Can the T make the Assembly Orange Line Station viable?

The new Assembly Square station, located between Wellington station (in Medford) and Sullivan Square station (in Charlestown), cost $29.2 million and is one of six new stations planned for Somerville in the next decade, the MBTA reports.

But as of September 11th the T has made no announcement about having any bus service to the new station.

However both the 90 - Davis Square - Wellington Station via Sullivan Square Station & Assembly Mall and 92 - Assembly Sq. Mall - Downtown via Sullivan Sq. Sta., Main St. & Haymarket Sta.service the adjacent mall. 

This would only take a minor adjustment on the 2 routes but the T doesn't change bus routes easily. For example the 99 - Boston Regional Medical Center- Wellington Station via Main St. & Malden Center Station  terminates at a hospital that CLOSED 15 years ago. 

The T could also easily extend the 86, 91 and CT1 to Assembly.

This is a no-brainer.

Charlie's Mailbag - March 9th

checking the mailbag at charlieonthembta@gmail.com

I have been having some problems with my wireless card in California so that is the reason the blog has been updating later in the day back East as I have been forced to use the San Francisco Public Library ( which is quite nice and modern )

Andy thinks the "new" North Station could be better

I know this is ungrateful, especially after the T worked so hard to improve the plight of space-constrained North Station commuters...but I have a question/complaint about the cosmetics of the new and improved station.

What's with the black and tan ceiling and walls? The gray columns? Why the stygian darkness? Perhaps it complements the outer decor of the platforms and provides an optical transition as one hustles to or from the brightly lit inner hallway. It will hide the dirt. Maybe the T doesn't want people hanging around, clogging up the waiting area. I doubt there's much potential for that. But I don't think it would have hurt to use brighter hues, even a little white to turn a gloomy space into a less gloomy space.

The North Station do-over had a lot of potential for dulling my South Station envy, but so far I'm not sure we made much progress here.

I'd be happy to volunteer on the paint detail if the T should change its mind. I also know a real 'fab' interior decorator who can work miracles. One is needed here.

Andy from Ipswich

The T is not responsible for North Station. The new improvements were done by the Delaware North Company of Buffalo who owns the Garden. Hopefully it will be a bit brighter when the new retail shops that are promised open.

Amy wonders what is causing slowdowns on the Orange Line

Hi Charlie,
I've been riding the orange line ever since I can remember, and
recently I've noticed that, going inbound and outbound between
Sullivan Square and Community College, the train slows down
considerably. At this part in the track, the train is on a bridge and
its leaning quite a bit to one side. It's always leaned like that but
never gone so slow over that one part as it has in the past few
months. Any reason for this?
Love your blog!
-Amy

I don't have the answer but I am pretty certain somebody will let us know in short order.

Ian writes in about the T's trip planner

I'm a huge fan of your blog, and especially of the Boston Transit Camp idea, which I think would be a lot of fun. I wanted to write you with a quick comment about the T's new web site.

It's obvious that the T (or TransitWorks; whoever is in charge of the site) wanted to give the new MBTA.com that "Web 2.0" look and feel, so they went ahead and built a new trip planner that uses Google Maps to show routes and station/stop locations. It's a great idea, and I'm sure it looked great on paper, but as we all know their implementation leaves much to be desired.

Earlier today I was reading the official Google Blog and I almost jumped out of my seat. There was a post about the South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festival (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/music-movies-mayhem-and-metro.html) wherein the author mentioned that they've added Austin, TX to the Google Transit Trip Planner. (!?!?!)

Yes, that's right, Google built their own Public Transit trip planner. It's been around for a while, too -- here's the official launch announcement from December 2005 (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/12/public-transit-via-google.html).

Currently it only contains information for transit agencies in 10 cities, but if you read the FAQ (http://www.google.com/help/faq_transit.html) they very clearly outline the process by which agencies can make their own data available to Google:
"4. My agency has public transportation data for my city; how can I get it included in the Google Transit Trip Planner?"If you're at a public agency that oversees public transportation for your city and would like your data to be included, please contact us at labs-transit_content@google.com.

The Google Transit Feed Specification http://code.google.com/transit/spec/transit_feed_specification.htm describes how to provide transit data in a format that Google Transit Trip Planner can use."So while they were busy attempting to reinvent the wheel, the T could easily have just handed their data over to Google and let the search company do all the work for them. I'm willing to bet this wouldn't have cost them a penny, and when all was said and done they would've had a system that, in addition to properly calculating routes, would even compare the cost of the trip with the approximate cost of making the same trip in a car. Instead we have a poorly-coded, poorly-tested clunk-factory that hates Fridays and wants to route every Red Line rider through JFK.

Harumph

I have no doubt that the smart people in Mountain View, CA could have devised a first class trip planner.

Charlie's Mailbag - March 8th

A warm welcome to CTA Tattler readers who might be visiting after reading about us there. Our post on Chicago can be found here Charlie on the CTA


Checking the mailbag at charlieonthembta@gmail.com

Molly writes about the Orange Line

My name is Molly, and this is a copy of the e-mail I just sent "to the
top" of the Orange Line, as the customer comment page will not submit
(which may have more to do with this computer than the T).

Good morning,

The customer comment submission page is either not working or my
browser will not support the submission, so I am writing to you.

This morning, my partner and I were at the Roxbury Crossing T stop to
head to work. The elevator was apparently having some work done, but
there was neither a sign on the elevator nor an update on the
accessibility hotline.

My partner currently has a broken foot, and even without that, she has
mobility issues; she can walk, but stairs are difficult and dangerous
for her. When we asked the T employee on duty, we were told the
elevator wouldn't be working for an hour and were asked if we actually
needed it, which I believe is not something that is supposed to be
asked.

Fortunately, the man who was working on the elevator got it to work
for us, but we missed two trains while we were waiting and we were
both late to work because of this. I would request that employees be
reminded that just because people are not in wheelchairs does not mean
that they can take stairs and that if an elevator or escalator is out
of service, for any reason, that it be clearly marked and that the
hotline be kept current.

Thank you.

It does seem that with the frigid weather both escalators and elevators are breaking down at an alarming rate. I still can't believe the T gave the new contract to repair them to the same Finnish company that failed to provide good service in the past.

You might try contacting KONE direct at their US HQs in Illinois


Kelly grumbles about the Framingham-Worcester line.....AGAIN!!!!

I guess I shouldn't even bothering writing in about the 707am inbound Worcester train this morning that was 15 minutes late and had no heat and no lights? The conductor actually made an announcement as we proceeded into the tunnel at Back Bay to “grab your stuff now, because it’s about to be really dark in here!” Um, shouldn’t all train at least have emergency track lighting? And, did I mention it was 13 degrees out this morning?

Thank you for letting me vent. I have also sent this in to the MBTA, but I don’t expect much. At least you are listening.

Kelly hopefully somebody at the T is reading this.

MBCR and the T can blame CSX for the delays on the line but MBCR is responsible for the heat and lights. The service was never this bad when Amtrak ran the Commuter Rail but they no longer wanted to do business with the T.

Susan froze waiting for an E train last night

Some trains on the E line were running "express" last night around 9pm,
driving past all the above ground stops near Longwood and the MFA. It
was in the single digits with below zero windchills, while people
waited for over 15, 20 minutes for a train..... The best part was
seeing the train skip my stop, leaving people out in the cold, and then
STOP AT THE NEXT STOPLIGHT LESS THAN 30 FEET AWAY.

If the purpose of these express trains is to make up time when they are
running late, I fail to see how doing this on above ground stops helps.
There are still stop lights every block. If you're going to stop at
those, you might as well pick up some frostbitten passengers while
you're at it. Seeing an EMPTY train go by without stopping when you are
freezing to death outside should qualify as reckless endangerment on
the T's part. Of course the response is always "there's another train
right behind us", but "right behind us" means another 5 minutes in the
cold tacked onto the 15 you've already waited. This is more than just
an inconvenience when you are waiting outside. It is dangerous. In this
kind of frigid weather you can easily get frostbite in less than 30
minutes.

Thanks for posting these stories on your blog. We can only hope that
the T reads them and actually cares.

Yes Susan, we can only hope.....

Teenager stabbed multiple times at Back Bay T station

from the Herald

An 18-year-old man was in critical condition at Boston Medical Center yesterday after being stabbed multiple times at the Back Bay MBTA station, leaving commuters stunned and police looking for witnesses.

An MBTA security guard said he saw a group of about seven youths running past the scene and thought, “They’re up to something.” The guard said the victim was conscious when found.

MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera said police haven’t determined whether the victim knew his assailants. Shortly after the stabbing, a pool of blood remained on the outbound side of the station’s lower deck, as detectives surveyed the scene and stunned T riders looked on.

from the Globe

The stabbing occurred around 4 p.m. at the Orange Line station, and the attackers fled afterward, said Lydia Rivera, MBTA spokeswoman. She added that police may get clues of the suspects' identities after they review tapes from the station's surveillance cameras.

"This is unusual," Rivera said of the group nature of the attack.

The victim was taken to Boston Medical Center and was in critical condition last night, she said.

Charlie's Mailbag - February 16th ( a very full mailbag )

A warm welcome to the new readers who are visiting after reading about us in Metro today.

from the mailbag at charlieonthembta@gmail.com

Oddjob reports at 7:15 Friday morning

Hi, Charlie,
I and my fellow travellers are sitting at the rt. 128 CR station. The train in front of us broke down at the station, and inbound trains are backing up behind it. We've been stopped for about 10 min. So far, and they say we will have to push the other train into Boston.

Be curious on how that saga ended, please let us know.

We haven't heard much from Orange Line commuters but Isabel gives us a report

Good morning,

let me start by saying that the Orange Line one of the best lines I used to think has been lately a nightmare...everyday allways the same delays with signal problems and some other poor excuses, well this morning it took the cake.

If you expect to raise fares and have the same type of equipment as the well run systems like NYC and other countries, maybe you should try to do a little more research on how things run and the best equipment to have, the Charlie card machines have been the worst experience and the service and assistance is next to null, and when you do ask a T person to assist you they give you the third degree and treat you like you are cheating the system, if the machines don't operate correctly but meanwhile show on the monitors as accepting my TPass but not opening the door for me then I should not be looked upon as not being believed or trying to cheat/manipulate the system, most of those turnstyles/new doors don't work half the time and it takes forever to get into the station and catch your train when it is never on time and running like crap.

This morning it took us all orange line patrons trying to get to work on time or try to make connections over a half hour to get from Community College to North Station, and that is after the guy froze us at the station by keeping the doors opened and just sitting at the station, then when we finally got to North Station they told us all to get off the train they were having power problems, have no idea what that had to do with the train we were in and then not a word of whether they was going to be any service as usual communication is null and limited....when finally they said there would be another train directly behind and as we crossed back from the green line to the orange line they were announcing that they were busing from North Station to Back Bay.....not that the announcement was very clear and loud enough for everyone to hear, I asked an inspector a question and he just walked by me like I said nothing and just totally ignored me....needless to say no one made their connections today and thanks to the T again we are left out on the cold and the dark, we are all getting very tired of the lack of service and the terrible treatment.

We expect better service and treatment not just fares to go up all the time.

I expect an answer from someone and don't copy from JetBlue try to follow the ones that have close to perfect service........

We should all be compensated for our troubles on a daily basis.

If I don't hear from you I will send a copy to this email to the proper hands and the news media.

Hope you have a better day than the people of the first train on the orange line.

Not much I can add to that Isabel but you can be sure somebody at the T will see what you posted.

Erin writes about a pass snafu from 2 months ago that still hasn't been resolved

I believe it was around November 30st that the MBTA converted to
automated fare/Charlie Ticket kiosks at all stations. The last and
first days of any month are, of course, the busiest days for
purchasing passes for the upcoming month. For many people, debit or
credit cards have become the established method of payment for pass
purchases.

Beginning sometime Thursday, November 30th 2006, riders were unable to
make purchases using debit or credit cards at these new kiosks
because, as I understand it, the kiosks were temporarily unable to
connect to banks, etc. At first, I thought this issue was specific to
the Oak Grove station, where many riders were allowed to pass through
without paying on Friday, December 1st.

At the end of the day on Friday, I attempted again to purchase my
December pass at the State Street station, but the connections were
still down. Lacking the cash for a pass, I was required to purchase a
$1.50 ticket for my ride home. I was handed a complaint form by an
MBTA worker standing by, which I promptly filled out and mailed to
MBTA customer service. Why should anyone pay $1.50 (or more) in
addition to fees for a subway pass during the same month?

I believe it was not until December 2nd that connections were
reestablished, and I was able to purchase my December pass. In
mid-February, I have yet to receive a response from MBTA customer
service.

My company pays for my monthly MBTA pass, and so this email is not
about $1.50. I am writing about the thousands of dollars the MBTA must
have "earned" during this three-day span from riders forced to pay for
individual fares in addition to their monthly pass fees.

I have been wanting to pursue this issue for quite some time, but keep
forgetting about it. I have to think that this "forgetting" is exactly
what the MBTA planned on.

Sigh.... I really hope the new customer service department the T announced this week will help prevent stories like this. What astounds me is that the T really thinks they are doing a good job with customer service NOW...I simply have to point to the comment the T made about my blog on Friday morning

When asked to comment on the blog, T spokesman Joe Pesaturo responded:

“While blogs come and go, people will always be able to present comments

and concerns directly to the T’s Customer Support Services.”

I think the T REALLY believes that. Last week I saw the movie "The Queen" which tells the story of how out of touch Buckingham Palace was after the death of Princess Diana. The Queen honestly thought her subjects were pleased at the way she was handling things and Tony Blair had to go to great lengths to tell her that wasn't the case. Sadly the T is as clueless as "The Queen". Again MAYBE things will improve with the new customer service department. It is something we will watch closely.

Roni writes about Bowdoin Station

Weekdays - Monday thru Friday - 5:00 p.m. Bowdoin Station
I've been taking the Blue line from Wonderland to Bowdoin for years.
The 5:00 o'clock "T" conductors at Bowdoin - don't have the courtesy to let passengers on and will approach Bowdoin - stop open the doors- and within less than 10 seconds slam the doors right in our faces - and lo and behold people are running down the ramp hoping to make it -
And it never fails, they wait for no one and why the doors are slammed so quickly is beyond my comprehension - It's rude- and almost deliberatlely mean -
They do it at no other station but, Bowdoin - - the train pauses and waits everywhere else and in between but, will always speed away and quicker that you can say :Jack Flash" the doors are closing right in your face- at Bowdoin only - try it - go there - see for yourself - it's demeaning!
Also, they will toot the horn and when we hear that we know they will not be stopping for us at Bowdoin - Thank you very much - how insignificant are we? -
but,- that's another issue ~

Bowdoin is the forgotten subway station downtown. During the budget cuts of the early 1980's they made it into a part time station and it remains that way today. It really seems that they just want to turn around the trains there as quickly as possible and then load at Government Center. With the new Charlie equipment there is no good reason not to have the station open more hours than it is now.

Finally Lou comments on many things he read on the blog this morning

I just found your blog today and, as many have said, I like it a lot. A few confirmations, comments, etc on things currently on the main page:

The headlights on heavy rail cars: Some drivers turn them off when coming in to the station, but I have actually seen some turn them on while coming in. These observations come mostly from Sullivan square (inbound), ruggles (outbound), and back bay (both).

The arborway line: I wasn’t even alive when the service stopped to arborway, but I would love to see it open. It isn’t even of any use to me really, but I just like the idea of it. One question about this portion of the E line though:

What would delays be like on this line if service were to be restored? Both Wednesday and Thursday I saw ridiculous morning delays on inbound service at Mission Park, bad enough that when I was standing there waiting for an inbound train, I saw an outbound pass 15 minutes after I arrived, and came to realize that that car would be the one I would be boarding… after it made its way around the heath st. loop (which, during heavy traffic and bad weather can take extraordinarily large amounts of time). The policy seems to be either short turn the second outbound train (if its close to the first of the delay) at Brigham circle, or to split the first train and short turn on of the cars. If service were to be restored to arborway, would there be any way to short turn a train or car between heath and arborway? In bad weather, it seems the traffic on the street can cause significant problems on this portion of the E, and I only see it being worse for those who live further outbound from heath if trains went to arborway.

Also, having read up on the T and its history extensively since moving to Boston for school about a year and a half ago, I have become interested in different Green Line cars: do you, or does anyone else, know when the best time and place to spot a type 6 car is? I had read that they still run at high traffic times on the D branch, but wasn’t sure if this info is outdated (or even if they have stopped running type 6 cars altogether, although I think I saw one at park last month when I was sitting on an E)

Regarding fare gates that accept only “smart cards” (Charlie cards), I have seen this happen at Ruggles, Sullivan Square, and I think downtown crossing as well. Sometimes all but one of the gates is for the cards only, and they change from day to day (probably hour to hour even). I haven’t ever seen a case where gates are only accepting one or the other but aren’t labeled as such, when the have no indication usually both seem to work. I also am curious as to what causes this.
-Lou

Welcome aboard Lou and thank you for your observations and I am sure someone will comment on them.

The Orange Line has been found (updated 1/19)

universalhub.com is reporting that the T's Trip Planner has been fixed.

By adamg on Fri, 01/19/2007 - 12:31pm
.
The T has fixed that Friday Orange Line trip-planner glitch on mbta.com, so now, when you tell it you want to get from Oak Square to Forest Hills on a Friday, it sends you on a direct, 33-minute Orange Line ride instead of a hellish two-hour trek involving four bus lines.

Caveat: You have to type "Forest Hills Station" into the planner. If you just stupidly type "Forest Hills," you'll get back a list of lots of Foresty, Hilly possibilities in JP and then, when you select "Forest Hills station," the thing spits back a list of places in Stoneham.


An update on our report last week that the T's trip planner doesn't know the Orange Line exists on Friday. 5 days later it still hasn't been fixed.

Once again I asked it to plan a trip from the Central Sq subway stop in Cambridge to the Green Street Station in Jamaica Plain and once again it routed me by bus. The second choice borders on hysterical.

• Itinerary 2 - Approx. 80 mins.

Print Itineraries

Itinerary 1 - 60 mins.

• Walk For 3 Mins. To Massachusetts Ave & Pearl St
  Walk approx. 1 block SE on Massachusetts Ave.
  Turn right on Pearl St.
  Walk a short distance SW on Pearl St.
  
  
• 47 Broadway Sta Via Boston Med Ctr view route
  8:30 PM Depart from Massachusetts Ave & Pearl St
  8:51 PM Arrive at Dudley Station - Harvard Side
  
  
• 42 Forest Hills Sta Via Washington St view route
  9:15 PM Depart from Dudley Station - Allston Side
  9:22 PM Arrive at Washington St & Green St
  
  
• Walk For 5 Mins. To Green Street
  Walk a short distance SW on Washington St.
  Turn right on Green St.
  Walk approx. 1 block NW on Green St.
  Turn left on Brookside Ave.
  Walk a short distance SW on Brookside Ave.
  
  

• Cost:

  Regular fare	Senior/Disabled fare
  $3.00	$0.80

  
  

Itinerary 2 - Approx. 80 mins.

• Take Red Line - Braintree Sta To Jfk/umass Braintree - Outbound view route
  Approx. 8:22 PM Depart from Central Sq - Inbound
  Approx. 8:39 PM Arrive at JFK/UMASS Braintree - Outbound
• 41 Centre & Eliot Sts Via Dudley Sta & Jackson Sta view route
  9:01 PM Depart from Columbia Rd & JFK/UMASS Station
  9:26 PM Arrive at Centre St & Myrtle St
• Walk For 16 Mins. To Green Street

I figured after 2 full work days the problem would be corrected since it was well publicized on many blogs over the weekend. I stand corrected.

original post from Friday evening
got a note in the mailbag from John at http://mailto:charlieonthembta@gmail.com concerning the T's new trip planner

Thought you might find this interesting if you haven't observed it
already. The MBTA trip planner is completely incapable of recognizing
the existence of the Orange Line if you plan a trip on Friday. Try
planning a trip from Oak Grove to Forest Hills today (or any future
Friday) and it takes 4 legs and 2 hours or more. I sent them an email
last week, but no response yet.
Thanks for the site,

Well that is weird so I tried it out with a "simple" request. I requested a trip next Friday the 19th to go from the Central stop on the Red Line to the Green St stop on the Orange.

It sends you by bus

• Itinerary 1 - -1376 mins.
• Itinerary 2 - -1383 mins.

Print Itineraries

Itinerary 1 - -1376 mins.

• Walk For 3 Mins. To Massachusetts Ave & Pearl St
  Walk approx. 1 block SE on Massachusetts Ave.
  Turn right on Pearl St.
  Walk a short distance SW on Pearl St.
• 1 Dudley Sta Via Mass Ave view route
  11:56 PM Depart from Massachusetts Ave & Pearl St
  12:15 AM Arrive at Dudley Station - Harvard Side
• 42 Forest Hills Sta Via Washington St view route
  12:45 AM Depart from Dudley Station - Allston Side
  12:52 AM Arrive at Washington St & Green St
• Walk For 5 Mins. To Green Street
  Walk a short distance SW on Washington St.
  Turn right on Green St.
  Walk approx. 1 block NW on Green St.
  Turn left on Brookside Ave.
  Walk a short distance SW on Brookside Ave.

• Cost:

  Regular fare	Senior/Disabled fare
  $3.00	$0.80

How do you lose an entire subway line?

A look at the T's ridership numbers

The T is a huge operation and when you look at the ridership numbers you begin to grasp the enormous task it faces each morning getting people in, out and around Boston. The MBTA is the nation’s fifth-largest mass transit system measured in terms of ridership. It serves a daily ridership of 1.2 million passengers and covers a district made up of 175 communities in eastern Massachusetts. The Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization has made available the raw numbers (though some are a few years old) and I will try to present them in a concise way.

The numbers on the left are from 2003 and it shows at a glance that 65% of the ridership of the bus-subway system relies on the 4 major subway lines. Ridership has actually increased from these numbers as was cited by the Globe's Keith O'Brien when he rode the Orange Line for an entire day one year ago to get the pulse of the people who ride the T. The Boston ridership profile is the complete opposite of Chicago where two-thirds of the ridership take buses instead of the L system.

To move this tremendous number of people the T operates 159 bus routes (8,600 bus stops), 3 subway lines, 2 trolley lines that splits into 5 branches), 1 bus rapid transit line (Silver Line), 4 trackless trolley lines, and 11 commuter rail lines. To operate these lines it uses (numbers approximate) 408 subway vehicles, 181 trolleys vehicles, 973 buses, 40 trackless trolleys, 80 commuter rail locomotives, 362 commuter rail coaches, and 421 RIDE (paratransit) vehicles. The T needs to maintain 785 miles of track, 19 miles of tunnel, 275 stations, 560 bridges, 100 elevators and 132 escalators. The T also claims to have 56,213 commuter parking spaces in the system though there are many on the South Shore who would question that number.

So where are all these passengers coming from?

Click here for a map of typical weekday station entrances.

Some of the numbers are surprising to me as for example I was surprised to see that Davis Square (10,891) handles more passengers than Alewife (9,567). I doubt this was anticipated by the Northwest Extension planners back in the 1970's who were forced by political pressure from Somerville to bend the route to include Somerville. The transformation that has occurred in the Davis area since the subway's opening in 1984 is stunning. The former Mayor of Somerville, Eugene Brune recalls that even the Chamber of Commerce didn’t want a subway stop in Davis Square. The planners of the Red Line wanted to build the line into Arlington Center but residents of the town did not want the subway and it finally terminated at Alewife.

How the Red Line Extension was designed and built

The high number of boardings at Forest Hills (12,584) show that the Orange Line should have been extended further south to perhaps Rte 128 Station in Westwood. The opportunity existed 30 years ago when the Southwest Expressway was scrapped after the right of way had been cleared but like Arlington the residents of Hyde Park and West Roxbury wanted no part of subway service fearing it would bring changes to the area so the relocated Orange Line continued to terminate at Forest Hills.

On the Blue Line the high number of boardings at Wonderland (6,071) indicate that the line should be extended to at least Lynn and perhaps Salem as well, but that has been talked about for fifty years since the line was extended to Revere. Maverick is by far the heaviest used station with 10,015 boardings because of the number of bus passengers who transfer there after coming from East Boston and Chelsea.

The Green Line numbers also are a surprise to me. Harvard and Commonwealth on the B Line is the heaviest used stop (the numbers listed are from 1995) outside the subway followed by Coolidge Corner and Brookline Village. As any B Line rider would suspect it is the heaviest used of the trolley lines, followed by D, E and C.

Bus ridership as of September 2005

The above link breaks down every bus route in the system and it dramatically shows how dependent Roxbury, Dorchester and Jamaica Plain are with their buses. The #39 Forest Hills-Copley bus is the systems busiest with the #1,#23,#28, and #66 all have over 10,000 passengers a day. Other workhorse routes are the #57 and #111. The T has been working hard to modernize the bus fleet with more on the way. There was the unfortunate misstep of ordering buses from NeoplanUSA and it remains to be seen how much of a problem getting parts for the Neoplans will become as the company closed down while filling a T order. The Neoplan buses include the 60 foot buses used on the Silver Line-Washington Street, the #32 and #39, Silver Line-Waterfront-Airport, trackless trolleys serving Cambridge-Watertown-Belmont and heavy use in the Quincy division.

The breakdown for the Commuter Rail stations shows some problems on several lines with ridership. The Framingham/Worcester line dropped from 9,990 inbound passengers a day in 2003 to 8,248 a year ago. This is no doubt because of the major delays on that line as the T fights with the CSX Railroad over train slots. Major drops can be seen on the Newburyport/Rockport line and Franklin lines but the network also saw increases on the Lowell and Fitchburg lines. The Providence line is the most heavily traveled and that will only increase with all trains now going to Rhode Island and expansion to the Providence Airport slated to open in 2 years.

So now you at least have a better idea at the challenges the T faces every workday morning to shuttle hundreds of thousands of passengers all over Boston. It is not an easy task and while some commuting days can be a nightmare, the T by and large does a decent job.

Hopefully this forum will help make it better.

things the T is doing well

Today being the first workday under the new fare structure my observations indicated by and large that things went well during the morning rush hour. A major reason for this was the fine work by the Customer Service Agents deployed at the stations. The CSA's armed with a stack of CharlieCards in their hands did their best to make sure nobody was forced to pay the extra fare by not having a CharlieCard. The T got this right.

I rode outbound to Chestnut Hill on the B line and I found the drivers were incredibility patient in trying to explain to riders that they now must pay to go outbound. Some riders were understandably grumpy by this as this changes a system that has been in place on the Green Line for at least 30 years.

The fare inspectors I observed on both the B and D lines were very polite in dealing with riders. I observed one potential problem that the T will need to address. A rider got on the train at Copley and at Harvard Avenue he was asked to show his proof of payment and he produced a CharlieCard that had no value on it. He explained he paid $1.70 at Copley but the scanner on the inspectors wrist only showed that their was no value on the card. My best guess is that the inspectors will be instructed only to ask riders they see getting on the train above ground.

I would suggest to the monthly pass holders on the "D line" who have their pass on the CharlieCard to use the validators which are located at every stop as you will be issued a receipt will prove you have paid. Riders who are paying a single fare by either CharlieTicket or CharlieCard can also use the validation machines which deduct the fare and issue a recepit. Monthly pass holders who were given a CharlieTicket have no reason to use the validaters for now but expect this to change once the Commuter Rail switches to CharlieCard. When that occurs all monthly passes will then be on CharlieCard system wide.

There is a major learning curve for all of us in this switchover but today was an indication the system will work once riders get used to it.

T will be FREE after 8 PM New Year's Eve

Today, the MBTA announced its service schedule for First Night through the holiday weekend. The MBTA is providing extra transit services throughout the First Night Festivities and will be offering free service after 8:00 p.m. The MBTA is well prepared to transport First Night participants in and out of Boston safely and efficiently and urges travelers to take the T to avoid traffic and parking hassles.

Service will increase during the afternoon leading to rush-hour service levels from approximately 7:00pm through the conclusion of the event.

Evening trains will provide rush-hour levels of service and will run until approximately 2:00am.

Service For New Year's Eve and New Year's Day