting to Grafton about 20 minutes late. So, sadly, not enough for reimbursement.

Interesting note about reimbursements, I'm still waiting for three of them from late trains back in September.

In other train news:

According to the Boston Globe, a commuter train at North Station hit a truck parked near the tracks this morning, but no one was injured, authorities said. The inbound train was arriving from Beverly and was making its final stop when it clipped the truck just before 9 a.m., said Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority spokesman Joe Pesaturo. Service was not delayed and passengers departed safely at North Station. The truck was parked to service a portable toilet nearby for rail employees. The driver was connecting a hose from the truck to the toilet as the accident occurred, Pesaturo said. “It’s been there in the past, but this time the driver parked too close to the tracks,” he said.

Last weekend, a Green Line train made a sudden stop, injuring some passengers. The incident happened Saturday night on the Green Line as the trolley departed North Station, heading toward Government Center. Officials tell the Boston Herald that a brake malfunctioned. WBZ-TV reported that least 10 people were hurt and four passengers were taken to area hospitals. Transit police Sgt. Bill Fredette tells the Herald that none of the injuries appeared to be serious.

Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa

2009-11-04T20:47:00.006-05:00

A few days of bad commutes means the arrival of MBCR Rail Mail with their apologies

==========================================================

To All of Our Worcester Line Customers

Please accept our sincere apologies for the delays you have experienced this week on the commuter rail system.

We are aware that the reasons for these delays to your commute are of little importance when you simply want to reach your destination on time. We fully understand that what you are looking for is the restoration of reliable, on-time service.

Our plan to make this happen will include providing additional resources at Worcester to monitor and assist with mechanical reliability, and increasing management focus on each cause of delay for the foreseeable future. As always, we have reviewed each delay incident with our operating staff to identify ways we can reduce passenger impact for similar incidents in the future.

Please be assured that we will continue to work to restore the service to a level of reliability that meets your expectations. Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with this explanation and apology. As always, thank you for riding the commuter rail.

========================================================

You know, I mentioned this last year around this time ... that there should be some staff either on site or on call in the Worcester area so when mechanical issues occur, we don't need to wait and wait until help arrives in order to even start working on the situation.

MBTA Riders At Risk

2009-11-04T10:54:00.003-05:00

According to a report released by the governor's office, a decade of neglect and mounting financial problems has left the MBTA with public safety issues that are far more serious than previously revealed and swiftly growing worse. This report was obtained by the Globe yesterday. Among the most alarming items in the report is the fact that the MBTA has left more than 50 critically important safety projects unfunded because of a “mountain of red ink.’’

One delayed project highlighted in the report, which has been deemed critical to public safety, involves repair of a water leak on the Red Line between Alewife and Harvard stations. The $80 million project would replace a system of slabs and disks, designed to absorb train vibrations, that has been damaged by water leaks. In some areas, fasteners are corroding and the tracks are moving out of alignment, the report states, presenting “the possibility of train derailment.’’The system’s age and the lack of consistent repairs has also had a direct impact on service, according to the report.

A recent fire triggered by an old cable buried under muck on the Red Line shut down rush-hour service. It also forced some bus drivers to ferry those Red Line passengers, leaving parts of their regular routes uncovered and causing inconvenience across the system. The publicity forced the MBTA to agree to replace the cable, a $140 million project, “money that will be diverted from other projects such as overhauling vehicles,’’ the report states.

The 51 deferred projects deemed critically important carry a price tag of $543 million. But the T has a total of more than $3 billion in unfunded maintenance projects it considers necessary to keep the system operating smoothly, a list that is growing as trains and buses stay in service beyond their projected life and without crucial overhauls, according to the report.The agency spends $470 million a year on maintenance, but would need an additional $224 million to keep its backlog from growing, the report said.

“It’s fair to say that they are not keeping up with the safety standards that they themselves subscribe to,’’ said David F. D’Alessandro, the former John Hancock chairman who led the review. Governor Patrick and D'Alessandro will officially release the report today.

And although Dan Grabauskas was ousted this past summer, the report itself is not critical of MBTA management. Instead, it places most of the blame on a change in the way the MBTA was funded, a change approved by the Legislature in 2000. The idea at the time was to give the T a fixed annual subsidy, abandoning the unwieldy practice of using state money to pay off MBTA expenses at the end of each year. But the state underestimated the agency’s expenses by $558 million between 2000 and 2008, because of unrealistic projections for operating costs that were outside the T’s control.

For example, the original plan left no money for workers’ health care cost increases, even though they grew by 73 percent in the first eight years. The T, the state’s largest electricity customer, saw fuel and utility costs more than double over the same period. To balance the books, managers deferred debt payments, masking the size of the T’s problems. By 2013, the agency’s annual debt payment will reach $525 million.

Despite the agency’s financial woes, D’Alessandro recommends against raising fares after three increases in the past decade. Before adding still further to the burden on passengers, he wrote, “the riding public deserves to have tangible evidence that the MBTA is improving safety and service, not deteriorating further.’’

D’Alessandro, a bluntly spoken former corporate executive, also recommends against further expansion until the T can get its safety and maintenance problems under control. Simply controlling costs, he said, is no solution, given the magnitude of the agency’s problems and the need to employ large numbers of people to run the system.

In general, D’Alessandro recommends more transparency and more direct oversight of the MBTA by the new state transportation board, including a requirement that the T seek approval before it borrows any more money.

The strongest recommendation concerns safety. D’Alessandro implores the T’s new oversight board to conduct a high-level examination of what needs fixing. “With 51 projects classified as ‘a danger to life or limb of passengers and/or employees,’ prioritizing these projects against public safety needs is imperative,’’ he wrote.

*** Update 1:15 PM 11/04/09 ***

Governor Patrick announced during a press conference today that there will be no fare increases on the MBTA for the foreseeable future until these issues are hammered out. Thankfully, someone finally gets it. Riders have been lamenting this for years ... that the experience that we have almost daily on the T does not warrant additional fees to us until the agency gets its crap together.

This report didn't really offer anything new for those of us who take the T or commuter rail ... but hopefully it will get the ball rolling on solutions.

Switch Problems Wreak Havoc on the Worcester/Framingham Trains

2009-11-04T09:34:00.003-05:00

Another morning, another 45+ minute delay on the Worcester line this morning. I got to the Grafton station at 7:03 and saw groups of fellow riders milling around by the pay boxes. They were all discussing the delays, it seems the p504 (departs Worcester at 6:05) was delayed over an hour and the p506 (departs Worcester at 6:30) was delayed over 45 minutes.

I looked on the MBTA website from my blackberry and it looked like the p502 had been cancelled and suggested that passengers seek alternate arrangements for transportation. The service alert attributed the delays to switch problems in Worcester.

At around 7:20 a train rolled into Grafton. As I went to get on the train, I asked the conductor if it was the p504 and he barked back at me "It's a LOCAL!" Um, thanks for the great customer service!

After Framingham, one of the conductors announced that our train was actually the p506, which is supposed to get to Boston at 8:11 AM. It was a local, making every stop all the way into the city, and we finally arrived at South Station at about 8:55.

One of my co-workers asked me if i thought the new MDOT agency taking over has anything to do with these delays. I can't imagine why that would be the case, but really, out of 5 commutes this week, 3 of them have been delayed by more than 1/2 hour. It's not even winter yet! I shudder to think what will happen if this is just the beginning.

Another Crappy Commute

2009-11-03T20:51:00.002-05:00

Tonight's ride home on the p529 was delayed for upwards of 1/2 hour as we sat outside of Yawkey station due to a "police action" somewhere along the tracks. Both inbound and outbound trains were affected by the delay. So, out of four commutes this month so far, two of them have resulted in delays of 1/2 hour or more and thus, reimbursement requests.

Hope this isn't a sign of things to come!

Delays on the P508 and the PTIS

2009-11-03T09:38:00.006-05:00

Not sure if the leaves are still wreaking havoc on the tracks or what, but we were about 10 minutes behind schedule this morning, arriving to South Station at 8:33 AM. At least this was somewhat "normal," as opposed to yesterday's awful commute.

I received some Rail Mail over the weekend touting the new Passenger Train Information System (PTIS). Funny, when I first read it, I thought it was called PITS. Here is the crux of the email:

The MBTA is pleased to announce that testing is in the final stages for the new PTIS (Passenger Train Information System). This upgrade will enable us to provide our passengers with real-time information generated directly from the train. Passengers will soon see train arrival information on electronic station signs ("Next train arriving in 10 minutes"). The system will also offer automated "next station stop" announcements on board the trains. Some of you may have experienced the new system during this testing phase and we ask for your patience while this necessary part of the process takes place. During this time there may be occasions when the electronic station signs could appear to be out of service. You might also experience testing of the on board announcement system, which could be misleading (naming stations that are not on that route). Please ask your conductor if an announcement is confusing. The PTIS technology will be introduced in phases beginning with the Greenbush and Old Colony lines. We anticipate that the system will be implemented on these lines by year’s end with a system wide roll out to follow. We thank you in advance for your patience while we make these enhancements. Thank you for riding the commuter rail.

My favorite thing about the email was "please ask your conductor if an announcement is confusing ..." yeah, because they're always so forthcoming with information! Regardless, it's sure to be an interesting roll out.

Not A Great Way to Start the Month ...

2009-11-02T10:15:00.003-05:00

This morning's commute had to be in the top 10 worst of all time. I knew we were in trouble when I got to the Grafton train station and after paying my parking fee, noticed there weren't a lot of people on the platform. I took that as a sign of ominous things to come ... and I was right, because then the automated sign said that the p504 had been cancelled and all other trains were operating about 10-15 minutes behind schedule. The interesting thing, Commuter Alerts on the MBTA website said something completely different, that the delays were upwards of 30 minutes.

When the p508 finally arrived at about 7:30, it was pushing another train ahead of it. We traveled quite slowly through Westborough and Southborough, then spent about 20 minutes at the Southborough stop due to mechanical issues. We crawled along to Boston ... luckily, we were still an express, although for some reason the train stopped at Yawkey. We finally arrived at 9:45 this morning ... about 1 1/2 hours later than usual. Finally got to work around 10:00. Thank goodness my manager understands about the delays!

I talked to colleagues at work and they had similar issues on the Fitchburg line as well ... apparently the tracks were icy this morning and the trains had problems braking. Not a banner day on the rails.

Rainy Day Commute

2009-10-28T09:21:00.003-04:00

The P508 was on time this morning, arriving at South Station at about 8:23 AM.

It seems to me that the train has been less crowded as of late ... I wonder if more people are driving due to fears of swine flu? I will say that when I had to drive in yesterday, traffic was terrible and it took me almost 2 hours to get to Boston from Worcester.

November 1 will mark the inception of the new state transportation agency that combines the MBTA and Mass Pike, among other agencies. A commission has also been assigned to provide a comprehensive overview of each agency, so we can look forward to a report about the MBTA finances and management structure. I'll keep an eye out and post it here ... I'm not sure there will be anything surprising in the report ... it should paint a picture of high maintenance costs and high labor/pension costs that cannot be handled without a fare increase since the sales tax increase definitely didn't help abate the issues.

Columbus Day Commute

2009-10-12T09:07:00.003-04:00

Although we were running on a normal (i.e. non-holiday) schedule, the P508 was about five minutes behind schedule this morning, arriving at South Station at 8:28 AM. After picking up passengers in Natick, we had to back up to get a "running start" to make it past the leaves on the tracks. Now ... call me crazy ... but the tracks were not wet, so the leaves should have been dry, yes? The train cannot go over dry leaves?

In addition to the leaves, the train was also on the opposite track this morning at the Grafton stop. You know, some notice would be nice, like an announcement on the message boards. But, that would require foresight. My favorite thing that happened this morning was when someone asked the conductor why we were on the opposite track and he growled back "I DON'T KNOW!"
Awesome customer service!!

Was anyone on the 6:15 PM train out of South Station on Friday night? We sat at South Station for about 20 minutes waiting for "paperwork" before we could leave ... I think we were 1/2 hour late getting to Grafton that night.

Last week, I was in a taxi back to my office and had a great discussion with the driver about the state of public transportation in Boston. One of our topics of discussion was the Silver Line and how basically there are two separate bus routes that don't with one another. Whose bright idea was that?!? Some good news on that front though, on Tuesday, the T will extend the Washington Street Silver Line to South Station. Previously, passengers in the South End who used the Silver Line could not get to South Station without taking some other route, like getting on the Red Line from Downtown Crossing. If you want to go to the airport, you will have to switch buses at South Station, but at least it's better than before.

Who is running the T these days? There has been a mass exodus over the last few weeks, as November 1st approaches. This is the date when the newly formed state transportation agency will take effect. Last week, the MBTA's chief of operations - the guy who keeps the trains and buses running - submitted his retirement papers. According to the Globe, Richard J. Leary made his retirement effective Nov. 1, but it does not appear he holds much continuing interest in the job. He was a no-show at a board of directors meeting last week, even though he had been ordered by the board to deliver a crucial safety report.

The day Leary turned in his retirement papers, his hand-picked deputy, Kevin McGuire, submitted his retirement papers as well. As we know, back in August, the general manager, Daniel A. Grabauskas, was forced out with a $327,000 buyout. And following the last meeting of the MBTA Advisory board last week, the board of directors also dissolved.

So, who is running the MBTA? For now, it’s William A. Mitchell Jr., the acting general manager who had been the agency’s general counsel for the past 14 years. Mitchell does not know much about trains and buses. But the T still has individual managers in charge of subway, commuter rail, and bus operations. One of Leary’s deputies also remains on staff. Nothing against Mr. Mitchell, but I'm not sure I want someone with no experience in trains or buses running the agency, even on an interim basis.

The next transportation secretary, Jeffrey Mullan, plans to pick two top leaders for the T over the next month or so - one to run day-to-day operations and a second person to oversee policy for all public transit. The policy person will also oversee regional bus systems and deal with freight rail coming in and out of the state.

That's What Trash Cans Are For ...

2009-09-23T11:16:00.003-04:00

If you recall, last Wednesday evening stations along the Red Line and Orange Line were shut down during rush hour because of two separate fires, which were attributed to trash on the tracks.

Today, Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser and the MBTA have begun urging riders to prevent fires in subway tunnels by dumping their trash in garbage cans -- not on the tracks. Hmmm, doesn't this sound like common sense? How lazy must you be to think the train tracks are your own personal dumping ground?

According to the Globe, the MBTA said Fraser's public service announcement is one part of a three-part response to the fires that infuriated thousands of home-bound commuters.

The second part is a reminder to T employees they should pick up trash or alert dispatchers when garbage is spotted in a tunnel so a crew can safely be sent in to clean up the mess.

Finally, the T's power department, which oversees the electrical wiring throughout the system, is to map out a plan to replace the most derelict electrical systems with materials that generate far less smoke should future incidents occur.

In other news, the P508 was right on time this morning, arriving at South Station at 8:23 AM.

Tuesday Commute

2009-09-22T10:42:00.004-04:00

Took the p508 this morning, we were about 5 minutes off schedule, arriving at South Station at around 8:28 AM.

I took yesterday off from work (as I had to recover from a great U2 show the night before!), but I heard that there was a huge issue on the P523 train which departs South Station at 5:00 last night? Anyone care to comment?

Read an article in the Globe this morning that the MBTA has recently updated their transit maps, since some were quite outdated. The project will last about 2 years and cost upwards of $500,000 to replace maps in all stations and will, for the first time, include information about the fifteen busiest bus lines.

Don't know how I missed this one, but the MBTA unions have filed a lawsuit against the state to block them from cutting worker benefits. According to an article in the Globe, the reduction in MBTA benefits is a cornerstone in a sweeping transportation law passed this year that was a top priority for Governor Deval Patrick. No other single change is expected to bring as much savings to the state. The major changes in benefits would require MBTA employees to join the state health care plan, as well as eliminating retirement provision that allows an MBTA worker to retire after 23 years of service and collect a generous pension. Looks like this will be a fight for a long time to come between the unions and the state.

MBCR Speaks Out Regarding Worcester Line Mishaps

2009-09-17T10:13:00.003-04:00

Received some Rail Mail from MBCR yesterday about the two mishaps earlier in the week that impacted Worcester trains.

You know, I'm thinking that the near miss on Monday was a lot more serious than they're letting on. Two trains headed toward one another on the same track at normal speeds? Thank god our engineer put the emergency brake on ... that would have been 100 times worse than the accident on Tuesday morning. I'm hoping that the dispatcher who allowed that to happen is no longer dispatching trains.

Here's the Rail Mail letter:

Dear Worcester Line Customers,

I wanted to take a moment to address two recent, but entirely separate, operating incidents that have received much attention.

On Monday, September 14th at about 6pm, CSX dispatchers routed an inbound and an outbound train onto the same track between Back Bay and Yawkey Stations. Thanks to the alert actions of our on-board and operations staff, the trains stopped without incident and there were no injuries.

On Tuesday, September 15th, just after 9am, an inbound train struck a bumper post at South Station while traveling at low speed. At present, 18 passengers and one crew member are being treated for injuries. None of the injuries are known to be serious.

On behalf of MBCR and the MBTA, I apologize to each of you who may have experienced a delay due to these incidents and thank you for your patience. If you require further assistance, please contact us at customerservice@mbcr.net.

Passenger safety is of paramount concern for MBCR and the MBTA and we have initiated a full investigation of both incidents. We will fully-examine all possible factors leading into each event and take any necessary action to ensure the safety of our passengers, the public and our employees.

While the investigations are ongoing, you may be assured that all of our staff will continue to work safely. You can have full confidence in the safety of our service and that the experience, training and dedication of our employees will provide you with a safe commute. I have full confidence in their professionalism.

Thank you for riding the commuter rail system.

Richard A. Davey
General Manager
Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad (MBCR)

Worcester Train Hits Bumper at South Station

2009-09-15T11:54:00.002-04:00

The inbound P512 Worcester commuter train hit the bumper at the end of the track this morning at South Station, injuring 18 passengers. This is the train that usually arrives at South Station at around 9:05 AM ... and the train I've been taking lately, except for the past two days.

MBTA officials told the Herald that 18 people have been reported injured - including some passengers taken out of the station on backboards. The engineer and a conductor have been placed on paid leave while transit officials investigate the 9:08 a.m. accident. The engineer will undergo drug and alcohol testing.

But, T officials said today’s crash on the Worcester/Framingham line is due to operator error. The engineer said he “misjudged” the distance between the end of the line and a concrete bumper, MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said. Pesaturo added there is no reports the engineer was on a cell phone “or any other electronic device.” He said the engineer has already submitted a letter to his boss stating it was operator error.

Commuters aboard train 512 had already stood up from their seats to exit the six-car train when it made contact with the bumping post, causing some people to fall down, said Pesaturo. “The train hit quickly and people bounced,” said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

Passengers tell the Herald they were brought to their knees by the sudden collision. Officials said 100 people were on the train at the time of the crash. “We were slowing down to a normal stop then BANG! A hard stop,” said Shaw Lively, 56, who said he jumped on the train in Ashland for the first time in five years. “I went flying through the air,” he added, saying he hurt his knee.

Police said radio transmissions will be studied today and an expert will look at the brakes. The MBTA said that the train was moving at a low rate of speed when the accident occurred.
Emergency responders told the Herald 18 people were being treated for what first appeared to be minor back and neck injuries, with 13 of the injured transported to the hospital. Many victims had to be strapped into backboards to be taken away. Other passengers who had left the scene reportedly returned to tell emergency officials of neck or head pain. Another five who were injured did not need hospitalization.

P508 On Time

2009-09-15T09:43:00.001-04:00

The p508 was on time to South Station this morning, arriving at 8:24Am. Seems we've been a car short for a few days now though, which has been causing crowding on the train.

In other news, apparently a train arriving at South Station has rammed a barrier, causing injuries to passengers. No additional news available at this time.

I think last night's incident on the p529 warrants a mention again. According to news sources, the potential incident is more serious than we passengers were lead to believe. CSX is referring to it as a near collision.

I'm sure the conductors didn't want to incite any panic on the train, but that's just crazy. How can the switch operators not know what tracks have trains on them?

Excitement on the P529

2009-09-14T21:24:00.002-04:00

There was some excitement on the p529 this evening ... right outside of Yawkey we came to a sudden stop ... the type where the emergency brake is deployed and you hang on for dear life. Come to find out, we were sent out on the wrong switch and thus the wrong track and the engineer saw another train on our same track ... heading in our direction! We sat there for about 15 minutes, then we backed up all the way to South Station, switch tracks and headed back out.

Morning commutes have been status quo of late ... nothing like running like clockwork!

In other transportation news:

Secretary of Transportation James Aliosi has resigned and will not head up the newly revamped Department of Transportation come November
The MBTA is shutting down the Old Colony Line from Middleboro to Bridgewater to replace old rail ties starting this Wednesday after rush hour, passengers will be bused between the stations from 8:30 to 4:30
New iPhone apps to help you get where you're going on the T include: MassTransit, the NextTrainMBTA, iTransitBuddy - MBTA and to a T
The MBTA recently extended the hours when junior high and high school students can use their discount MBTA passes ...times were extended to 11:00 PM

First Commute of the New Month

2009-09-01T10:07:00.002-04:00

Wow, when did it get to be fall already? A new season was definitely in the air this morning while waiting for the P508. This morning's commute was right on time, we arrived at South Station at 8:23 AM.

I saw this interesting article in the Herald about how the MBTA is cracking down on fake commuter rail passes. According to the article, the MBTA instituted random ticket checks using technology that allows examiners to immediately identify counterfeit tickets and passes. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure full collection of fares from every rider and hold those who try to counterfeit rail passes accountable. Interesting, I haven't seen anything on my train ... riders, do you have any observations to share?

MBTA Public Hearings Suspended

2009-08-11T17:49:00.002-04:00

Governor Patrick has suspended the remaining public hearings on proposed MBTA fare increases, pending the top to bottom review that Transportation Secretary James Aloisi promised a few days ago.

According to the Globe, the first hearing was held at the State House on Monday and more than 150 riders and lawmakers showed up to debate the possible 20 percent fare hike, Interestingly enough, only one of the eight members of the MBTA's board of directors attended the meeting.
Mr. Aloisi did not attend. When the meetings resume (if they do), the MBTA board needs to be held accountable and show up to hear the input of the riders.

There seems to be a lot of in fighting between the MBTA board, the Governor and former GM Dan Grabauskas. I know that MBTA riders aren't interested in politics, we just want reliable service, a good experience when we ride and we don't want to pay through the nose for it.

A Better MBTA?

2009-08-08T09:40:00.002-04:00

That's what Transportation Secretary James Aliosi is promising, after the ousting of General Manager Dan Grabauskas. Mr. Aliosi promises a thorough review of the MBTA, as the merger of the state's transportation agencies is due to take effect in November. Among other things that the review will accomplish is determining whether or not the fare increases proposed by Dan Grabausaks will be implemented and whether there needs to be a MBTA General Manager position in the new agency.

The agency itself needs to be overhauled, perhaps Dan Grabauskas leaving is the first sign of many changes to come. I hate to sound jaded, but I hope removing Mr. Grabauskas, performing a comprehensive review of the agency and merging the transportation agencies accomplishes what we riders have been clamoring for ... consistent train/bus service and good customer service at a fair price.

Dan Grabauskas Leaving MBTA

2009-08-07T09:13:00.002-04:00

I'm currently traveling for work, but I wanted to post regarding the news that Dan Grabauskas is leaving the MBTA. This after weeks of no-confidence votes from the MBTA board, but no outright vote to oust him. I can't say I'm surprised that this has finally happened.

Frankly, I think the General Manager job is a thankless task. Over the last few years, I'm struggling to come up with improvements to my commuting experience that can be directly attributed to the work of the GM. This is not to say that there haven't been improvements in other areas of the MBTA ... such as the introduction of new equipment and an automated fare card system. I don't doubt that one person can do the job alone, but an agency such as the MBTA needs a leader and I'm just not sure that Dan Grabauskas was that type of leader.

I think back to an interview that he did with WBUR about a year and a half ago. I don't think I ever heard such a disinterested person answering questions from riders. He kept reminding people of the fiscal state of the MBTA instead of concentrating on their issues. We as riders get it, the T is in financial crisis. But, we need an advocate, someone who will listen to input and take action to make the experience better. The General Manager needs to be able to balance the business of running the T with the business of customer service.

Luckily for Dan, he gets to walk away with over $320 K in his pocket as a reminder for all the "good" work that has occurred under his expert management. What a crock!! In any other company, if you failed to deliver, you'd be out on your butt with no cushy golden parachute.

Back on the Train Gang

2009-07-08T22:07:00.002-04:00

I'm back! Due to a combination of late nights, work travel and vacation, I haven't ridden the commuter rail in nearly a month. But, I'm back on the train now .... and just in time for the fare increase!

News of the impending MBTA fare hike is all over the media, with a proposed 19.5% overall fare increase. Riders who have a Charlie ticket can expect a 50-cent increase, riders who have a Charlie card can expect their fares to increase by 30 cents. Here are the proposed fare increases by zone for the commuter rail: zone 1-3 will increase by 75 cents per trip and zones 4-8 will increase by $1.00 per trip.

Awesome, my zone 8 monthly pass is going to go from $250 to $280. This is in addition to the fact that I now pay $4 a day to park. It's so frustrating. Even though the sales tax is increasing in order to give the MBTA about $160 million, they're still going to raise fares and reduce service.

Here's what we can expect on the Worcester-Framingham line for service cuts: eliminate weekday service after 7:00 PM, eliminate all weekend trains. Unbelievable. There is no way I can take the train, I do not usually leave work now until 7:30, so I will definitely have to drive. I love how the MBTA wants to eliminate some redundant stations, but have no plans to close any of the Wellesley stops. Really, why does Wellesley need three stops? Isn't even one of those stops redundant?

Needless to say, I might consider van pooling or car pooling now, this totally stinks. Oh, we do have the ability to attend some public hearings to voice our concerns: Monday, August 10 at the State House from 4:00 - 7:00, Tuesday, August 18 in Framingham at the Town Hall from 6:00 - 8:00 PM and Wednesday, August 19 in Worcester at Union Station from 6:00 - 8:00 PM. (There are other times/dates as well).

A PDF "highlighting" all of these changes can be found here.

Breaking News ... Fare Increases of 15-20%

2009-06-04T16:21:00.002-04:00

Again, I apologize for my lack of updates. I've been driving 2-3 days a week now because of my crazy schedule. I did take the p508 this morning, we were right on time to South Station at 8:23 AM.

Just saw this on Boston.com ... not happy about it ... maybe driving will become permanent?

The state's transportation secretary announced today that fare increases of 15 percent to 20 percent would be necessary on the MBTA this fall, even if the Legislature comes through with an expected $160 million -- likely from a sales tax increase -- to help plug the current deficit.

James Aloisi announced the fare increase at today's meeting of the MBTA board and said the public process would begin soon. It will include a menu of additional options, he said, including a variety of service cuts.

"We need to have a multi-year solution," Aloisi said. He's hoping this fare increase will prevent another one from being necessary for at least two to three years.

The Legislature has been contemplating a variety of solutions to help the MBTA and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, both of which are struggling financially. Officials had hope to avoid either a toll or fare increase by identifying another source of revenue.

Governor Deval Patrick has proposed a 19 cent increase in the gas tax, while the Legislature has proposed an increase in the state sales tax from 5 percent to 6.25 percent.

TGIF!

2009-05-29T10:44:00.002-04:00

I don't know about you, but sometimes the short work weeks seem longer than the regular work weeks! And speaking of work, my schedule has been so wacky lately it's impacting my ability to consistently update Train Stopping ... that and I have been driving in a fair bit because there's nothing worse than working a 12 hour day, waiting for the 8:20 PM or 10:20 PM train and not getting home until midnight ... then getting up at 5:45 AM to do it all again.

This morning's commute on the P508 was right on time, we arrived to South Station at 8:22 AM.

According to an article in yesterday's Globe, plans for toll increases on the Pike and fare hikes and service reductions on the MBTA are on target to be implemented, if the sales tax increase is not implemented. Last week, the House and Senate passed budgets that would increase the state sales tax from 5 percent to 6.25 percent and devote about $275 million to transportation. The noteworthy thing about these budgets is that they are veto-proof.

Lawmakers appear committed to preventing the hefty toll increases that are otherwise set to take effect July 1. Lawmakers have made less of a public commitment to rescuing the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority from its $160 million deficit. The MBTA passed a budget earlier this year that presumes there will be a legislative bailout. But an advisory panel, which has the final word on the authority's budget, is expected to reject that plan at a meeting today. Instead, the MBTA Advisory Board will consider a budget that lays off about 1,200 MBTA employees - putting further pressure on the T to begin publicly planning service cuts and fare hikes.

In practice, the T would still have several months of public hearings to decide what combination of layoffs, service cuts or fare hikes it would impose to plug its budget gap. General manager Daniel A. Grabauskas said in an e-mail yesterday that he is "very much encouraged by the support in the House and Senate for transportation reform and new funding that is currently pending."

Assuming the Legislature keeps its transportation commitment at $275 million, there would be enough to avoid fee hikes on both the turnpike and the T for another year. But, that totally leaves out residents in Western Mass. who do not use public transportation, but should benefit from the money as well in order to repair roads or bridges.

Basically, this is a step in the right direction, but I doubt the MBTA will get all of the money it needs and we'll see a fare increase as a result. Blah.

Summer in the City

2009-05-21T12:41:00.003-04:00

Hope everyone has a chance to get outside today ... it is gorgeous out. I work in the Seaport area and it's especially nice down here with the breeze coming off of the water.

Today's commute on the P508 was right on time again ... we arrived at 8:21 AM.

Not sure if you have heard about the massive power outage that impacted subway riders today. A system-wide power outage stopped MTBA service for upwards of 40 minutes, trapping riders in subway cars. The outage affected all four subway lines and caused delays across the system.

Apparently communication was poor regarding the cause of the outage and people were quite frustrated. I think that's the crux of the problem, we understand that there are delays, the problem is when you have no idea as to what is going on ... you're just left in the dark. All riders want is an update about the situation. If power was out and thus radios were not working, post handwritten signs or have T employees talk to passengers about the issue. It's just common sense.

For those of you taking off early for the holiday weekend ... enjoy!!!

On Time Today

2009-05-20T14:20:00.002-04:00

The p508 rolled into South Station on time today, arriving at 8:21 AM. Then I hightailed it over to the ticket window to turn in reimbursements from late trains from the last few months. Always love that extra cash flow ... although not the reason behind it.

Over the weekend, I saw an article about the MBTA unions agreeing to a wage freeze. The unions are voluntarily agreeing to curtail a 4% wage increase. The unions represent about 500 administrative employees, electrical workers, engineers, and welders. Their one-year wage freeze will save the cash-strapped MBTA about $1.66 million - or 1 percent of the deficit. This is a good start, but other unions need to jump on board. Even with this wage freeze, MBTA officials acknowledged that commuters should still expect to see significant changes in service and possibly fare increases.

In the same article, I found it astounding that the MBTA has to negotiate with 24 separate unions. That is just insane. (And no wonder why there's so much bureaucracy in that agency). The article alluded also to the fact that the driver's union is protesting the new policy about no cellphones/pagers on buses/trains/subway cars. Passenger safety should be their utmost concern ... multi-tasking just doesn't work. You cannot text or talk and operate a multi-ton machine at the same time without consequences.

Delays on a Monday

2009-05-18T17:09:00.002-04:00

More RailMail from the MBCR today ... but this wasn't good news, just an explanation for the lengthy delays this morning.

To Our Worcester Line Customers;

We would like to begin by apologizing for the very lengthy delays experienced by our Worcester line customers this morning.

Train P502 experienced a mechanical failure when departing the Worcester station this morning. In the interim, it was determined that train P504’s equipment would be brought into the station, tie on to train P502 making a double draft and proceed into Boston making all stops. However, when this attempt was made it became clear that that there was a CSX switching problem that prevented any trains from leaving the facility. We then had to wait for CSX maintainers to come to Worcester to restore the signal. The MBCR mechanical staff had by this time made the necessary repairs to the disabled first train (P502) and it was sent on its way making all stops. Quite naturally, this cascaded into multiple delays throughout the morning commute.

We realize that this made many passengers late for the start of their work day and wanted to take this opportunity to both apologize and provide you with an explanation for this morning’s events.

We thank you for your patience and thank you for riding the commuter rail.

Customer Service Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail

My question is ... why is there not a mechanical crew out near Worcester? From the email, seems like they had to travel to get there?

Commuter Rail Schedule Update

2009-05-11T13:45:00.001-04:00

Received some RailMail recently, advising of upcoming schedule changes.

On Monday May 18th, 2009, new schedules will go into effect on the Franklin, Middleborough/Lakeville, Framingham/Worcester, Needham and Providence Lines.

Changes to the Worcester Line will affect one inbound and one outbound weekend train ONLY.

Weekend – INBOUND

Train P552: the 09:35am departure from Worcester will leave 10 minutes earlier at 09:25am arriving in Boston 10 minutes earlier. This adjustment was made due to a schedule conflict with other trains along the line.

Weekend – OUTBOUND

Train P553: the 07:50am will leave Boston 10 minutes earlier at 07:40am arriving in Worcester 10 minutes earlier.

Additional schedule information and printable PDF copies of all schedules are available at the following link on our website: http://www.mbcr.net/schedules/Worcester_web.pdf

They will also be available on the MBTA website at the following link: www.mbta.com as of Monday, May 18th.

In our efforts to “Go-Green” we will be printing a limited number of pocket schedules and ask that you to print copies from one of the above links.

Commuter rail service information, including updated commuter rail advisories/alerts is available on the MBTA website at www.mbta.com, or by calling the MBTA’s Customer Support Services Center at 617-222-3200.

Thank you for riding commuter rail.
Customer ServiceMassachusetts Bay Commuter Rail
Operating the Commuter Rail on behalf of the MBTA

Monday, Monday

2009-05-11T11:21:00.002-04:00

What is it about Mondays? I just can't seem to motivate myself in the mornings. That being said, I took the p512 this morning, and we were on time to South Station, arriving at 9:08 AM.

This past Saturday was the second annual National Train Day, which was started to commemorate the nation's first transcontinental railroad, which went into service on May 10, 1869. Amtrak sponsors this event which highlights the benefits of train travel, in addition to remembering how trains impacted the growth of our country.

In response to the Green Line accident/derailment on Friday, the MBTA has banned the possession of cellphones, pagers, etc. by all MBTA operators (prior to the latest incident, the MBTA banned usage, but operators were still allowed to have phones on them on the train). That accident caused upwards of $9.6 million in damages to the train cars involved. A representative from the National Transportation Safety Board commented "You should not be talking on your cellphone, texting, or operating a wireless device while you are operating a vehicle."

Slow Going

2009-05-07T10:00:00.002-04:00

Thanks to some sort of issues on the train ahead of us, the p508 was over 1/2 hour late pulling into South Station this morning. I was quite irritated that after leaving Back Bay, we sat outside of South Station for 10-15 minutes waiting for a track to open. We finally arrived at around 8:55.

Needless to say, I've already submitted my reimbursement.

Saw an interesting article in the Metro, about how MBTA riders save the most money by commuting into Boston rather than driving and parking downtown as compared to riders in other cities with high transit use. A survey by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) found that Boston commuters save $1,053 a month, and $12,632 annually, by taking public transportation instead of driving. (The other cities that rounded out the top five in commuter savings include New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia. Bostonians’ savings narrowly edged that of New Yorkers by $4 a month). The APTA calculated the figures using parking costs and the May 5 price of gas ($2.079 a gallon).

Let's just hope we can continue to reap the benefits of a functioning transportation system!

A Minute Late, a Car Short and Riding for Free

2009-05-05T10:37:00.007-04:00

Apparently I missed some "excitement" on the p508 yesterday morning. I had driven to work because I had an appointment afterwards, so I missed out on the delays due to mechanical issues. According to riders, the train never arrived to South Station until almost 9:30. Ugh! I am quite glad to have missed that commute.

This morning's commute on the p508 was back on track ... although we were a car short, so it was more crowded than usual. We arrived to South Station at 8:24, just a minute off of the scheduled arrival time.

I received an email about the annual program "Meet the MBCR Managers," whereby commuters are invited to meet with representatives from the commuter rail management team. I really wish Dan G. would be there so I could tell him what I think about his "give me revenue or you get nothing" threats. Frankly, I'm going to skip this meeting this year ... I went last year and spent over an hour talking to different managers and all of my comments about windows on the train (still a problem on the Worcester/Framingham line), lack of express service, parking rates, hardships with inserting dollar bills into the tiny slots, etc. Nothing really came of it as far as I can see.

But, if any of you are interested, or have suggestions or ideas you would like to share, the managers will be South Station on May 12th, North Station on May 14th and Back Bay on May 20th between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

WHDH (Channel 7) had an eye-opening report last night about free rides on the commuter rail, which has long been a bone of contention for me (as I get my monthly pass through my company). Their undercover reporters rode 23 times on a 12 ride ticket. I know that people play the system, banking on not getting their ticket checked, but really, for a cash strapped agency, you would think they would check every single person, all of the time. But, for those of us who ride the rails every day, this really isn't new information.

MBCR issued the following statement regarding Channel 7's story:

"Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad is committed to collecting every fare. While we were disappointed to learn of Channel 7's experience and plan to investigate this story, we believe it is not an objective portrait of the fare collection program. MBCR data shows that fare collection has improved. In 2008, commuter rail ridership was up 2% and on-board fare collection was up 5.5% over 2007. Complaints regarding fare collection have declined from 29 complaints in October of 2008 to just four complaints in March 2009. MBCR has employed a number of proactive steps to ensure every fare is collected.

Last summer, we implemented a "Buy Before You Board" campaign and have dispatched mystery shoppers on trains to evaluate our staff's efforts to collect fares. In January, MBCR launched a two-day customer service training program for all conductors that emphasizes keys to customer satisfaction, including fare collection. We continue to work hard to overcome the challenge of collecting every fare on a system without gates or turn-styles and look forward to working with the MBTA to implement the Charlie Card collection system on commuter rail . We encourage all of our customers to report uncollected fares to our customer service department at www.mbcr.net ."

Whether or not the "Buy Before You Board" program helped decrease the amount of fares not collected, I will say that the Worcester/Framingham conductors are quite diligent and consistent with fare collection.

There was a great article in the Globe yesterday about how all of the transit problems cause problems for businesses. I mean, that's a no-brainer, right? A workable, functioning transportation system is vital for Boston. Businesses and industries that want to expand in Massachusetts, such as life sciences and healthcare, will have trouble doing so if they can't transport products and employees quickly and efficiently.

A new study published by A Better City, a Boston-based business organization, found that congestion on Massachusetts roads cost businesses $1.8 billion a year in lost productivity and increased shipping costs, a nearly fourfold increase since 1990. And as we know, both the highway and transit services/agencies are under great financial strain. The study identified a number of revenue measures, such as higher gas taxes, tolls on the turnpike, and bus, subway and commuter fares, and concluded the gas tax is the most efficient. But it stopped short of advocating a large increase. But, as we've been advocating ... something has to be done and soon ...

Neglected

2009-05-01T10:38:00.002-04:00

I think I need an intern! Work has just been flat out crazy, leaving me hardly any time to post commuting updates to TrainStopping. Luckily, the commutes have been pretty smooth this week, with the p508 arriving on time or within 1-2 mintues of the scheduled arrival time to South Station. This morning's train pulled into South Station at 8:20 AM.

Given all the media hype about the Swine Flu and Vice President Biden's somewhat suspect comments about not taking public transportation (which really isn't an option for the majority of us), the MBTA is ramping up their cleaning efforts of buses, trains and stations. According to an email from T General Manager Daniel Grabauskas, “The MBTA has directed its cleaning crews to give special attention to places such as seats, hand rails on escalators and grab bars on subway cars and buses."

Yesterday at Union Station in Worcester, a transportation forum was sponsored by The Research Bureau and attended by Dan Grabauskas, James Aloisi and Lt. Governor Tim Murray, among others. Topics of interest at the forum included:

Expanding rail service via a commuter rail route that would take passengers from Worcester to Boston through Clinton and Ayer
CSX moving its Allston rail yard to a location in Central Massachusetts
A pending agreement with the T’s union employees, reducing the agency’s generous benefits system and saving millions of dollars

Happy Earth Day

2009-04-22T10:59:00.004-04:00

It's true every day of the year, but especially on Earth Day ... if you want to help reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, one of the best things you can do is get out of your car and onto public transportation. This is one of the main reasons why I take the commuter rail.

In 2008, Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transportation, the highest level of ridership in over 50 years, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). This represents a 4.0 percent increase over the number of trips taken in 2007 on public transportation, while at the same time, vehicle miles traveled on our nation’s roads declined by 3.6 percent in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“Even as gas prices fell for the second half of the year and hundreds of thousands of people lost jobs, more and more people chose to ride public transportation throughout the country,” said APTA president William W. Millar. “Given our current economic condition, people are looking for ways to save money and taking public transportation offers a substantial savings of more than $8,000 a year. That’s quite a savings.”

It is cheaper to ride the rails and when the commutes are on time, it's quite the relaxing ride. The Worcester/Framingham commutes (generally the p508 or p512 in the morning and either the p527 or p 529) have been pretty consistent as of late. Today's commute on the p508 was ahead of schedule, we arrived at South Station at 8:21 AM.

In other news, the MBTA plans to cut expenses by laying off non-union workers and transit police and freezing wages. The moves will save $4.5 million to $6 million per year, but will probably not be enough to prevent the agency's budget deficit for the coming year from going even higher than the previous projection of $160 million, MBTA General Manager Dan Grabauskas said.

It's a start, but the T needs to do more.

Like Clockwork

2009-04-21T12:32:00.002-04:00

This morning's commute on the p508 was right on time, we arrived to South Station at 8:23 AM.

I saw a lot of runners in BAA jackets on the Silver Line platform this morning waiting for a bus to Logan ... congratulations to all of them, it was a great Marathon Monday yesterday.

A few months ago, the MBTA touted new customer service posters on MBTA buses, subway cars and commuter trains. One of those PSA posters titled "Rub Against Me and I'll Expose You" aimed at encouraging riders to report inappropriate behavior. Since the introduction of those posters, reported incidents have increased almost 74% since last year. I think it's a good thing where people feel comfortable making the report and action is taken by the MBTA police to apprehend the people responsible. It makes for a safe transportation system for us all.

Planning for Patriots Day

2009-04-16T11:09:00.002-04:00

Thought I'd pass along the following regarding transportation options for Marathon Monday, a.k.a. Patriots Day

Please note the following MBTA Information for Patriot.s Day on Monday, April 20, 2009:

Commuter Rail trains will operate on their regular weekday schedule.
Blue, Orange, Green and Red Line trains, and Green Line streetcars, will operate on a weekday schedule with extra service before and after the Boston Marathon.
Silver Line Waterfront service will operate on a weekday schedule.
All Local Buses and Trackless Trolleys will operate on a Saturday schedule.
Express Buses will operate differently depending on the route, many will operate on a Saturday schedule; riders should review their specific route's schedule at www.mbta.com.
Inner Harbor Ferry service from Charlestown and Long Wharf will operate on its regular weekday schedule.
Commuter Boat service from Hingham, Quincy and Hull will operate on its regular weekday schedule.
THE RIDE will operate on a modified weekday schedule.

Additional MBTA Transportation Information

Copley Station will be closed all day. Riders should use Arlington Station and the Hynes Station.
Many buses that service Back Bay and Copley Square will be rerouted at certain times due to the Boston Marathon.
Route 55 Bus - No service at all until after the completion of the marathon.

On Time Thursday

2009-04-16T08:52:00.006-04:00

This morning's commute on the p508 was right on time, we arrived 2 minutes ahead of schedule, arriving to South Station at 8:21 AM.

In other commuting news, MBTA buses have now been equipped with GPS equipment, which will allow dispatchers to track buses along routes to ensure schedules are being maintained or to assist in the case of an emergency. This will also help riders who have a phone or Blackberry with internet access, as they will be able to access real-time information about when the next bus will arrive.

This is supposed to be a complement program to the "Next Train" alert system at commuter rail stations, but honestly, I can't say if that even works at the Grafton station. The two LED signs are at the complete opposite end of the platform from where I stand as I board at the front of the train, the LED signs are at the end of the train ... so not entirely helpful.

Wednesday Delays

2009-04-15T10:13:00.002-04:00

There were delays across the Framingham/Worcester line this morning due to police action at the Framingham station. This ended up delaying all of the morning trains. The P508 arrived in Grafton on time at 7:09, but we didn't pull into South Station until around 8:55, about 30 minutes behind schedule.

All is quiet on the news front ... for now.

See Something, Say Something

2009-04-14T15:03:00.004-04:00

Today's commute on the P508 was a few minutes behind schedule ... we arrived at South Station at 8:25 AM, two minutes off the scheduled mark.

There's a lot going on on the MBTA front:

The MBTA has postponed their annual vote to determine funding for replacing old machinery (train cars, buses and tracks). Usually, the MBTA borrows the money necessary for maintenance, but given their current fiscal situation, further leveraging themselves is not in their best interest.

Transportation Secretary James Aliosi is downplaying the article in the Globe (and reported on TrainStopping) regarding service cuts across the subway, bus and commuter lines. He insists that noting has been decided and that any recommendations will go through a "robust, public vetting."

Governor Patrick is unhappy with the transportation plan offered by the state legislature, saying that it's not good enough. The main bone of contention seems to be the gas tax hike, with the governor's recommendation being 19 cents per gallon, but the Legislature only agreeing to 10 cents or under per gallon.

It will be an interesting few months to say the least.

This morning at South Station, member of the MBTA Transit Police were touting the "See something, Say something" program in order to encourage riders to take an interest in their own safety and others while riding on the subway, bus or commuter rail. The pamphlet encourages you to speak up if you see unattended bags, passengers behaving strangely, groups operating in a "rehearsed or orchestrated manner," or anything suspicious. A few months ago, I was waiting for a red line train at South Station and I saw someone walking on the tracks into the tunnel. I did report it to an MBTA official who promptly took action.

A Pleasant Commute on the P512

2009-04-13T09:42:00.003-04:00

It was a nice, on time commute this morning on the p512, arriving to South Station around 9:05 AM.

Given the news about the proposed cuts, I wonder how much longer the nice commutes will last.
I find it perplexing how the T continues to roll out services such as Wi-Fi across all commuter lines, the new signage at commuter rail lots and Green Line expansion plans to Somerville/Medford when they're facing a $160 million budget deficit.

Something has to give: either the gas tax increase or fare increases and service cuts. Either way, it's not going to be pretty.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to my alma mater and congratulate the NCAA National Hockey Champion BU Terriers. Woohoo!!!

Proposed Cuts in Service

2009-04-10T10:53:00.003-04:00

Today is a holiday at my firm, so no commute for me. But, I had to create a post based on the article that I saw in the Globe this morning which discusses the upcoming cuts in MBTA service across the subway, bus and commuter rail lines ...

Eliminate Green Line stops at Boston University, St. Paul Street, and everything on the E line beyond Brigham Circle.
Cut the private carrier bus program used by more than 600,000 annual riders in Hull, Canton, Medford, and Winthrop.
End weekday commuter rail service after 7 p.m.

These are the proposed cuts for the commuter rail:

Eliminate weekday commuter rail service after 7 p.m.
Eliminate all Saturday and Sunday commuter rail service
Eliminate 16 commuter rail stations due to low usage or network redundancy

I often work late and take either the 7:15 or 8:20 trains from South Station to Grafton ... so, now I won't have those options at all, which means I will likely have to drive.

Eliminating a stop at BU? What about all of the students? Is the T trying to drive themselves further into the ground? Do they think that riders are going to stand for this or continue to take service that has been slashed?

I'm just at a loss.

Opening Day, Take Two

2009-04-07T09:18:00.003-04:00

Let's hope the rain holds off and the Red Sox are able to play some baseball today ... GO SOX!!!

Today's commute on the p508 was right on time, we arrived to South Station exactly at the scheduled time of 8:23 AM.

I read a very interesting article in the Globe Starts & Stops column over the weekend regarding on-time performance for commuter rail trains. The article states that the performance statistics published by the MBTA for rush-hour trains are actually late about 6 percentage points more often than indicated in the official statistics.

I've often contended on this blog that the on-time performance statistics are inaccurate, because it includes times for all trains across the schedule, when really, we care mostly about the morning/evening rush hour trains (i.e. peak service). The MBTA/MBCR doesn't make the distinction between peak vs. non-peak service in their statistics, but considering that over 69% of riders take rush hour trains, don't these trains become more important from an on-time service perspective?

The article further states that on-time performance stats may be posted online in the "future." I've been requesting this on a regular basis from both the MBTA and MBCR to no avail. I'll bet something like this (people questioning the validity of the stats) is something they want to avoid, but since they are a public agency funded by taxpayer dollars, I think they should be mandated to display this information ... and not just on a poster near the ticket window in South Station.

On Time on the P512

2009-04-03T10:23:00.003-04:00

I ended up taking the p512 this morning ... arriving at South Station at 9:08 AM (right on time), then zipping on the Silver Line to my office.

I wish I could take the p512 every day ... I could get up later in the morning and not have to rush from the house to make the p508. Alas, officially, my work start time is 8:30, so the p512 is a once in awhile luxury.

The MetroWest Daily News posted an article that succinctly describes what will likely happen to us Worcester/Framingham riders if the transportation crisis isn't resolved. Some "highlights" (this term is used loosely) from the article:

MetroWest rail stops in Natick, Framingham, Ashland and Southborough could see varied fare increases anywhere from $40 to $75 for a monthly pass, which currently ranges in the three zones from $186 to $223.
The inevitable longer wait and overcrowding if service is reduced would be more than an annoyance for commuters, said Eric Bourassa of MassPIRG. "People won't be able to come in early, or leave late from work," he said. "If they want to do anything, they'll have to switch to driving."
Bourassa said a fare increase in 2007 saw MBTA ridership decrease by 37 million trips, or 9.5 percent, but rebounded after the price of gas rose the following year.

On The Move

2009-04-02T13:36:00.003-04:00

Members of the On The Move coalition were passing out fliers like this one at at South Station this morning. The flier outlines the likely upcoming fare increases and service reductions if the gas tax increase is not passed. I, for one, shudder to think of what my evening commutes will be like if this comes to pass and I've already written to my state representatives in order to convince them to pass the tax.

In other commuting news, this morning's p508 was a few minutes off of the mark. We pulled into South Station at around 8:27AM. We sat outside of the station for a few minutes waiting for an open track, which no doubt contributed to the slight delay.

A Different Train for a Change

2009-03-31T12:04:00.003-04:00

I was running late this morning, so missed the p508. I got on the p512 which departs Grafton at 7:49 ... we arrived to South Station around 9:06, so a few minutes before the scheduled time of 9:08. All in all, a pleasant trip!

I saw a report on Channel 5 the other night regarding the cost of health care at the MBTA and how it has contributed to the T's debt load. The report was based on a study completed by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation who found that currently, 85 percent of every worker’s policy is paid by the MBTA, regardless of which health plan they choose or how expensive the plan is; in addition, workers under 65 who retire are also exempt from making payments. Wow, that is a very generous policy in this day and age. It seems that this area could be a good one to focus on for cost reduction.

A Rainy Monday Delay on the p508

2009-03-30T09:22:00.003-04:00

The p508 arrived at South Station at around 8:45 this morning, about 20 minutes after the scheduled arrival time. We were held up for awhile outside of Wellesley due to a medical emergency on the train ahead of us. At one point, I started dozing, but I could have sworn that the conductor announced we were making a stop at Yawkey (which I don't get as the p508 is supposed to be an express train). I didn't hear any other announcements that we were a local train.

As a member of Facebook (the social networking site), I've noticed a number of different groups associated with the MBTA. One that recently caught my eye, and which was also profiled in this Globe article, is the Put the MBTA on Google Maps group. By putting the MBTA routes on Google, riders would have the ability to determine their own best transportation route either from their cell phone or blackberry (without having to resort to using the MTBA website).
According to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo, Boston's public transportation network should be on Google Maps by late spring.

One of the most telling comments from that Globe article though was also from Joe Pesaturo in relation to another Facebook group that calls for additional late night service. He stated, "The T barely has the resources to operate existing services, never mind adding additional services."
At least someone gets it!

Slight Delays

2009-03-26T09:30:00.002-04:00

After a week of on time commutes, both the commuter rail and the Silver Line were slightly delayed this morning ... the p508 arrived to South Station at around 8:30 (7 minutes off of the scheduled arrival time) and the Silver Line was backed up as well,

I think the Silver Line delays were due to the fact that people would not move out of the way for a handicapped person to get on the bus. That's really unacceptable, have some common courtesy. I didn't try to jam myself on that bus, I waited for the next one to come.

I've noticed that the MBTA has increased the number of Silver Line buses during peak times in the morning and evening. Kudos for recognizing that it was needed. I'm not sure how it will be impacted though if the service cuts come into effect.

As the fiscal crisis looms around both the MBTA and the Mass Pike, the state Senate passed a bill yesterday aimed at changing the overall transportation landscape in Massachusetts. The bill calls for the elimination of both the MBTA and the Mass Pike Authority, but doesn't really describe how any of the services will be paid for (in lieu of toll hikes, fare hikes or gas tax hikes). Full details can be found here.

And So It Begins ...

2009-03-23T21:01:00.002-04:00

I came across this article in the Boston Globe today regarding anticipated fare increases and service cuts. Looks like us commuter rail riders are going to get screwed ... read on for the news:

The MBTA's budget problems are so severe General Manager Daniel Grabauskas says commuter rail may have to be dramatically reduced at night and eliminated altogether on the weekends.

Grabauskas said so Monday as he revealed he had filed the paperwork necessary to consider a fare increase for the T's subways, buses and trains. The agency faces a $160 million deficit next year and has over $8 billion in longterm debt.

Grabauskas says 50 percent of rail commuters travel during weekday rush hours.
Subway, bus and rail service is already scaled back in off-peak times. Grabauskas says the T would have to sharply cut trains on evenings and eliminate them on weekends to see any big savings. The Legislature is considering bills to help the T with its financial problems.

TGIF!

2009-03-20T10:01:00.003-04:00

I'm glad today is Friday ... I need the R&R over the weekend.

Today's p508 was on time to South Station, arriving at 8:20 AM. Knock on wood, the morning commutes have been pretty decent as of late. Also, we had an actual working door on the first car this morning ... and windows you could see out of! Will wonders never cease?

As I've previously mentioned, last week the MBTA presented a proposed $1.6 billion fiscal-year 2010 budget to its board. The budget includes a $160 million deficit which is the highest in MBTA's history due to declining revenues (from the sales tax) and increased operating expenses. I was able to find more details on the MBTA budget, follow this link.

It's a sobering look at the state of the system. I do find it quite interesting that revenues are still decreasing across the MBTA considering they touted their huge ridership levels last year.

Back on the Train Gang

2009-03-19T10:36:00.003-04:00

Hi Train Stoppers!

Work has been quite hectic the last week or so. I've been doing a lot of travelling and have not been riding the rails ... until this morning. The p508 was on time, arriving to South Station at around 8:22 AM.

I saw this story in the Globe a couple of days ago regarding the T's current budget and Governor. Patrick's solution. As we know, Governor Patrick has proposed a 19-cent gas tax increase with 6 cents dedicated to the T, but this has not gained traction or much support in the state legislature.

The thing about Patrick's plan, it would stave off any fare hikes for at least two to three years. Recall from a previous post that the estimated fare hikes are in the 25-30% range with a reduction in service. And these service reductions would start as soon as July. Something needs to give ... and soon!

On Time Commute

2009-03-11T09:39:00.003-04:00

Another day, another on time commute. The p508 rolled into South Station at around 8:22 AM this morning.

I saw an interesting article in the Metro this morning regarding a new tracking and reporting system for commuter rail trains. According to the article, commuter rail riders will know how far away the next train is from their station via the LED signs at commuter rail stations. The system will track trains using GPS and send that information to the signs at all commuter rail stations. Riders will hear automated announcements detailing when their trains are approaching and arriving. The announced times will also be updated if trains are experiencing delays. Tests are currently being run on several lines — including the Haverhill line — and the system will be completely rolled out by the summer.

I look forward to seeing how this will operate once it's rolled out to the Worcester-Framingham line. But, it begs the question, where did the $5.2 million dollar budget come from to install this system? The MBTA is talking about fare hikes and service reductions, but then they continue to roll out WiFi and programs like this? I don't get it.

Fare Hikes on the Horizon

2009-03-10T11:07:00.004-04:00

Well, the news is not good out of the MBTA. Based on feedback I've been hearing/reading about, it looks like fare hikes will be in the 25-30% range. This is coupled with a decrease in service of up to 50% for weekend and non-peak evening hours.

So, not only can we expect to pay even more (again) for crappy service, but now that crappy service is going to get cut basically in half? It's bad enough that if I miss the 6:15 PM train, everything else is a local and it takes me almost two hours to get home in the evening. Imagine now cutting one or two trips from the evening schedules? So, it's either take the 6:15 PM train or ... wait until 10:05? That is just absurd on so many levels.

Let's look at the numbers, shall we? Currently, a zone 8 one way trip is $7.75. If fares increase by 30%, that trip will now cost $10.08. My monthly pass will go from $250 to $325. This is in addition to the $80 a month I now need to pay to park at an MBTA lot.

These proposed fare hikes come after a year of record ridership levels for the MBTA. So, although more people are riding the train, the MBTA says the price hikes are needed in order to prevent cuts in service, layoffs or other painful alternatives. And we have the $5.2 billion in debt and the T's annual deficit of around $170 million/year to thank for the T's fiscal crisis. And this debt load can be attributed to the costs to the Greenbush line expansion, annual maintenance and pension/retirement programs for the T's union employees.

Transportation is a mess across the Commonwealth. Frankly, we taxpayers are going to bear the brunt of fixing and cleaning up the mess ... and it sucks.

Sleety, Snowy Commute

2009-03-09T09:27:00.002-04:00

Ah, New England. Where else is it sunny, 60 and springlike one day and then 30, sleeting, cold and winter the next day?

This morning's p508 commute was on time, arriving at South Station at around 8:24AM. The morning commutes have been pretty decent as of late (knock on wood).

Tomorrow, the MBTA will be holding a hearing to discuss possible fare hikes if the gas tax hike isn't passed. As I've previously mentioned, we're going to have to foot the bill for the MBTA debt load one way or another - it will either come at the pump or on a Charlie ticket. I'll keep an eye out for any updates from this meeting.

Safe travels today everyone!

Cheaper Gas, Fewer Riders

2009-03-04T17:51:00.004-05:00

Hello! Train Rider attended an off-site meeting today and did not ride the rails. I'm back from an unexpected hiatus. I fell outside of my office building last week and broke my wrist. So typing has been a bit of a challenge. According to my ortho, this winter has caused an unprecedented number of wrist injures. I guess I should be happy I didn't fall in an unplowed, icy MBTA lot! That would have only made me bitter.

Much as Train Rider has speculated, overall ridership is down due to the decrease in gas prices. After 11 consecutive months of rider growth, the T noted declines in December 2008 and January 2009 according to this article from today's Boston Globe. The T also said that the decreases can be attributed to the fact that so many Boston-area residents have been impacted by layoffs and other reductions in workforce.

You Move Massachusetts now has a blog. It looks like the blog went live on 2/27/2009. We're now linking to it in the Train blog roll. Learn about some regional transportation initiatives here.

In other news, yesterday's Boston Herald reported that the T is trying to generate some much needed revenue through billboards placed on T-owned properties along I-93.

Slight Delays on the P508

2009-03-03T09:35:00.006-05:00

The p508 was running about 10 minutes late this morning. I received a T Alert while waiting on the platform at the Grafton stop that the train was going to be delayed 15-20 minutes. It arrived in Grafton at 7:15 AM (just 8 minutes off the scheduled time of 7:09 AM). Due to those schedule changes implemented last year (you know, where the MBTA built time into every schedule to deal with their poor performance) we were "only" 8 minutes late upon arrival at South Station, pulling in at 8:32 AM.

I noticed at article in the Metro this morning that touted improved on time performance stats for the commuter rail. I thought this part of the article was quite telling:

The month of March got off to a rocky start for commuter rail travel after yesterday’s storm dropped up to a foot of snow across the region. However, despite the weather hiccup, MBCR officials say on-time service has significantly improved after a dreadful December and January.
Schedule changes on lines north of Boston and the Fairmount line helped boost overall on time service to 87.8 percent in February, compared with 76.5 percent in January, according to the MBCR.

So, on time performance has improved, not really because the trains are on time, but because schedules were extended across most other commuter rail lines (this happened on the Worcester-Framingham line a year ago) instead of addressing the issues at hand like old equipment and signal issues, the MBTA/MBCR. I can't say I'm surprised though.

Snowed In

2009-03-02T08:25:00.002-05:00

I'm grateful that my firm allows me to work from home on days like today. I hadn't been plowed out by around 7:00 AM this morning, so getting from my house to the Grafton train station would have been an ordeal.

I checked in with the T this morning and there were delays on the Worcester/Framingham line. I'm sure it's as difficult for the trains to plow through the snow on the tracks as it is for cars to deal with snow.

I hope everyone has safe travels today.

All Quiet on the Commute Front

2009-02-26T09:15:00.004-05:00

Another day, another on time commute, with the p508 arriving to South Station at 8:21 AM.

Further to my post about the gas tax increase, the Boston Globe made a great point in an editorial published today ... basically, we're going to end up paying for the transportation mess one way or another: "In many different ways, Massachusetts drivers, transit riders and taxpayers are paying the costs of the state's underfunded, debt-burdened, poorly maintained, inequitable, and unreliable transportation system. Our choice is not whether to pay for the transportation system, but how and when. We can continue paying for ever-higher tolls and transit fares, car repairs, time lost to traffic jams and delayed trains, wasted gasoline, emergency repairs, and soaring debt service charges. Or we can increase gasoline taxes and begin to reverse the cycle of denial and neglect that is costing Massachusetts and its residents dearly."

I'd like to give a shout out to Commute-a-holic, who took an unfortunate spill on an icy sidewalks and has to have wrist surgery on Friday to repair two broken bones. Good luck Commute-a-holic!

On Time Commute

2009-02-25T10:18:00.002-05:00

The on time commutes for the p508 continued this week, with an arrival to South Station around 8:20 AM.

I'm not sure if anyone has noticed the walkway under construction at the Grafton lot, but I tripped this morning on the covering and nearly fell flat on my face. Just a word to the wise to be careful, because that covering gaps and you can get caught pretty easily.

According to an article on Wicked Local Westborough, a number of state representatives have banded together to urge CSX to deal with delays along the Worcester/Framingham line. In a letter to CSX, the legislators said while the company that runs the commuter trains (MBCR) is responsible for some delays, CSX also has contributed to the problem by being less responsive to problems on the tracks. A CSX spokesman confirmed that CSX was responsible for 23.8 percent of commuter rail delays in January and 17 percent in December. I think that's great information to have. I wish the MBTA/MBCR would provide this information as well.

I know that CSX maintains an open dialogue with the MBTA/MBCR regarding commuter rail performance. Hopefully, this letter is only the beginning of increase communication and oversight that will help stabilize and improve on time performance across the Worcester/Framingham line.

The Lesser of Two Evils?

2009-02-24T10:16:00.002-05:00

Ever since Governor Patrick recommended a 19 cent per gallon gas tax increase this past weekend pundits, politicians and citizens alike have been up at arms over the proposal. The gas tax increase is a part of Governor Patrick's overall transportation reform plan, whereby revenue generated from the tax would be used to repair roads and bridges, roll back any Mass Pike toll increases and hopefully stave off any MBTA fare increases.

Hey, I don't want to pay more at the pump any more than the other person. Logically, an increase is going to happen either way. So, we either accept the gas tax increase and let the Senate and Governor Patrick hammer out the best way to reorganize the MBTA and Mass Pike or we wait and wait until we're hit with increased fares (already happening ... parking rate increase anyone?), poor service and the MBTA still mired in their billion dollar debt load.

Since I live in Central Massachusetts, I'm sure I'm going to feel the brunt regardless. For far too long, those of us from west of Route 128 have subsidized the Big Dig and the Mass Pike and it's time that ends. It shouldn't be up to a select portion of the population to fund transportation for the rest of the state, especially the ones north and south of the city that reap the most benefits. And what about the poor folks in Western Massachusetts? They're stuck paying for the Big Dig as well and they have even more to complain about. The reality is ... our transportation infrastructure is a mess. I firmly believe the lesser of two evils is the gas tax increase.

In commuting news, another on time commute to report this morning on the p508. We arrived to South Station at 8:22 AM. Good times.

Frosty Commute

2009-02-23T13:17:00.003-05:00

Hello! Did everyone stay up to watch last night's Academy Awards telecast? I actually watched the Oscars with Commute-a-holic. Good times.

Last week was a blur. I was off on Monday for the holiday, was sick, went to work, and the was off on Friday. At least today's commute was good - the P508 rolled into South Station around 8:24 a.m., even though the train was late departing Grafton.

Somehow I missed this story reported by The BostonChannel.com on Thursday. Shocking . . . the MBTA is over budget and behind delivery on multiple construction projects, WCVB-TV Channel 5's investigative team learned. Of the 19 current projects only 3 are on time/on budget!!

I personally love how they started the report by mentioning the Kenmore Station - I curse the T every time I have to drive through Kenmore Square. What a blight!! As a professional project manager, I concur very heartily with this statement:

"There's obviously an issue with project management if they're so far behind like this," said another commuter.

Indeed, I do agree, there is an issue with the T's project managers. Are they even PMP certified?

Of course, the T "stands behind" the delayed projects. Sure - why not - it isn't like T employees have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut due to the inept deliverability cycles. Can you say unnecessary "scope creep"?

I received a nice note from Grafton Train Rider who shared some interesting feedback on Friday. Grafton Train Rider is referencing Thursday, February 19th:

I was feeling ill yesterday and a nice coworker gave me a ride back to the Grafton station last night. We noticed a Transit Police vehicle parked in the rear corner of the lot about 4:45 PM - good to see some police presence after last year's vandalism.

Some not so good news about MBTA police: I watched the I-Team report last night about the MBTA employee's scam to collect for training which he did not attend with his assigned canine dog. Fortunately, the employee resigned and may face criminal charges.

Lastly, I am pleased to report that I have accepted a volunteer position on the MBTA Rider Oversight Committee. Our first meeting is this Monday evening from 5-7 PM so I will keep you informed about developments.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their comments on last Thursday's reimbursement post. I'm glad everyone found the information to be helpful. I also found the comments helpful, so thanks for sharing.

Not On Time, but Not Late Enough for Reimbursement

2009-02-19T15:11:00.002-05:00

This morning's p508 commute was about 15-20 minutes behind schedule, arriving at South Station around 8:45 this morning, I was actually dozing most of the trip into Boston, as I've been recovering from a bug, so I'm not quite sure where the delay happened ... I believe it might have been outside of Boston University. Folks, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

So, the delay wasn't enough for reimbursement, but speaking of $$$, I did receive 3 letters in the mail last night for those delayed trains we had to endure in December. I love those form letters, especially where it says "We apologize for the delay due to NONE." Hmmm, maybe I'll try that at work and see how it flies, "Oh, I'm sorry manager, I apologize for not delivering my project on time due to NONE." Yeah, not happening.

In other news, I'm pretty excited for an upcoming change in my commute benefit via work. (I currently get my commuter rail pass via Wage Works). I found out today that the Emergency Economic Recovery Act signed into law by President Obama this week includes a provision which raises the amount of pretax income that employees enrolled in employer-sponsored commuter benefits programs (such as a transit pass purchase program) can use to pay for transit/vanpool expenses from $120 per month to $230 per month.

How the Commuter Benefit Works

The commuter benefit will now allow employees to deduct up to $230 per month from their gross income, to pay for their mass transit commutes. This is an increase from the current cap of $120/month. (The only way to take advantage of these tax savings is by enrolling in a commuter benefits program offered by the employer.)
Employees whose monthly mass transit fees are less than the $230 cap are allowed to deduct the full amount from their paychecks.
Additionally, employees are allowed to deduct up to $230 per month for eligible commuter parking expenses (no increase from current cap).
The measure helps employers save money by lowering their payroll taxes.
As a result of the increase in employee and employer savings, under the new law, it is also expected that the number of employees who are offered the benefit will increase, as companies not currently offering the benefit will do so.

All I have to say to that is ... sweet. My own pretax exposure to my $250/month T pass should go down ... unless the MBTA raises fares!

I'm Ill but the P508 was On-Time Today

2009-02-18T13:12:00.006-05:00

I've caught something that has made me sick. I had the Monday holiday and I was home sick yesterday. Fortunately, the P508 was on-time today.

But it wasn't on-time yesterday. I received the following email from an Anonymous Worcester-Framingham commuter rail rider:

In case you're not here, yup we are late once again. everyone file your on-time service claims!

Over the past weeks, more cars' electrical outlets seem to be failing. 1709 and 1711 have been the east-most car frequently on the 508 and 523 - don't try to use power there though. :-( I've been filing the gripes with regularity, and was promised 1711 would get fixed back on the 6th.

Better Get a Fast Lane

2009-02-17T08:35:00.003-05:00

I've had a Fast Lane transponder for so many years, I actually do not know when I originally got it. Since I used to commute to work on the Pike, a transponder made a lot of sense. I don't understand why so many daily Pike commuters don't opt for the transponders.

If the reports from this morning actually materialize into reality, I can see many regular commuters signing up for a Fast Lane transponder. A new proposal is circulating that Fast Lane account holders can avoid Mass Pike toll hikes if/when the toll hikes happen. Check out the news on the BostonChannel.com and The Boston Herald.

An editorial from today's The Boston Globe floats a dual idea for fixing the budget woes plaguing the Mass Pike, MBTA, etc. The Globe's editorial staff think that a gas hike is the fairest way to generate revenue for Massachusetts transportation entities. This way everyone across the state would contribute. However, The Globe doesn't think the money should just be raised without fixing the transportation system in the Commonwealth.

Unpleasant News for Friday the 13th

2009-02-13T06:57:00.003-05:00

For months, we've known that transportation related initiatives in Massachusetts were in a tail spin. The MBTA, in particular, has been in a fiscal crunch.

Reports are out today that Transportation Secretary James A. Aloisi Jr. has said that the T will need make a number of drastic measures to stay afloat. These measures may include fare increases of up to 25%, a cut back in services or employee layoffs. Aloisi told the T's Board that, if they don't make some decisions by June, the state will step in and make the decisions for them.

This message comes on ahead of next week's anticipated announcement of Governor Deval Patrick's transportation plan.

Essentially, Aloisi is asking the T to either do what is right for T riders or to see if the T is going to continue their coddling of employees. T employees have the right to a full pension after 23 years of service. No doubt the pension payouts have contributed to their $5.2 billion debt (this includes interest).

My personal T "perk" pet peeve is the fact that so many T employees have use of a vehicle. The state made most departments turn in state cars on January 1, 2009. The T was not included in this return, as they are a quasi-private entity and can do their own thing.

You can read all about this in the following articles:

The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe Thursday, February 12th article (good for the reader comments)
The Boston Herald
Boston Metro

I do enjoy reading the comments that are posted to some articles. Here is one that was posted to The Globe's article published today:

What makes this all the more infuriating is that the T continues to avoid making the right, ethical decisions regarding its notorious retiree gravy train. These are tough times for all, and present T-retirees should be required to sacrifice as much as present employees and, indeed, the rest of us outside the T's bastion of utlra-entitled hackery.

First things first: make current retirees pay more for their health care, eliminate their ridiculous choices in the matter, and start taking a hard look at those who've gotten away with "gaming the system" in their pensions. We shouldn't be demanding sacrifice only from active working people; those now sitting pretty with ludicrous retirement packages should make sacrifices too.

Of course there are the T unions to deal with. In crisis there is opportunity, and this seems to be an excellent opening to take the corrupt public unions down a few pegs.

Just a thought...or two.

WickedLocal Mansfield published a letter from a MBTA/MBCR commuter rail rider who has been ticketed for not paying the $4.00 parking fee even though it was paid.

Today's Globe also published an article about how the T will be leasing space at the Riverside MBTA Green Line station in Newton.

Finally, due to business in my personal and professional life (sorry!), I've been behind some news updates. The Boston Globe's local news sections recently wrote an article about Needham line commuter rail passengers. It was published earlier in the week on February 10th. The article was published on part of a new news feed for Needham, Newton and Waltham. The purpose of the local sections is to try to "identify readers and their needs." The Globe is particularly interested in regular updates and news about the Needham line. So if you are a Needham line rider and if you would like to provide commuter rail updates to The Globe, feel free to contact Regional Editor David Dahl at dahl AT globe.com.

Some Excitement ... But Not Really the "Good" Type

2009-02-12T09:24:00.004-05:00

The commute on the P508 was exciting this morning ... as a passenger decided to try to jump on the moving train as it was leaving the Southborough stop. We slammed to a halt immediately (you can always tell when the emergency brake is engaged) and sat there for a few minutes. My understanding is that the passenger refused medical attention and went home. I'm glad that the accident wasn't more serious. I understand that people might not want to wait 30 minutes for another train, but I'm not sure it's worth your personal safety to either jump on or off a moving train.

We did arrive to South Station at around 8:27 AM, so just a few minutes off schedule, but pretty good considering the delay outside of Southborough.

In other news, it's been reported that the MBTA may be one of the beneficiaries of Governor Patrick's proposed gas tax hike, receiving about 11 cents of the 27 cent proposed increase. Yeah, we know that the MBTA is saddled with debt and poor revenues and we basically pay for poor service. I'm hoping that if this gas tax does go through, that there is some type of clause in it for improving service and maintaining the fleet of trains and buses. I just don't want a debt bail out (for all intents and purposes) and then have the MBTA continue to underperform. We riders deserve better.

Looming Gas Tax Hikes?

2009-02-09T10:33:00.002-05:00

This morning's p508 commute was fairly on time, we arrived to South Station at 8:24 AM, one minute past the scheduled arrival time of 8:23AM.

I've previously posted about the Senate proposal to combine multiple independent state transportation agencies in order to contain costs. This new agency is projected to save over $2.5 billion in the next twenty years. As we all know, both the MBTA and Mass Pike are saddled under enormous debt loads and the new House Speaker Robert DeLeo seems to think the idea of an increase to the state gas tax is a good way to increase revenues to help Massachusetts transportation overall, especially in light of the vehement protests to proposed Mass Pike toll increases and MBTA parking lot fare increases. There has not been a formal announcement either way, but expect this volatile issue to dominate transportation related headlines over the coming months. Additional details can be found here.

In other news, a link to commuter rail service from TF Green Airport in Warwick, RI is well underway. First proposed in 1992, construction has been recently ramped up and is expected ti be completed by fall 2010. The project is called the Warwick Intermodal Facility and will be one of a handful of airports in the nation with direct access to a commuter rail station. The MBTA will be providing access, with an initial schedule of 8 round trips per day. The new train platform will be 1,570 feet from the terminal and passengers will be able reach it on a so-called people mover commonly seen in many big terminals. More information can be found online at the Providence Journal website.

Chilly Thursday Commute

2009-02-05T09:09:00.003-05:00

It's pretty cold out there this AM ... not as bad as a few weeks ago when it was -4, but close enough. Luckily, the train was on time and quite warm this morning. The p508 arrived at South Station at 8:22. It's been a good week so far for the morning commute. (Knock on wood!)

A few posts ago, I commented on the increased ridership stats for 2008, attributable to rising gas prices last year. While ridership may have increased, not everyone's experience is always good and it seems that we commuter rail riders bear the brunt of poor service and delays. I've been saying this for months, it's a good week when only one train is late. Today's Boston Globe expounds on the commuter rail experience in the article: "Late commuter trains threaten ridership gains."

According to the article, over the past six months, during a time when the MBTA was trying to show new riders the wonders of mass transportation, one in five commuter trains arrived at least five minutes late, and many were much later. In December and January, the problem worsened - in part due to weather, maintenance problems, and track construction - with nearly a quarter of the trains failing to arrive within the five-minute window.

I find it interesting that the Globe can post MBTA on time statistics online, but the MBTA themselves cannot do it. There is a great graph linked from the Globe article about on time performance, you can find it here. Interesting to note, only the Greenbush line has met on time performance statistics for the year, with their on time average being 95.1%. The worst performing line is Fitchburg with 71.7%. The Worcester/Framingham line stats are 88%.

The system itself is broken and needs major overhaul; but given the current economic situation, I'm not holding my breath that anything will change soon.

Being Punctual Matters to MBTA/MBCR Commuter Rail Riders

2009-02-05T09:02:00.003-05:00

Hello Train Riders! Both Train Rider and I have had a busy week this week. But we do not have any complaints about being busy - we're both happy to be employed. Plus, keeping busy means you can stay warm. It is brisk out there, huh? It was 5F while I was driving to the gym this morning and a balmy 8F on my way to work.

WBZ's "Conversation Nation" started a thread this morning about commuter rail punctuality. This thread was started based on an article in today's The Boston Globe about how late arriving trains could actually cause a decrease in ridership.

This is a topic, unfortunately, that Train Stopping is all too familiar with.

The Globe's article includes this stunning chart that compares on-time averages across all the commuter rail lines in 2007 versus 2008. Think about this:

January 2007 - 93.0% on time
January 2008 - 77.4% on time
January 2009 - 76.7%

Those are not numbers that help commuters. Many of the people interviewed in The Globe's article indicated that they would prefer to ride the train for both financial, personal and environmental reasons, but they can't rely on it and need to drive themselves to work.

Over the past six months, during a time when the MBTA was trying to show new riders the wonders of mass transportation, one in five commuter trains arrived at least five minutes late, and many were much later. In December and January, the problem worsened - in part due to weather, maintenance problems, and track construction - with nearly a quarter of the trains failing to arrive within the five-minute window.

One in five trains are at least five minutes late!!

MBTA GM Dan Grabauskas, in his great fashion, of course places the blame for the on-time performance on factors ranging from the weather to the MBCR. This is Dan's way, huh?

The MBCR notes that the old equipment is owned by the MBTA and that the MBCR is considering purchasing their own used locomotives because the T hasn't bought any new ones.

The article also acknowledges that some lines are worse than other lines.

The Eagle-Tribune also wrote an article about this winter's train woes. This article focuses on the Haverhill line and the ungodly commutes that people have endured.

Well, maybe if the T managed their budget better, they would have some more resources to run the trains properly. Yesterday's Globe ran a front-page article on how different state agencies, including the MBTA, hire outside lobbyists. The T spent $48,000 on lobbyists last year alone. Governor Patrick has said that state agencies can no longer use lobbyists.

Finally, more on the Green Line extension.

Swamped!

2009-02-03T16:59:00.005-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting, it's been a hectic day work wise.

This morning's p508 commute was slightly delayed, we arrived to South Station at 8:30AM, 7 minutes after the scheduled arrival time. I believe that any train that is more than 5 minutes late doesn't count towards on time performance ... so we're 1 for 2 so far ... two days into February.

Interesting articles in today's Herald and Globe regarding the salary increases for MBTA employees. I love the Herald, they always tell it like it is with the heading "T Workers Ride the Money Train." The Globe also puts it succinctly "MBTA's payroll jumps as agency struggles." Both articles cite a 14% increase in salaries over the last year, mostly due to the arbitration awards for the union (for which we also have to thank for the increased parking rates).

Given the current economic climate, you would think a cash strapped agency like the MBTA would try cutting costs. I know that across industries, people are taking salary cuts or foregoing overtime pay in order to keep their jobs. Apparently not at the MBTA. Funny enough, General Manager Dan Grabausaks announced a $160 million deficit for the MBTA and says he hopes that we don't have to suffer reduced service or fare hikes like NYC's transit system.

You know what really grinds my gears? This is the second or third time that Dan Grabauskas has trotted out the "Oh, be glad we're not New York city," excuse; as if by threatening us, we'll be less likely to grumble or complain when they allow 14% payroll increases or waste money on WiFi that doesn't even work. We commuters just want reliable, on time service.

Given all of the snow that's been falling all day, I'm hoping that our evening commutes happen without a hitch. I did just check the MBTA website and there are no service delays to report ... yet. Get home safely everyone!

Post Super Bowl Commute

2009-02-02T11:15:00.003-05:00

I was quite bleary eyed this morning as I was in Rhode Island at a Super Bowl party last night and didn't get home until quite late. What an exciting game though!

My commute was right on time this morning, the p508 actually arrived to South Station at 8:22 AM (so a minute ahead of schedule). So, we're one for one with on time commutes so far in February.

In MBTA news, commuter rail trains will be getting AED (automated external defibrillators) devices and staff will be trained in how to use them. I'm not sure if you recall that in 2002, a passenger from Wellesley died of a heart attack on the Worcester/Framingham line as he was unable to get medical attention.

Also, the Boston Globe reports that MBTA set a record for ridership in 2008. Spurned on mostly by gas prices above $4 a gallon, ridership across the subway, buses, commuter rail and boats rose 4.3% last year, averaging approximately 1.3 million riders per day. The article did say that ridership declined slightly in December, but MBTA general manager Dan Grabauskas attributed the decline to the economy, unemployment and lower gas prices. He also mentioned that 2009 would be a year to concentrate on improving the overall service provided by the MBTA. Let me tell you, I look forward to that! You can read the full article here.

A Nice, Normal Commute

2009-01-30T10:57:00.003-05:00

Seems like a perfect commute today: no backups getting into the parking lot, my money fit easily into the parking box (usually there is a lot of stuffing going on), the train was quick and efficient and the p508 was right on time to South Station this morning, arriving at 8:23 AM.

Hallelujah!

Mass Pike Driving

2009-01-29T14:49:00.002-05:00

Train Rider drove to Boston today. I've heard from many people that this morning's commute was not a pleasant one for anyone who took the Mass Pike in from Central Mass/Metro West.

Since we're on the driving topic, for now, I wanted to pass along some information a friend of mine shared with me. This is about some additional changes to the Fast Lane transponder program:

As of January, you will no longer receive a Fast Lane paper statement. (For those of us trying to be greener, this is a good thing).

If you want to continue to receive one, it will be $2/mo for residential and $5/mo for commercial. You must log on the Fast Lane website to request this option.

And, they are no longer offering the "post paid" option. Anyone who had it is grandfathered in, but if you have any issues with your payment method and they can't collect, you'll lose it and get pushed to pre-paid.

This happened to me and now they're threatening to charge $50 if I use my Fast Lane tag before they process my "pre-paid" paperwork (won't let me do it online.)

You can log/set up an account at www.mtafastlane.com

I've read some articles about how the Mass Pike is going to charge a monthly fee for Fast Lane users (I believe $.50 per month per transponder), but I haven't heard the news my friend shared with me. The $.50 per month per transponder fee is a bit irking for those of us who have already paid a transponder fee. I get the fact that the state is in a financial crisis, heck it seems like the whole world is right now. But I don't understand why they can't grandfather those of us who have paid a fee for our transponder and start charging us when our transponder fee doesn't cover the the monthly fee anymore. Then again, I do "get" why they won't do this - most Fast Lane users have already paid the monthly fee, so there wouldn't be any revenue to collect.

In today's Boston Globe there is an article about the federal economic stimulus plan. Only 5% of the $819 billion plan is earmarked for infrastructure things such as rapid transit and roads: $12 billion for rapid transit/trains and $30 billion for roads. This means that funding for MBTA-related projects and road improvements could be difficult to obtain.

Calm Before the (Snow) Storm

2009-01-27T09:28:00.002-05:00

The p508 commute was back on track (no pun intended) this morning, we were on time to South Station, arriving at 8:21 AM. It's about time!

I have to say, one of my biggest pet peeves at the Grafton parking lot is the people who park in the first row, but have to back into the spot, thus causing all cars trying to enter the parking lot (because it's a one way entrance) to back up to Route 30. These are probably the same people who run to their cars at night so they can be first out of the lot. Please folks, have some common courtesy. Do you really need to perfectly align your car in the spot by pulling forward and back multiple times? Just pull in and go so the rest of us can park. Please.

In MBTA news, not everyone in New Hampshire is on board with funding a commuter rail service from Lowell to Manchester. Rep. Peter Leishman opines on that topic here.

Stuck Outside South Station

2009-01-26T13:06:00.002-05:00

Well, the p508 would have been on time today if there had actually been a track for us to go to; however, it seems all of the tracks at South Station were filled, so we sat there for almost 20 minutes until one opened. Our actual arrival time at South Station was 8:43 AM. These are the days that I really miss being able to jump off at Back Bay and take the Orange Line.

It seems there were other issues across the tracks today. I know that the p502 was cancelled as well and colleagues who take different train lines also experienced delays.

In MBTA train news, looks like Wi-Fi installation across all trains/lines is ongoing and expected to be completed by spring. At least two coaches on every train will now be Wi-Fi enabled. While the MBTA touts the Framingham/Worcester pilot as "successful," I know from experience that it was sporadic at best. But, here's hoping they've ironed out all of the kinks and that the program benefits commuters. You can read more about it here.

No Go on the New Locomotives for MBTA Commuter Rail Trains

2009-01-24T12:31:00.003-05:00

Citing the economy among a number of factors, the MBTA said they are going to postpone purchasing 28 new MBTA commuter rail locomotives. You can read all about it in this article from today's The Boston Globe.

Switching Up My Commute

2009-01-23T11:08:00.002-05:00

Took the p512 this AM ... much like AJ's Lost hangover from Wednesday night, I had my own hangover (not attributable to a TV show though) and decided to take the later train. We were on schedule this morning, with an arrival into South Station right around 9:00 AM ... still quite bleary eyed, so couldn't focus on the watch to determine actual time.

In other news, looks like commuter rail lots (not owned/operated by the T) in Fitchburg and Leominister will be subjected to a parking lot rate increase from $2 to $3 effective March 1. You can read additional details about it here.

No football this weekend ... whatever will I do?

Almost the Weekend & 4Q Performance Stats

2009-01-22T09:22:00.005-05:00

I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like short weeks are actually longer than a full work week. Definitely looking forward to the weekend.

Commuted into Boston on the p508 this morning. We were about 12 minutes behind schedule, finally arriving at South Station around 8:35 AM this morning. So, of the three days I've commuted in this week in the morning, we've been late two days (late by being more than 5 minutes from the scheduled arrival time). Hope this isn't the sign of things to come.

I heard through the grapevine that the commute on the 6:15 last night wasn't great either. The train was late and when it did finally arrive at South Station, it was six single decker cars, so every available space was packed and tickets weren't collected. Luckily, I avoided that train last night.

Not too much going on news wise on the MBTA front, aside from the opening of a new MBTA station: Science Park/West End. You can read about it here.

Finally tracked down the November, December and 2008 Performance statistics for the Worcester/Framingham line. The poster used to be displayed right in the middle of the station, but now it's back by the ticket office, so you really have to search for it.

November: 89.53%
December: 79.79%
2008 YTD: 87.15%

Wacky Wednesday Commute

2009-01-21T10:59:00.002-05:00

Another frigid winter day in New England ... I'm not sure if that contributed to the small delays that we encountered this morning. I took the p508 from Grafton, we were slightly delayed this morning, first outside of Framingham (the train in front of us was having some mechanical issues) and then outside of Newton (waiting for a signal). We arrived to South Station around 8:38 AM ... so about 15 minutes past the scheduled arrival time.

On a bright note (from the reimbursement perspective only), I received 6 reimbursements from the MBTA last night for late/cancelled trains in December … to the tune of almost $100. I think I'll go on a shopping spree tonight.

Transportation in Central Massachusetts Forum

2009-01-20T09:56:00.003-05:00

Free hot chocolate can make you forget about things. Such as this, forwarded to Train Stopping by Susan at the My Southborough Blog.

The Northborough Democratic Town Committee is hosting a forum on Transportation in Central Massachusetts on February 4, 2009 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The forum will be held at Romaine's Wood Bar and Grill, located at 299 West Main Street in Northborough. Lt. Governor Tim Murray will be in attendance, speaking about the state of the commuter rail line. Visit the Southborough Democratic Town Committee site for more information.

Susan - thanks for the note on this event!

Grafton's Sir Loin's Catering Inauguration Day Treat for Commuters

2009-01-20T08:56:00.007-05:00

Happy Inauguration Day. Regardless of your political beliefs, I hope you are amazed that the United States has this wonderful tradition of peaceful transitions.

To many people, today feels very celebratory. Grafton Station commuters were greeted with free hot chocolate handed out by Sir Loin's Catering. Thanks Jeff for this wonderful morning treat.

Even better - the P508 was on time today. We were at South Station around 8:20 am.

I heard a lot of grumbling on the train this morning about the commute yesterday morning. At least for the Worcester-Framingham line, it sounds like switching / maintenance problems caused a lot of the morning trains to be late. This article from today's Boston Globe noted that yesterday all the commuter rail lines, except for the Greenbush and the Middleborough-Lakeville lines, experienced delays ranging from 10 minutes to 40 minutes. The delays were "weather related."

Today's Patriot Ledger ran an article about how AIM Parking Management has filed a lawsuit against the MBTA's parking lot increase. So why would a parking management company care if the T raised the parking rates? Because they have more work to do, but aren't being compensated for it. How can their be more work? Because commuters are paying the increased rate either with more dollar bills or more coins AIM contends that they need more employees to process the parking fees. Also, the MBTA didn't notify AIM that the parking increase was going to go into effect until October 16th. On October 29th, ~~the T told AIM~~ AIM told the T "that the fee increase would essentially cause customers to deposit twice as many dollar bills and coins at the lots."

Good planning, huh?

Finally, today's Hartford Courant contained an interview with the state of Connecticut's DOT Commissioner Joseph Marie. Originally from Boston, Marie is a proponent of commuter rail systems.

MLK Day

2009-01-19T10:18:00.004-05:00

Train Rider is off today. Since it is MLK day, the commuter rail lines are running on a ~~Saturday~~ regular schedule.

An article in today's Telegram & Gazette focuses on how commuter rail ridership grew in 2008. A total of 153,000 riders across all the commuter rail lines rode the rails during November 2008, a 5% increase over November 2007. Across the MBTA, November 2008 was the highest ridership month in 44 years. The T&G even worked in a local angle specific to the Worcester line:

Ridership on the Worcester line followed the upward trend, despite long and frequent delays in recent months that have commuters grumbling. On-time performance for trains on the line was around 90 percent at times last year, but fell to less than 80 percent in December — meaning one-fifth of all trains were late.

In the first two weeks of this year, 85.7 percent of trains on the Worcester line have been on time. Officials cite winter weather and various mechanical problems as the cause of delays.

The article noted that the state is blaming CSX for the delays on the Worcester line. Of the "five additional" trains added to the Worcester-Framingham line last year, the most popular "new" train is the P504. This train departs Worcester at 6:05 a.m.

The Worcester line's trains average about 18,110 riders per day.

As this blog has said, the train delays are not a laughing matter. The article closed with some first-hand passenger accounts:
People are taking the trains, but they’re not always happy about it. Some split their weeks, driving a couple of days a week, chancing it with the trains the other days.

Pamela J. Garron, who lives in Uxbridge and commutes from Franklin, says her employer started docking time from her workday when she arrived late because of train delays. The wife and mother of four was recently laid off and believes her frequent late arrivals are one reason why.

A Worcester commuter, Thomas J. Corrigan, said the new 4:45 a.m. train to Boston has many delays and sometimes doesn’t arrive, so the 5:40 a.m. train, which is supposed to be an express, is changed to a local train, which stops at every station, delaying passengers who weren’t planning for the extra 20 or so minutes on their commute.

It is unfortunate that express trains commencing in Worcester get turned into local trains when things aren't running on time.

It was -4F on My Drive to the Grafton Station

2009-01-16T10:39:00.003-05:00

It is frosty in the burbs today. My car, which I keep parked in my garage each night, was -4F this morning according to its external thermometer. It is definitely "warmer" here in Boston, maybe 14 or 15 degrees. Since it isn't too windy today, it feels warmer in Boston than it did earlier this week.

The P508 was late on its arrival to South Station today. We sat outside at Back Bay for what felt like eons and ending up arriving about 20 minutes after the schedule time. I guess it could be worse - it seems like other Worcester line trains haven't been running as well this week.

Spurn on by the new MBCR newsletter, Commute-a-holic sent the MBCR a suggestion. How about printing the on-time performance rates in the MBCR mouthpiece, um newsletter?

This is what the MBCR had to say about Commute's suggestion:

I have just read your email regarding your concern about the commuter rail's on-time performance.

I appreciate that you sent me this concern and your suggestions for the newsletter. We post the on-time performance for each line at the appropriate main stations. The posters are put up at North, South and Back Bay station each month and they display the on-time performance for each line.

Thank you for writing to me with your concern, I hope this information was helpful.

South Station commuters - I don't know about you, but I really don't think the on-time performance posters are located in a "prominent" spot. They're buried in the back of the station.

Though the Weather is Frigid, the P508 Was Nearly On Time

2009-01-15T09:16:00.004-05:00

Good morning!

I was tied up yesterday. Commute-a-holic is still caught up in a bunch of projects at work. Yesterday's commute was fine.

Boy is it frigid outside. To think - by tomorrow we'll think today's temperatures are warm. It looks like all the warm weather is caught in a January heatwave out west. Even Northern California is seeing some pretty nice temperatures.

The P508 was about 5 minutes late pulling into Grafton this morning, but we arrived at South Station for 8:24 a.m., so we weren't too late. The train was right on time yesterday morning, which was so nice because we didn't have to stand around on the cold concrete platform. Anyho, we made up time during this morning's trip. Luckily it was quite warm on the train as well.

Unfortunately, not all this morning's commutes were as smooth as the P508. One of my coworkers, who takes the Providence line into Boston, wasn't so lucky. He tried taking the #800, which departs Providence at 5:07 a.m., but waited on the platform for 45 minutes and ended up getting on the #802 instead. Once the train reached the Route 128 Station, all the lights and heat shut off and they rode the rest of the way into Boston in the dark and cold.

The big news this morning, well it was announced yesterday, is Mass Trans. Massachusetts State Senators want to make sure we first focus on some of the structural/system issues plaguing transportation in Massachusetts before determining revenue adjustments (i.e., toll increases). The Senate proposes creating a new entity called MassTrans (Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority). This bipartisan Senate proposal, which basically emanated from other ideas floated over the last few years, would eliminate the MBTA and the Mass Pike. So, along with the functions and services of the MBTA and the Mass Pike, MassTrans would also absorb all state roads and bridges, meaning Massport would relinquish control of the Tobin Bridge. I heard on WBZ-Radio last night that MassTrans could save the state $6 billion or so over a twenty year period. You can read all about it here:

Manners seem to be all the rage. Check out this article posted yesterday to the Bostonist. AJ and Framingham Rider both made really great comments about manners on Tuesday. I couldn't agree more. Simple acts of consideration can go a long way towards making everyone's easier, smoother and faster.

Stay warm Boston!!