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Catching the bus news
By adamg on Wed, 03/03/2010 - 10:20am
Channel 25 airs video of crashing T buses.
MBTA responds, saying T buses are getting safer.
Channel 4 follows up with video of bus after bus blatantly running red lights. Its report features our own Grimlocke and her near pancakings by Route 66 buses, as well as a T bus official watching the video and going, nope, bus drivers shouldn't be running red light lights.
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Comments
Relying on riders? HA!
If they're already on the bus...and you're relying on them to tell you that the driver was being unsafe to meet schedule...you're doing it wrong.
The only people who are going to defend the driver are the people who made it to work/home on time because the driver blew a red light or two.
I'm thinking of starting a
I'm thinking of starting a blog to catalog every story that gets ripped off from Uhub without a name drop. Last week, the Globe had north end segway friction. Today, 5 has the guy watching his laptop robbers remotely. I'm wondering how 4 got wind of Grimlocke's near miss.
I asked..
I asked Elsie the producer of this story how she found my blog, and she told me;
"I just Googled 'MBTA bus runs red light' and your name and blog came up a bunch"
I probably owe quite a lot of coverage to Uhub, so thanks Adam!
Blame Boston 24 Action News
Biggest stealer of UHub news: Boston 24 Action News.
Puh-lease
If that's "stealing news", Jon Stewart is in some REALLY deep shit...
I notice that the report
I notice that the report focuses on the lechmere busway. If it's anything like that Kenmore busway, then the drivers aren't at fault, the city is for installing bad traffic lights.
Go to kenmore. Watch buses leave the busway. It's safer for them to exit on red, when beacon street has green than it is when they get green....which they get at the same time as parallel turning traffic that has to abruptly stop midturn when they see the bus ALSO has green.
On top of that, the buses get the worst priority at the intersection. A trip can get 2 minutes added to it if the drivers followed the unsafe green light.
Again, Im not familiar with the light timing at Lechmere, but it's entirely possible that the drvers there are also doing the right thing by disregarding a bad signal.
And to the girl in the video: Why wear a helmet if youre not going to strap it on? It's pointless.
At Lechmere
The intersection at Lechmere is a bus-only light. The exit from the bus bay has a pavement loop sensor that stops traffic on Rt. 28 so buses can leave. I've been on buses that don't wait for the signal to change, but only when hasn't been any cars coming in either direction. I don't know how soon the light can be triggered again after it returns to red, but I'm guessing it isn't that long, so waiting for green really isn't a big deal.
well...
it is at lechmere because when the light goes green so does the walk signal. the light setup makes no sense.
hey crank?
And to the girl in the video: Why wear a helmet if youre not going to strap it on? It's pointless.
Because you don't need to strap on a helmet to be interviewed on TV?
"her near pancakings by Route 66 buses"
Wondering if serving pancakes on the bus might be part of the problem? ;-)
Pancakes?
Oh man, if they served pumpkin pancakes even I would ride the bus!
Police?
Where are the police? Shouldn't they be issuing tickets if drivers are running red lights?