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Green Line a mess; riders under duress

Overcrowded Kenmore on the Green Line

Jacob Weindling's advice to people heading to Kenmore: Don't.

UPDATE, 10:15 a.m.: The T reports regular service is resuming.

Good thing we're going for the summer Olympics: On this nor'eastery day, a trolley that circled the drain at Boylston and another trolley that lost part of a door while moving in a tunnel sent the Green Line into "severe" mode. Passengers crammed into stations hoping in vain to get onto trains that were already full to bursting. Or as Josh Jacobs put it:

Hundreds in Kenmore
Watch trains pass, fogged-over hives
Full of sodden bees

On the Needham Line, a train that had already passed Forest Hills stopped, then backed up to disgorge passengers because it could go no further. Other South Station lines also had delays.

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Comments

I have an interview this morning. I was already worried about showing up looking like a drowned rat. With the MBTA offering it's usual level of service apparently I need to be worried about showing up at all!

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This is why we need reliable, trustworthy, affordable car service. Uber is often unaffordable (surge pricing), untrustworthy (failure to vet all drivers), and unreliable (I've been abandoned by an Uber).

This is why we need regulations to set standards for who's allowed to drive our cabs.

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Because the cabbies were just so wonderful before Uber came along and ruined everything.

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Cabs, Uber and other road transportation options, even if everyone had a budget for them, are not a feasible alternative to public transportation in a city like Boston.

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but the correct response to poor public transit is not "this one private company will save us."

This one private company is providing some solid competition to the cab market, and that's healthy. They're exposing some of the problems with the existing cab regulations, and that's healthy, too. Uber is doing some really great things to the cab situation in this town.

But they are not flawless, and Uber is not the be-all end-all of hired cars. Like I said, we need reliable, trustworthy, affordable car services. Uber isn't a BAD example, but I think it's irresponsible to say "we need Uber."

Uber is just one (fairly decent) example of what we need.

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And I agree with you 100%. Competition AND improved public transit are very needed in this town.

I called Uber out explicitly because A) the negative press they've been getting, B) I spent hours watching testimony about car-share services in front of the City Council last week, and C) they saved me from showing up at an interview this morning looking like a drowned rat!

At the moment they are my preferred company, but the more options the better!

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Things Uber has never done to me:

*Refused to drive me somewhere
*Agree to drive through the tunnel but only if I was willing to pay $30-$40 for what is now a $15 ride (hell, that damn MBTA is helping me avoid that tax as well)
*Lied to me about whether they could accept credit cards
*Extorted money out of me after I'd left a personal item in the vehicle
*Taken the scenic route and stuck me with a huge bill with no way of disputing the charges
*Substituted its accurate, GPS-based arrival tracker with a rude townie that curses me out and hangs up when I want to check the status of my ride
*Kicked me out of the vehicle because my girlfriend had the audacity to attempt to rest her head on my lap (face up), because we were "having sex in his cab".

And on and on and on...

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about Uber drivers. Many drivers are nice, but I've encountered enough creeps in the last two years of using Uber for me to drop that app. I've experienced everything from attempted chat ups to being flat out asked on dates. I had one driver get out of the car at the end of the trip, stand in front of me, and demand a hug before he would let me go. Sent an email to Uber about that experience - never heard back from them.

The cabs suck, but Uber is not the answer.

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The city of New Dehli in India, after welcoming Uber, has cast them out. The public revolted after a 26 yo Uber driver was arrested for raping a female passenger. Citizens were angry at government for ignoring the safety of passengers, they set no safety regulations and neither did Uber.

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And I've never had this happen to me with Uber. I have had all of those sorts of things happen in cabs.

YMMV, but I'm sticking with Uber.

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and have not had this experience in any of the many Uber rides I have taken. Some have chatted in a friendly (non-threatening) manner, but most drivers have simply asked me where I was going and then drove. I have not heard anything bad from any of my female friends either.

I have, however, been in several uncomfortable/scary situations when in a taxi. Are all taxi drivers creeps? No, but for me, Uber has been much better.

However, I don't think Uber, taxis, etc solve the MBTA issues.

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To date, all of the 30 or more rides I've had with Uber have been better experiences than I've had in a cab.

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They aren't accessible to people with disabilities.

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Not in theory or equipment - tell me which cabs will pick up a wheelchair user at 1am on a Saturday.

BWHAHAHAHAHAH

Uber? They will do it, no worries.

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Ever been with somebody in a chair and trying to hail a cab?

I'm guessing not. You might try it sometime for laughs though.

Ever been with someone in a chair and using Uber?

I'm guessing not, because they have no issues with helping people into the vehicle and stowing the chair.

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Is an honest complaint about Uber. I did take a van this morning which was just like the "accessible" taxis I've been in, so hopefully the situation is improving.

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Taxi riding had be come such an unconscionable nightmare in this town I'm more than willing to pay the surge pricing (which didn't occur this morning, despite the storm and MBTA screw-ups). The only time I've had issues they were minor and they responded quickly to my concerns. Taxis on the other hand have done everything you claim Uber does (love to see you back up the claim about them not vetting drivers, btw.) on so many occasions it's impossible to count.

I have no issues with there being more regulations for car-sharing services (and less for taxis!), but honestly, it's easy to tell who is screaming for them now and where their real interests lie.

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This is why we need reliable, trustworthy, affordable car service.

Almost.

Rather, this is why we need reliable, trustworthy and affordable public transportation. All the fricken car service in the world would not help when *hundreds or thousands* of people are delayed or stranded by our public transportation system that continues to crumble before our very eyes.

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A few mimosas would have made this commute a bit more tolerable...

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It was the run between Buffalo and Albany, and it was called Gaslight Service. http://www.postcardpost.com/MwkR35.jpg

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The Metro North Railroad in NYC had bar cars until a few months ago.

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was a cluster because of this. Unfortunately, the Orange Line - although apparently running "normally' - wasn't any better.

So, it boiled down to dealing with the lesser of two evils - which happened to be a Cleveland Circle train. Got to my office about fifteen minutes late, so things could have been much worse.

And never mind the Olympics - I'm worried about what will happen with the first big snowstorm.

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Yes, thank goodness! We haven't garnered the political wherewithall to make substantial upgrades to the Green Line in decades; the only thing that will fix the Green Line once and for all is the funding that could only be made available from an Olympic Games.

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Make the legislature ride the MBTA. The speaker of the house would have the MBTA fixed to European standards in 6 months.

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How about MBTA employees and management? ALL of them. EVERY day. On their own nickel, and no free parking. Make them suck it up like the rest of us, you'd see some changes.

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He did what he could, but it is indeed the legislature who is at fault for a crumbling system here.

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And require them to take the T to get into town.

That probably would have things fixed in about 3 weeks.

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MBTA service. Sounds like a plan to me.

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CAN NOT handle the volume of riders. Two car trains aren't good enough, at a minimum there should be three. Basically, the Green Line should be heavy rail, not LRVs / streetcars. One of the big issues would seem to be labor: each streetcar requires an operator, unlike heavy rail subway trains. Don't know how to get around these issues, but the population of Greater Boston, the US and the world always increases, so expect the situation with overcrowding (not just the MBTA, but on highways, streets, in the air, etc.) to continue to worsen.

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At the very least, the Green should be Heavy Rail from Riverside to Lechmere(/West Medford) since they have dedicated tracks and stations can be converted easily to pre-pay. Then you can run 3-car trolleys for B/C out of Kenmore, and Es out of Copley, with increased frequency due to the recycled cars servicing fewer stops. There are additional major improvements IMHO that are necessary, and some that are just desirable. You could do heavy rail on the E too, with additional underground stations through Brigham Circle. The entire B branch, especially from Kenmore to Packard's, needs major station consolidation.

I don't think any of that would be done for the Olympics. I think we'd get shiny new ad-covered trolleys, maybe temporarily cleaner stations and increased frequency (barring equipment failures, which almost never happens), and then no transit spending for the next two decades to make up for it.

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You don't even need to go as far as heavy rail. LRVs work fine if their implemented in the correct situations and kept in a good state of service and the lines don't all splay out from a central chokepoint where, if some shit goes down, it mucks up the rest of the system. I can't tell from the pick, but if this is one of the Type 8s...that's on the T, they shouldn't have gone with the low bid from a company with a shitty track record and no history of constructing these vehicles.

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Step 1 - Eliminate the needless "absolute stop" at all time signals, like the one westbound prior to the switches entering Park Street.

Step 2 - Eliminate the idiotic "safety" rule preventing double berthing of trains on station platforms that can accommodate multiple trains (like North Station, Haymarket, Park Street eastbound, and (until recent closure) Government Center.

Step 3 - Eliminate the idiotic scheduling scheme that mandates a train must return to its originating terminal (i.e. Cars 3712/3840 originate at Riverside and must go back to Riverside). Have all eastbound trains, regardless of origin, go to Lechmere. Upon arrival, a train is then dispatched westbound to the next destination on the schedule, which may or not be the train's origin.

Step 4 (thanks to Steeve - see below) - Institute a proof of payment fare system - this will greatly shorten boarding and uloading times at surface stations.

If Step 3 were in place this morning, the recovery from the Boylston debacle would have taken far less time than it did, especially for people east of Park Street.

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Eliminate the idiotic enter/exit at the front door only during peak hours. What's the point of adding time to everyone's commute, just to prevent a few fare evaders? Their opportunity cost isn't worth more than some scofflaw's fare? I've yet to find a city in this world that does light rail worse than Boston. For example, the street-level stops in Istanbul are enclosed so you're paid before you get on the train, and fare evaders are caught on camera. Furthermore, In most of Central Europe you have your ticket and validate it on board. If you get pinched by an undercover, you get a hefty fine. It seems to work out pretty well, and service zips right along.

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Three words would solve this

Proof of Payment

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is a Type 7 - you can tell by the seats.

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I had scorched my oatmeal this morning, was running late to a meeting across town, and missed catching one of my favorite buses, 6015, at Ruggles; but I felt better knowing that I was at least having a better start to the day than the Green Line. Needless to say, the westbound platform at Haymarket looked like a Bruins game had just let out.

Truly, the wonders never cease...

http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Wonders+Never+Cease/4GgSZV?src=5

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Good thing they're trains and not bicycles. Could you imagine a bicycle running unabashed through all those sad people? Makes you wonder about the repercussions of such an imaginary event...

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You'd ride a bike in this whipping wind and rain? More power to you! No snark intended.

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I considered not biking to work during this particular storm, but I figured it would surely suck less than the T. I hate to say that that was indeed the case. I had my rain gear (waterproof pants and jacket) on, and while my shoes got quite wet and a little water seeped onto my shirt, I got where I was going as fast as always. It seems like everything else was epically horrible (traffic, T, etc). Don't be afraid to bike in the rain. With some waterproof gear, it's still way faster than the alternatives.

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apparently didn't happen at Park. It happened in the the tunnel between Boylston and Park. While the train WAS MOVING, and after a slew of other issues, including one with said door, that were enough to get the conductor to complain that the train should have been in service from the start.

Had I been on that train, the lawsuit would already be filed.

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Nobody killed or even injured, but let's sue anyway in the hopes of getting an undeserved cash settlement at the taxpayer's expense.

Pathetic, if you ask me.

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But a door fell off of a Green Line train that was in motion, after the door had a previous issue AND the conductor actually said out loud that the train never should have been in service to begin with/"it isn't my fault if the train de-rails."

Why would I take the "no harm, no foul" approach? You have a car full of people who were put in danger unnecessarily by a transit system that gets progressively worse on a daily, if not HOURLY basis, even though it pulled in record revenue this year.

So yes, I would. If it makes you feel any better, however, class action all the way. The mismanagement of this transit system makes thousands of people miserable on a daily basis, and the people on this car have to deal with something like THIS? THAT is what's pathetic.

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Can I just point out that the T did not turn a profit last year...?

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I admittedly posted based solely on my recollection of reports I had read, and mixed up some facts.

They DID pull in record revenue for fiscal year '14, and have actually done it in back to back years. According to the MBTA's data it did have a very small budget surplus (just over 12k) for FY 2011. It all ran together, sorry.

Original post has been updated to reflect this. I stand by the rest of the argument, however.

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