Signal troubles at Government Center dash dreams of getting to work on time for some Green Line riders

Green Line signals are NOT tied into the radio system. As one can figure by reading my previous two posts, the radios are working just fine.

the media would finally come around and recognize what such "necessary" programs like cell-phone access, wi-fi on commuter trains, and real-time information applications truly are. Unnecessary and mostly useless gimmicks that allow the T to divert the public's attention from the the real and serious problems facing the system.

Let's start focusing on fixing what's wrong with the system, and make meaningful increases in capacity and reliablilty - which benefit ALL USERS, not just those with the latest technology.

For the record, I finally bought a smartphone (but not an overpriced iPhony with the overpriced monopoly service plan), and have been using it for the last two months. In that time, there's only been one free T app that works with the phone (most everything out there is monopolistic iPhony based stuff), and I've been able to reliably connect to the T's wi-fi less than half a dozen times.

But your point is well taken. Riding in the winter is a daily call for me and others I know. Sometimes it is wonderful to get that dying sun in the face, sometimes it is safer than icy sidewalks getting to the T station, and sometimes it just plain sucks and isn't worth it.

There are also scheduling issues - not every workplace is so flexible as to allow for a 8:30 grade school drop off, followed by a 30-60 minute bike ride and then a shower.

When the Red Line tanks between Alewife and downtown, I have noticed that people leave the stations, grab their bikes, and get on the roads in substantial enough numbers to make people wonder what is going on.

I can walk or ride my bike to the commuter rail (1 mile) or to Davis (2.5 miles).

I walk to any of three buses to Wellington, Davis, or Sullivan.

I can walk to the Commuter Bus to Haymarket.

When my husband worked at Kendall, we sometimes used the carpool lane on 93 when the weather was extreme.

I also have a place to store my bike at work if I don't want to commute both ways in a single day.

I think the key is to have multiple options. If you end up buying a T pass three months out of the year and using a charlie card when it rains now and again the other nine months, you might find that is worth it.

The late, great Sheldon Brown used to say "Boston is great for cycling 10 months out of the year, but July and August are just too hot".

I'll ride all winter as long as there isn't snow or ice on the roads. The cold isn't that much of a problem. Just dress warmly, perhaps like you would for skiing. The only specialized clothing I wear is a balaclava, which is a hood-like thing, similar to a ski mask but without actually covering your nose or cheeks. Other than that, I just wear regular winter clothes (if it's really cold, I might double up on socks or put on long underwear). My T commute involves waiting outside, and I actually feel warmer on the bike, with my body moving and producing its own heat, than I would standing around waiting for a trolley.

The program where I work, a building about 10,000 square feet, does not contain any showers.

The last place where I worked, about 40,000 sf and housing multiple programs, also didn't.

Actually, I've never worked at a place with a shower, except for residential programs and locked hospitals, and those were for the use of the residents only.

"power failure" and "signal failure" convey two completely different messages to the average rider.

With the current system on the Green Line, you can still run the trains (although slowly) if you don't have signal power. The term "power failure" implies that the trains can't be run at all, whihc is not the case here.