Monday, February 19, 2007

T service on President's Day and ice removal T style

Rob wrote us this morning at charlieonthembta@gmail.com
Good luck trying to find out what schedule the MBTA is running today on that fancy new website. At least the old site would have said up top.


Took awhile for me to find it, it was in the news section

http://mbta.com/about_the_mbta/news_events/?id=10936&month=&year=

Presidents' Day Service Schedule - Monday, February 19

Start Date: 02/12/2007 End Date: 02/20/2007 Email: lrivera@mbta.com



Today, the MBTA announced its service schedule for Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 19, 2007. The operations schedule is as follows:

· Blue, Orange, and red Line trains, Green Line streetcars will operate on a Saturday schedule.

· Buses and trackless trolleys will operate on a Saturday schedule. Please Note: Express bus service on the following routes will operate on a modified schedule: 325, 326, 352, 354, 355, 501, 502, 504.

· Commuter rail trains will operate on a Saturday schedule.

· Hingham, Quincy and Hull commuter boat service will operate on a regular weekday schedule.


· Inner Harbor Ferry Service – Charlestown to Long Wharf will operate on a regular weekday schedule.


· THE RIDE will operate on a Saturday schedule.


For more information on routes, schedules, and fares, please call the MBTA Customer Service Center at 617-222-3200 or 1-800-392-6100 (hearing impaired TDD 617-222-5146). Also, you can visit us on-line at www.mbta.com


Adam over at universalhub.com has a link showing how well the T removed snow and ice in Roslindale Square



http://www.universalhub.com/node/7694

Boston requires property owners to clear the sidewalks in front of their property. Naturally, the law doesn't apply to public authorities, such as the MBTA, which maybe is why one entire side of Belgrade Avenue in Roslindale Square (from South Street to Corinth Street) is covered in ice - it's next to the T's Roslindale Village commuter-rail stop. They couldn't even be bothered to clear away the ice at the bus stop where seven different lines are supposed to pick up and discharge passengers (that's the retaining wall for the train station parking lot next to the sidewalk). Picture taken Sunday afternoon, several days after the nor'icester.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Once again the T's website gets holiday schedules wrong.

That hard-to-find news release says everything runs on a Saturday schedule except for "modified" service on those express bus routes (and they don't bother to explain what the modified schedule actually is -- on route 354 it's a regular schedule with no mid-day service), and it doesn't mention route 351. But http://www.mbta.com/uploadedFiles/Documents/Schedules_and_Maps/Bus/route350351.pdf says that route 351 *will* run on President's Day, February 19, 2007.

On Veteran's Day the same thing happened. I called the T, and the customer service people were totally clueless. They didn't even know about the existence of that news release, let alone that it was wrong for certain routes. I finally made them call the bus garage.

Anonymous said...

The MBTA is a state agency. State agencies like the MBTA (and the "A in this one stands for "Arrogance") are above most of the basic laws of social decency that keep the populace from throttling each other. Therefore the T has a "what, me worry?" attitude when it comes to being the "good neighbor" that it ought to be. If it's too costly, then it's optional.

For example, erecting advertising signs. The T feels that, regardless the sign ordinances in place in communities that they "serve" they may erect any advertising sign they damn well please to erect. Now you or I, ordinary citizens, would of course be run out of town with a hefty fine and any sign we put up in violation would be removed and destroyed. But not the MBTA. The good people of Brookline (http://www.townonline.com/brookline/homepage/8998932228322885631) will be accused by the MBTA's same pro-Greenbush crowd as being elite because they want to look at trees instead of signboards. They have to fight - they have to fight a state government that's supposed to keep the laws and serve the citizens.

Then there's the advertising that the T selects to bombard their captive audience, all for that juicy "non-fare revenue".

This one's a real gem: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/10362512/detail.html
as was the T's choice to continue advertising alcoholic beverages in a system used by schoolchildren, while spending a sinful amount of money to protect our eyes from an ad that questioned the nations drug laws.

If I were the czar of this failed agency I'd hand out some shovels and ice-choppers to the MBTA's do-nothing management. Perhaps a little labour out in the cold might wake them up?

Then again, it may be hopeless.

Anonymous said...

I can confirm that the ice has still not been removed from the top of the steps at Central as of Tuesday, February 20th. There is still snow (now ice) from the Valentine's Day storm covering virtually the entire sidewalk directly in front of the main entrance to the inbound platform. This is not only infuriating, but also foolish on the T's part. Althought the T may be a state agency, that does not make it imune from lawsuits brought by passengers who slip and fall. A little extra time/money spent on snow removal will save plenty on attorney's fees.

Anonymous said...

If the T were on the level Dan Grabauskas wouldn't be the General Mananger nor would any of the cronies in management positions there either. They would all be lucky if they were working for the private contractor who sweeps the floors and cleans the stations!