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Massive delays on T lines designated with colors

Stuck Green Line riders at Kenmore Square

Green Line riders look for the shuttle buses promised at Kenmore. Photo by Gabi Schaffzin.

It's so bad the "next train" signs aren't working. All lines are experiencing delays, but the Red Line is the worst of them all, according to a T spokesman:

A week of constant exposure to frigid temperatures, ice, and record snowfall has taken a major toll on the MBTA's vehicles and infrastructure. Rail service, particularly on the Red Line and Commuter Rail, will be severely impacted. Due to a shortage of fully functioning subway cars, customers are asked to consider an alternative to the Red Line today.

But wait, this just in, at 9:29 a.m.

Just announced at Park Street that the green line is shutting down for at least 30 minutes due to track issues at Copley

Yes, seems a rail broke in the cold.

Kelly Erin reports from the Orange Line around 9:50 a.m.:

People on the outdoor platform at Sullivan been waiting 90+ minutes to get on a Forest Hills train. Avoid at all costs!

Commuter rail? Um, yeah. A. Griffin reports:

Needham line stuck between Rozzie sq and forest hills for going on 40 min first an engineer switch and now no signal.

Jennifer Tierney reports from a line into North Station:

Commuter rail delays lead to dangerously packed trains. 2 people fainted in our car. No room, but plenty of kindness.

Around 10 a.m., Shawn Provencal looked out his window on Comm. Ave. to see passengers being let off a trolley so it could turn around - at an unplowed area between BU East and BU West:

Green Line train out of service
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Comments

You know its bad when the 111 bus out of Chelsea is a better option than anything else!

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Shuttle buses replacing Green Line between Kenmore and Haymarket. Please use alternative service on the Red and Orange Lines where (available) (phone cut off alert mid-sentence).

thanks to Cybah for the clarification

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the green line just took a huge dump

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After all the snow and cold it's understandable that they would need to close off the underground sections of the system.

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You all just have to endure, unless you want to spend massive amounts of money to upgrade and fix stuff. This situation is out of control, for example ,even devoting one amp of brain power to start up South Coast Rail while everything else is falling off the tracks or stuck on them. And then the argument of who is going to pay for all the new stuff, the riders dont want an increase , and the Big Dig argument has been flogged to death.Raise the sales tax or gas tax or hotel tax or create an internet tax, and dedicate it to fixing the MBTA rolling stock with no diversions or deflections or other smart aleck inteligentsia circumventions.Time to pick up a shovel and get to work, and time to get it up, as the bartender would say.

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, unless you want to spend massive amounts of money to upgrade and fix stuff.

MONEY?? NO WAY!!! OUR TAXES ARE TOO HIGH ALREADY!!!! GLIB BLUG ACK BARF.

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Then you will have to endure , my good Scratchie !

Bonus Fun Fact Diversion ,

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Was released the day I was born. I'm old.

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Then you will have to endure , my good Scratchie !

Not me, my good Kevvy. We haven't more than a couple of flakes down here in North Cackalackie. I'm just hoping we get enough snow for my kids to build a snowman this winter.

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Aha ! I always said that North Carolina was the new Florida. But , to endure , my next considerations, having the woods and all, and the long long drive, Need a soft cab though ,

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)

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not to mention a political climate stuck in the last century. Yeah, the winters are better, but dear lord, it's boring here in North Butt*.

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We have plenty of money. The problem is it being wasted on cronies, padded pensions, repeated studies of what is already known, phony consultants, fraud, and waste.

The legislature and various agency heads hold the heart and brain hostage with a scalpel because they don't want to trim the 300lbs of lard in their bums.

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You seem to have neglected to post the specific budget items that can be trimmed, and by how much, to provide the money needed to upgrade the T.

I've been hearing the same bullshit about "trimming the fat" for 30+ years, since Prop. 2.5 passed. Show us exactly where the savings are, and how much of the budget they account for, or shut the fuck up.

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Wait, you forgot the part where we simply get rid of the "cronies".

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2+ billion dollar South Coast rail porkfest comes to mind.
Or the hundreds of millions spent studying the Red/Blue connector repeatedly instead of building it.
Or the six figure PR people at the MBTA/MassDOT that are suddenly hired after a fare increase after such positions had been vacant for years.
Or the no show jobs at the MBTA that take years for anyone to notice or do anything about:
http://www.mass.gov/ago/news-and-updates/press-releases/2010/three-men-p...

The list goes on and on and that's just one agency.

Do you think the patronage scandal with our un-indicted co-conspirator Speaker of the House really is indicative of a high integrity and efficiency system of staffing state agencies?

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There's entirely no reason for the Green Line Extension to cost 2 billion dollars. In other parts of the country, a 5-mile surface rail extension along an existing right-of-way would cost 1/10 that or less.

Imagine what that money could do for the T if it were spent efficiently.

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do you have a citation to back up your argument.

The Fed is funding most of this, not the MBTA. I would hope they have vetted the plan..

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That's less than half of the growing price tag. Then again, the fed doesn't have revenue to pay for public transit the way federal and state gas taxes help to pay for road projects.

Increasing vehicle efficiency is having two major effects:
1. Less fuel tax revenue per mile traveled.
2. Public transit becomes less efficient than personal motor vehicles! When buses got 4 MPG and had an average passenger load of 7, the passenger-miles-per gallon is 28, compared to average private vehicles getting under 20 mpg. Now, lower emission buses get under 4mpg, except for the few and much more expensive hybrid buses. Meanwhile personal vehicles get 38-50 mpg.

Rail gets around 1.1 mpg, with higher average occupancy, but is still less attractive than it had been over private vehicles.

The bottom line: Private vehicles have jumped in energy efficiency. Public transit vehicles, hardly at all.

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Local business leaders and CEOs should be supporting a regional business tax to help fund the transportation system that enables their employees to get to work and make them money. How much money is lost because your staff can't get to the office or open up shop? It's crazy.

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Charlie promised to raise neither.

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Well then, he's going to be rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship. Doing more with less isn't an option here. Without a functional transit system, Boston won't be able to function as a city.

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Just think, one year of Liberty Mutual taxes could likely pay for several such transit upgrades.

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Well then, he's going to be rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship. Doing more with less isn't an option here. Without a functional transit system, Boston won't be able to function as a city.

Moreover, without a functional transit system, we. are. screwed.....big time! It's disgusting that Massachusetts is so full of patronage, politics and graft that they're unwilling to upgrade the T instead of spending all that money on cronies and all that.

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I really just can't.. after the T woe's today. This is not a wise decision.. of he doesn't care, he's the one who gave the MBTA its issues it has today (big dig debt)

Typical... saying its 'unacceptable' to the T's issues, yet does something like this:

Talking out both sides of his mouth as usuall..

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we are getting transportation upgrades with the Olympics...

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Transit riot time!

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Sorry, that's already been earmarked for the convention center and its beneficiaries, hasn't it? Or is it just car rentals?

Side note- this is what infuriates me about the convention center nonsense. How many people who work all across the city in industries from food service to finance to engineering are having their productivity shattered by this train stuff? It dwarfs the needs of the hotel/convention business, yet that $1b bond just floats through.

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And could you be just a wee bit more smug and preachy about it? People are having to stand around in serious frostbite weather after paying their fare and getting dumped in the middle of nowhere -- they've got a right to be angry. If you can't be sympathetic, maybe you can at least bite your tongue. I'm sure you'll find plenty of opportunities to soapbox in the future, so don't worry, your message will get out.

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You are just anti-me , I got your number. The cold hard facts is there is no more leaves on the money tree. I worked outside in this stuff , not just commuting to someplace. I have empathy. Do you think your generation invented inclement weather? There are no easy answers , so all the interneting in the world isnt going to fix this. What constructive purpose is it for you to comment. Are you being productive , or you sneaking on here on your employe'rs dime? Or are you one of those people that like to spend OPM. At least comment on SCR , got a position? Or is it just OPM too?

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...so how can I be "anti-you"? Don't exaggerate your own importance. I understand your point and don't disagree with the substance of what you're saying -- it's the collateral bullshit that gets extremely old. If you want to make a point, make it in an appropriate place, in an appropriate manner, and don't belabor it. Otherwise you'll just be written off as a tiresome axe-grinding nutjob.

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Who are you , Mother Superior , the Wizard of OZ ?

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I am both Mother Superior and the Wizard of Oz. In fact, I'm also Mother Teresa.

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It's an overflowing vat of smug.

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The Silver Line, yesterday and today, is operating with zero issues, extending a giant middle finger to BRT haters.

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What a stupid comment. It does not even warrant a decent reply.

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Do the fast and efficient buses running every 2 minutes without delay hurt you? I think most of the region would pay good money to have Silver Line quality service right now.

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I assume you're the same poster spewing over at ArchBoston, so I'll paste my comment here.

----------

What are you even trying to suggest? That subway trains and commuter trains that can carry 500 passengers would be better served by a fleet of buses that can hold, what, 70 people?

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Did a bus take your mother away when you were a kid?

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No articulated buses in this weather - 40' busses these days.

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First of all, if you put a billion dollars into anything, I should hope that it would run efficiently.

Secondly, as anybody in the South End and Roxbury knows, there's a tale of two Silver Lines--the one with the billion-dollar tunnel and the one that was supposed to be light rail and wound up a glorified version of the 49 bus.

SL4/SL5 a-k-a Washington Street Silver Line:
Instead of staggering service every five minutes out of Dudley, let's send them out together every ten minutes and then get in each other's way all the way to Chinatown--this is on a normal, dry sunny day! Now, for the fun parts, this time of year:

  • Bus lanes are virtually unusable because the City doesn't plow out the parking spots so cars are allowed to park in the bus lane. Where's the "R" in "BRT" when the bus is forced to use the all-vehicles lane?
  • Where the bus lanes are usable, let's leave random mounds of snow in them anyway so the bus is forced to swerve into the all-vehicles lane.
  • People wait for buses in the street because, like the rest of the bus system, 80% of the stops aren't shoveled out.
  • Even more fun waiting in the street when the snow melts a little and the snow turns to snow soup--bring an extra pair of socks!

Yeah, quality service.

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I really appreciate the professional structure and organization of your comment, bullet pointed and all. No sarcasm, just wanted to applaud you for that effort.

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Except when its freezing cold and the buses just sit at the D street crossing for 5+ minutes. Why the hell can't they give that crossing single priority. It's madness and would improve the waterfront efficiency so much.

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Seriously that crossing is beyond stupid.

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My blue line train gave up at Airport (not that it was doing well before that), so I was able to use the Silver line as a fair alternative.

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My four mile commute was an hour and fifteen minutes today by two busses. On a normal spring day I expect the 70 to be bullshit reliable but of course today was worse.

I really should have built larger rims for my bicycle to handle 700x30 studded tires.

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Almost down to walking speed there. Years ago I lived in Arlington and worked in Cambridge, and walked a 5mi route (in 1hr, 30min) rather than deal with their miserable bus service during evening rush hour.

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Looks like we finally got to see what a totally MBTA meltdown looks like.

Nice to see the legislature is working hard on this issue. I'm sure Deleo will come up with something behind closed doors now that his term limits have been abolished.
/sarc

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If you voted against the gas tax, this is on you.

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What would be a conservative estimate? 3% of the states population uses the T, maybe 5%. It was dead on arrival.

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The T serves an average of 1.3 million weekday trips across the entire system. Lets assume that is 650,000 people who use it twice a day.

Massachusetts' population is 6,593,587. That works out to 10% of the population uses the T on a daily basis.

The MBTA's service area population is 4,817,014 so the if you just count these towns you get a usage rate of nearly 14%.

I do agree the gas tax was unlikely to pass, sadly.

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...still leaves 90% with no skin in the game.

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What percentage of people have kids in public schools? Education seems to get discussed a lot more then T.

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...Don't matter. They suck off the state taxes generated in Boston proper and hardly contribute their fair share. So they shouldn't have a say on most budgetary issues. Kind of like when Alabama complains about Massachusetts.

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I'd be interested in seeing actual numbers rather than sweeping unsubstantiated assertions.

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I work and live in Boston, but if you think the rest of the state is sucking off our tit your crazy. There are HUGE office parks in Newton, Natick, Framigham, Marlborough, Waltham; shit basically any town located off 128 and 495.

Boston has what, one large manufacturing plate left. Gillette.

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Um... that isn't what is generally considered the west side of the state....

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past 128 is the sticks!

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Maybe Western Mass. ought to do this again.

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in Greater Boston then you're using the T. How do you think your car commute would go if the 600,000+ on the T suddenly joined you on the roads?How would your business do if your employees' commute cost suddenly quadrupled? How would your goods and services reach you on those roads? Everyone in Greater Boston relies on the MBTA. Everyone.

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define "Ridership", what is considered a trip? If i take a bus and train to work, am i taking 1, 2 or 4 trips.

1 Trips = My entire daily commute
2 Trips = Going to work & going home
4 Trips = Every time i use a different service

Without that the 10% seems inflated.

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You think any of that money would have gone to necessary spending on vital infrastructure and not to padding cousin Vinnie's paving contract for some obscure road in the Berskhires?

LOL

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The gas tax increase is still there, earning new revenue.

The ballot question was on future gas tax increases, or more specifically automatically indexing the increases to inflation.

For the record, I voted against the repeal of the indexing, but at least I knew what the question was.

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It wasn't a vote against the gas tax. It was a vote against automatic increases on the gas tax. I'm perfectly okay with legislators voting in an increase. This was just a way to get it to increase without having to put it to a vote so in the future they could say "look, I didn't vote to raise taxes."

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I'm not kidding here. She is the figurehead and seems ill equipped, both financially and personality wise to handle this transit system.

The T's future was crippled by Charlie Baker in the early 2000's with the Big Dig financial machinations and now we have a person who acts like your grandmother sneaking you a candy bar behind your parent's back, but not much else and the candy bar is really a tofu infused rice cake.

I hate to harken back to older days, but though it was bloated from an operations point, the T ran really, really well in the 70's and 80's. Trains actually went fast between stations as opposed to the steel encased airport people movers which they are now. There was a concerted effort to purge drivers in their 50's (like my dad) and bring in cheaper labor in the early 90's and I have seen a big drop in service since then.

The T needs leadership (and money). I would love to do a census around the State Transportation Building Today. If you aren't at your desk, you're out of a job. If you are at your desk, put on vest and grab a shovel. We don't need a third assistant director of diversity for the Silver Line today.

In this day and age, where this thing which is used run well 50 years ago, can't function today is abhorrent. I'm done ranting, God Bless The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Good Luck to those who couldn't get to work today because trains under the ground could not work.

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I fully agree with you after my ~45 minute commute took nearly 2 hours. And I should consider myself lucky.

During the last election I said I would vote for anyone who discussed the T. Even if they didn't have a plan to fix it I wanted one of the major candidates to admit there was funding and operational problems. Baker and Coakley couldn't bring themselves to utter the four letters M.B.T.A. I ended up throwing my vote away on a 3rd candidate.

I just wish that more of the 1,000,000 people who ride the T daily considered it important enough to make it a political issue akin to taxes. The T will never improve when people complain on web forums and not in the voting booth.

When a bridge in MN failed Devel Patrick jumped into action with a rapid bridge improvement program. Why can't we have the same thing for T where, unlike the MN bridge, failures affect MA residents daily.

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MBTA service should be an issue, in every campaign for state office, but for some reason it never is. There always seems to be political support for anything bicycle related. The creation of all the bike lanes in Boston get positive media coverage, but the fact that they make it harder for buses to maneuver is not considered.

There is no chance that a tax increase to support the MBTA's needs will be approved. The only way to do it is to raise the fares. System users are going to have to pay. Fifty cents, a dollar, whatever it takes to get all these old trains and equipment completely refurbished or replaced. And not another mile of track until that is done. No South Coast rail, no Green line extension, nothing.

It's a pity the construction unions poured all their money in the last election into making sure we will have casinos instead of securing funding for transportation. It would have created more, and better, jobs and enhanced the entire state rather than adding to our social ills.

And while I think of it, why do we keep buying equipment from companies that make a mess of it? Where do the Germans and other Europeans get their trains? They seem to work, despite the cold climate in much of Europe.

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In 1999, when I first used the T, an individual ride on the subway (one token) was $0.85. In 2014 dollars, that is $1.19. Yet the T charges $2.65 for the same item. Thus, the fares are 123% more than they would be just to account for inflation. That is, we are currently paying more than twice what we paid for the T sixteen years ago, in real terms. And yet we're getting demonstrably worse service.

Where did this doubling of the fare price go?

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In 1999, the T would send a bill to the General Court at the end of the year for the cost of running minus fares. Then, the Commonwealth got this crazy idea of putting the T on a budget. More than that, there was going to be dedicated funding sources, including 20% of the sales tax. Long story short, sales tax revenues never lived up to forecast (thanks internet) and non-operational costs (debt service, health care) went up faster than expected.

Also, in 1999 you were paying amongst the lowest fares of any major rapid transit service in North America. They don't say that now.

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I knew someone was going to bring this up..

I'm not kidding here. She is the figurehead and seems ill equipped, both financially and personality wise to handle this transit system.

Please explain how she is DIRECTLY responsible for this. She was handed a shit in a bag when she joined. It is hardly her fault. None. So what if she's quirky, I'm sure you are too. She's approachable, far more than I can say many previous GM's have been.

What would firing her do? She will just join the long line of MBTA scapegoats that were 'fired' because of abysmal service when it has very little to do with them. And what happened after all their predecessors were fired? Nothing changed. Its clearly not her fault at all when the problems keep happening no matter who's in charge. Seriously, I'm all ears. What would it accomplish?

You even explain WHY its not her fault.. years and years of under finding, saddled with Big Dig Debt, very old equipment and not enough funding to get new stuff. And even when we do, we have to get the cheapest bidder in order to stay on budget.

You want to fire someone, call your legislator and go yell at Charlie Baker for this. THEY are responsible for this mess, not Dr Scott. She did all she could. Did you expect her to bundle up and go out and dig out switches or plow train tracks? Come on, you're not that stupid.

I've grown real tired of this "lets fire the GM its their fault" bullshit that happens every time the T barfs. Argue a valid point, not call for someone's head because you're pissed off.

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At Fidelity, if there is a problem, everyone jumps on the phones to answer client's questions. Everyone from entry level to just below Abby Johnson down when there is an emergency helps right the ship.

We seem to have a big disconnect from operations at the T and the management of the T. I do expect people from 10 Park Plaza to dig out switches and bus stops, because that is what is needed, not an outreach person for potential service to Springfield, not someone planning to give an award for a good essay contest.

Cybah, take a late morning break and go into the library at 10 Park Plaza. Watch as guys come in and eat lunches and then take an hour long nap. The people running the trains always get a thank you from me because I know they are working hard. We have too much dead weight in management and not enough troops. A Powell doctrine level of attack has been needed over the past week with the T, instead we get, not so much.

Tomorrow will be the worst day in the history of the regular MBTA commuter. Have fun with the system not recovered from this weird thing called snow and some 10th grader from Weymouth vomiting on your shoes whilst trying to get to the parade. I'm driving.

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I never said that it wasn't. But Park Plaza is a big place, it houses more than the MBTA ya know.

You also didn't really answer my questions, which is fine. But I'd like to know how top level management is a Dr Scott issue and not someone else's? You are aware for decades the MBTA has been a haven for the well connected to get jobs for friends. And you also know that it takes an act of god to fire anyone at the T. Plus you fire some pol's friend who got them the job at the T, your head would probably roll in the process. Don't you think this has been tried before? (I know Dan G tried.. and look where he is today...)

This is not Dr Scott's issue at all. Why? Because she can't! Its a long hard battle to do so. Just look at the T trying to fire some workers last year.. those people STILL have jobs. Blame the Union for this one, for sticking up for dead weight employees when they shud have been let go eons ago.

Like I said before, she was handed this bag of shit when she started, and it has been brewing for decades. Long before Dr Scott or any of her predessors were ever around.

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Grabauskas is earning over a quarter million a year in Hawaii. He may've been axed in MA due to politics, but he seems to be doing just fine.

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Tomorrow is going to be an absolute s**t show on every single form of public transit. It took my boss 3 hours to get to work on the commuter rail today (I was lucky enough to have a 2 mile bus trip that took "only" an hour), he might as well stay home tomorrow.

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The George Sanborn transportation library was closed months ago and no one knows what happened to it. =(

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Fidelity has laid off (tens of?) thousands of people in the last decade. If you are going to pick a private sector (apples) bad analogy to running a massive public service (oranges) at least pick one that has been well run.

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I was going to say that..

I'd also add that when a customer calls Fidelity with an issue, it could be a multimillion dollar account, not a a $2.25 fare. Its in their best interest to jump and answer a customer question because they could lose millions, not $2.25.

Of course not saying that we should discount transit any less but your comparison is faulty..

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You need to listen to me. I'm paying.

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.

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When the state abolished the Mass. Turnpike Authority, why didn't they leave the Big Dig debt there (instead of transferring it to the MBTA), and then put the Turnpike Authority into bankruptcy? That would have freed up a lot of money for the MBTA to spend on maintenance and improvements, and it would have shifted the financial burden from taxpayers to hedge funds and banks who can afford it.

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That would have made it impossible for the state to obtain private funding for a very long time. No bank would take the risk of being fleeced to pay for a boondoggle.

On the one hand that would have helped prevent stupid spending on pet projects. On the other it would have made bonding for important stuff like the bridge fixes much more difficult.

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Actually firing the top person is no more than human nature.

In ancient times it was commonplace to sacrifice a virgin or kill off the chief of the tribe in hopes that something better would happen.

Since then, nothing has changed. We have simply domesticated and ritualized the same process.

We think that by betting new management or leadership that it will change things, when in reality, that is not the location where the problem exists. It's like cutting off your arm for a bad toenail.

The management can only do what they can with little funding and old equipment. Steps have been taken to make it better, assuming all contracts hold up, though there is a challenge in place. Even then, it will take the manufacturer a few years to ramp up a manufacturing facility and deliver.

Also note the new trains as designed cannot be connected to the old ones, much like the newer Bombardiers cannot connect to the older units on the Red Line. They will be a whole new breed.

This is a result of two things. First, perennial under funding of anything associated with rail and transit on rail. Second, rolling stock, that - despite all design efforts - cannot cope with New England weather in extreme circumstances.

For what its worth, if you read the news elsewhere, CTA in Chicago, and MTA in NYC are having similar problems in the wake of these two storms.

We are not unique.

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Responsibility flows to the top in any organization. The captain is responsible for her ship. What has she done with the "shit in a bag" to fix it? Obviously nothing effective. If actual responsibility for the problems lies below her, then she should be firing those incompetent boobs left and right and bringing in people that can fix the problem. That she hasn't done so means someone else needs to be brought in who will.

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Let me repeat what I wrote above so you can re-read it because you didn't read it above

What would firing her do? She will just join the long line of MBTA scapegoats that were 'fired' because of abysmal service when it has very little to do with them. And what happened after all their predecessors were fired? Nothing changed. Its clearly not her fault at all when the problems keep happening no matter who's in charge. Seriously, I'm all ears. What would it accomplish?

Firing her would accomplish nothing.

She can only do as much as the T board of directors allows her to do. She can't just 'fire people' its a long process. See my long explanations above. It's a bit more than just firing people and cleaning house, its undo'ing of years of political connectiviness and corruption. I don't think ANYONE can or could fix the T if this issue, no matter how experienced they are.

Just look at Dan G for an example. Well liked at the RMV. Changed an agency that was so freakin archaic to a modern agency with accountability. He really cleaned house. He moved over the T and was gone within a couple of years. Why? because he was nothing more than a scape goat, and yes he tried to clean up the T but he could only do so much. And then got blamed for every little issue.

That was two GM's ago.. how is the T better? It's not. Its worse. So firing the GM does absolutely nothing to improve service. Nothing. Get it?

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Speaking of Bev Scott's ability to run a transit system, turns out she wasn't doing quite such a peachy job down in Atlanta:

Atlanta's transit agency, MARTA, was on the brink of financial disaster when Keith Parker arrived as CEO in December of 2012. Ridership was down roughly 5 percent on the previous year. Annual losses ranged upwards of $33 million. An outside audit found the agency's business model to be "structurally unsustainable" and projected that without major changes it was on a path toward insolvency.

http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/01/the-remarkable-turnaround-of-atla...

(Parker replaced Scott, who left in December 2012 to head up the T.)

Scott also apparently had such a strained relationship with the MARTA board of directors that they paid for her to see a business psychologist (a fact she did not disclose to the MBTA before being hired).

(http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2012/11/11/new-manager-un... - also touches on the trouble at MARTA)

Between her performance in Atlanta, and so far at the T, I'm not impressed, although I do hesitate to place any blame on her since she wasn't really given much to work with. Baker's the one I'm really concerned about.

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You really need to know more about MARTA and Atlanta than what you read in the newspapers.

That is generally an anti-transit region and they go out of their way to kill bus service into the poorer neighborhoods when possible.

People have been fighting to keep that transit system running for decades and that is an even more losing situation than Scott or anyone else could handle.

MARTA was already in bad shape when she started and didn't get any better. Still is and they still fight efforts to extend bus routes, and also have fought expansion of their transit systems.

Here we are reaching out. Different mindset.

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I didnt want to get into a pissing contest about Atlanta, but as a former resident I can tell you all about MARTA and why it sucks.

That is generally an anti-transit region and they go out of their way to kill bus service into the poorer neighborhoods when possible.

This is 100% true. Atlanta is anti-transit as they come. Countless times funding ref's have been voted down time and time again to properly fund MARTA. And because of this, MARTA does not service where it really needs service. It barely services the city core (inside 285) and it needs to do service so much more.

Voters in two counties that desperately need MARTA (Cobb, Gwinette) always vote down bring MARTA to their county because they see it as "bringing in the undesirables"to their communities. But in the end, just starting up their own services to compete with MARTA (i.e. CCT and GCT) rather than folding it into one regional transit agency with more financial backing than single ones.

Between the lack of funding both as a city, county, and state level (MARTA receives little to no funds from the State of GA), MARTA is doomed. Every time they have funding issues, services get cut. Try to ride a bus on a Sunday.. you almost can't. Trains? Not much better.. 20-30 mind headways. Stupid.

Much like the Dr Scott and the T, the GM position at MARTA is nothing more than a scapegoat for a failing, under-funded transit agency.

There's alot more about to this than I care to talk about.. I'm sure Michael Kerpan (sp? sorry man!) could also elaborate about MARTA's woes.

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... what the first two guys said (yet another one-time Atlantan (1990-1997), who was "lucky" enough to be there for its Olympics and its pre-Olympic hyrricane, Opal.

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Here's an update on the Atlanta Beltline which is a 22 mile urban ring of bike path and street cars connecting to rapid transit.

The Atlanta BeltLine is the most comprehensive transportation and economic development effort ever undertaken in the City of Atlanta and among the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment programs currently underway in the United States. The Atlanta BeltLine is a sustainable redevelopment project that will provide a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor circling downtown and connecting many neighborhoods directly to each other

Also from WSJ 7/31/2014.... Thousands of Atlantans flock every day to the 7 miles already completed to walk, bike or jog.

Expected to cost $4.8 billion, it is one of the biggest projects of its kind under way in the U.S., and is intended to connect 45 neighborhoods, from rich to poor, with trails, a network of parks and a light-rail system by 2030. "This is America's largest social experiment," said Paul Morris, chief executive of Atlanta BeltLine Inc., the nonprofit leading the development....."

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Maybe they can bring in Radio Shack's CEO next. I hear he's not going to be busy much longer...

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It sounds as if both Charlie Baker AND Beverly Scott are both fixing to screw everybody, big time. Yet, one has to bear in mind that the problems with the T have been long-standing, because nobody who runs the T system has gone out of their way to update and upgrade the infrastructure and all for years. What happened this week was a long time coming. Had the T's infrastructure been updated and upgraded awhile ago, we wouldn't be having so many problems. Baker and Scott sound like people who'll make already-horrific situations far worse.

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It's everyone who insists that the T has to conduct needless "studies" and endless public meetings before they can do anything more significant than picking up a piect of trash from a station platform.

It's everybody who, when informed of a pending project, whines and groans and moans "well, I don't want this in my neighborhood, so it shouldn't be built - period". Especially when they take legal action in an attempt to block said projects.

It's everyobdy who, when faced with a project, immediately states "Well, what's in it for me." and forces time and money to be spent on "necessary" mitigation that is either unrelated to, or provides no actual improvements, to the intent of the project.

Changing some of the laws, regulations, and practices that contribute to this culture is a necessary first step in effecting real improvements to both the T and our other transportation infrastructure.

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If anything, let's have a recall on Baker--it's his wrangling that helped saddle the T in debt and led to, among other things, the elimination of conductors on the Orange and Red Lines, a-k-a OPTO.

Nothing ground my gears more than to hear his smug self be interviewed about the kick-out-the-windows incident on the Red Line and talk about how "shocked and appalled" he was about how the MBTA handled the incident. Please.

Sorry that your dad, among other senior drivers, was forced out. Don't know if I fully agree about service being better then, though: GPS technology has made bus operators way more accountable.

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Running the same trains with fewer people seems like a win to me.

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"Nothing ground my gears more than to hear his smug self be interviewed about the kick-out-the-windows incident on the Red Line and talk about how "shocked and appalled" he was about how the MBTA handled the incident. Please."

Trainmon's point is that if there was a conductor additionally on the train, he might have been able to manually open the doors for the passengers in the smoke filled car. You know, while the driver, who was the only one staffing that train, was checking to see if anything was on fire, or if anything would shortly alight? While standing by with an extinguisher, I hope.

It's nice to make cuts for efficiency's sake, but there can be a cost to the safety factor sometimes.

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It's the people that voted for Baker that put him in power. It's not like people didn't know this about him before they elected him. He should have been taken to task for it while he was campaigning.
The people that voted for him have probably complained about the Big Dig before themselves. (Of course there were probably many Baker voters who never followed the Big Dig mess, and never saw it in person for themselves). But people are by and large uneducated, gullible, and vote against their own interests, time and time again. Just like the ones out there complaining about Obamacare are also benefiting from its services and don't even realize it. Most people are ignorant until something directly affects them.
The state voted for him and we get what we deserve, collectively. He's a Republican; he isn't going to invest more money anyway. That's not what the party does. He wants to CUT transportation spending. Most people fail to realize what spending cuts actually mean until they lose their job or services they rely upon. The state voted for him and we get what we deserve, collectively - cuts for public goods and services, and benefits to corporations and small businesses. We do this to ourselves every election.

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and the candy bar is really a tofu infused rice cake.

Leave the tofu out of this, it serves as a solid source of protein. Certainly more reliable than the T. :)

And hard for me to blame Scott for this collapse. She didn't create it anymore than Davey did. They're just trying to put bandaids on the problem created by Baker and others in the past that elected officials now continue to punt on. It's time for new thinking on how to adequately fund and repair the T. As others have mentioned, we cannot rely on statewide voters to do this when most don't use it.

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... demanded an end to funding road and bridge repairs in the rest of the state (hurricane damage in Western Mass -- tough luck, WE don't use those roads)?

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...you'll be all caught up with the Big Dig differential, and everything will be fair and square.

I'm sorry, make that a thousand years.

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Makes me wonder how they handle the trains in places like Germany where you know they wouldn't accept this.

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... roughly every 25-30 years. Single train design per type of track, new design every 25 years, build the new one and parts and replace the previous generation as they wear out. Send old trains n cars to the recyclers. Rinse, repeat.

This low bid shit for both design and build is deranged. Have it designed first (and the designs vetted by the stiffs who have to maintain them); then allow that and other companies to bid on the build AND parts supply. It's a 20 year contract, not 4.

Requires thinking beyond the current quarter, so this will never happen.

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They don't bitch and moan about paying their damn taxes.

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Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding

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Like good little serfs.

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Another intelligent, well-thought-out comment from the anons.

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People in the social democracies of Western Europe bitch and moan about paying their taxes, just like people everywhere, and they're certain that some percentage of it is being wasted on corruption and waste and featherbedding and ... sound at all familiar?

The thing is, people in most places in Europe recognize that functioning public transit is required to make a city livable for all social classes. Public transit is not viewed as "something for people too poor to afford a car."

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Socialism?

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Seriously - there would be a surge of protestors on the local governing body responsible for the massive foul ups. In this case, people would be streaming up the hill from Park St., overturning cars in the legislature's parking lot and building a snow wall barricade and blocking any heavy equipment that tried to stop them (if the heavy equipment operators didn't join in and help).

The US is pretty weak when it comes to demanding what they deserve from their governments, compared to Europe where these things are rights, not crosses to bear.

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on a good day.

Trains on all lines are old, falling apart (those fairly new Italian made cattle cars on the green line just plain suck)

Trains are often PAINFULLY slow, especially into and out of stations, which I assume is due mostly to some bullshit rule designed to appease insurance companies and lawyers after multiple high profile incidents of people falling onto tracks, getting hit by trains, committing suicide.

There's more to this story, I'm sure; not enough room to post more.

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You're "assuming" its due to safety regulations? Yeah, God forbid those T drivers don't drive the maximum speed limit everywhere! Yeah. I'm sure it's the "regulations" that are the problem. Show me some evidence and facts of this before making this assumption.

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Due to problems caused by the recent weather, the Globe reports.

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With 40% of the fleet missing a 10min headway is surprisingly good. A more rational expectation is a 15+min headway between trains. Any remaining trains are probably just hanging in there.

They are probably all bunched because one of them is starting to @#$% the bed with door problems too. So lets emphasize the "+" part of that number....

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On the packed train heading into Boston, the operator, while continually apologizing for the delays, at one point mentioned that they were short of equipment and staff. The "short of staff" part left me wondering.

Thanks to the kind person on the platform at Haymarket who I heard say "We're getting on this bleeping train. Push onto it." I understand the aggravation but pushing onto a packed train leads to problems.

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At least the 65 is. Apparently they're only running a single bus on the route right now. I've already waited an hour fit for one. Thank goodness fit for NextBus which is allowing me to do my waiting indoors!

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they pull buses off the smaller routes to be used as emergency shuttle services for the subways.

so that's probably why the 65 is getting the short end of the stick here.

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...Because they don't keep a few buses always in reserve for purposes like this. Despite the fact that two days don't go by without them needing shittle buses somewhere. Another stellar MBTA decision.

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which bus route would you like to see have its service permanently cut so that the buses can sit in the depot, idle, just in case?

all buses are in use during peak hours. if you want to have some in reserve then you have to make cuts somewhere.

though i like what you did there: shittle buses. clever.

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Even if you have extra buses, doesn't do much good if you don't have extra bus drivers

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If only there were some magical way to pour huge amounts of money into local infrastructure in the near future...some large - maybe global...maybe sporting - event coming to the area that would give us an incredible opportunity to address the aging system using a flood of private, corporate,and federal funds. There'd probably be a cost locally too, but I'm guessing on days like this such a theoretical cost might theoretically seems theoretically surprisingly small.

ah well

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If you think the Olympics will make this happen, well, share your drugs, please.

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Pols are always touting casinos as a way of bringing in bazillions of dollars for education... why not use the upcoming casino to fund the MBTA? The damned thing is already a crapshoot...

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An add to on the Mass State Tax, dedicated exclusively to infrastructure and rolling stock , not for financial wizardry.Similar to this ,

The Revenue and Expenditure Control Act of 1968, signed by Johnson on June 28, 1968, imposed a 10 percent surcharge on individual and corporate income taxes. Low-income taxpayers were entirely exempt. As Johnson pointed out in his statement when signing the bill, a family of four earning less than $5,000 (about $28,000 in 2005 dollars) would pay nothing additional. A family making $10,000 (about $57,000 in 2005 dollars) would pay just $2 extra per week (about $11.50 in 2005 dollars).
Individual taxpayers completed their returns as usual, but a new line appeared on Form 1040. After entering tax due on line 12a, an individual taxpayer was prompted by line 12b to consult a special surcharge table and add the appropriate amount to his or her regular tax liability. For tax year 1968, the surcharge amounted to 7.5 percent of a taxpayer's regular tax liability. (The 10 percent levy was prorated since it was in place for only nine months of the calendar year.) For corporations, the process was similar: A new line on Schedule J of Form 1120 required companies to add 10 percent to their regular tax bills (or a prorated amount, depending on the corporation's tax year).

In 1969 Congress renewed the surcharge through the middle of 1970 but reduced it to 5 percent. Still, the tax raised substantial revenue -- some 55 billion in constant 1992 dollars, according to a 2003 Treasury Department estimate. As legal scholar Kirk Stark pointed out in a paper examining Vietnam War tax policy, "The importance of the 1968 legislation to the U.S. budget situation in the late 1960s should not be underestimated."

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Pay my way into the Red Line at Ashmont only to be told the wait is 45 minutes. I start trudging down Dot Ave, tapped on a bus door at NOT a designated stop. He waves me off. Finally give up past Fields Corner where I stand with some frail elderly to catch a bus to Andrew . When I get to the end I offer the driver a DD card and thank him for his service. He says "We are not allowed to take tips and gratuities. Is it me or has the world taken a wrong turn somewhere?

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That's very kind of you. I would have dropped the card on the platform of his seat and said "whoops!" smiled and walked away. =)

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I will do that. Thanks for the tip. Just trying to get through the day aren't we all?

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even if you drop it, the driver has to turn it into lost & found. he cannot keep it. He can and will be fired for this. It's a nice gesture but you can't do that. (and remember most buses now have cameras on the driver so there's no way he could pick it up)

(I asked my T Bus driver friend who got off shift a little while ago... which btw he said was atrocious.. )

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Don't worry, the Olympics will fix it!

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Do we really need a parade tomorrow when the system can't even handle a normal day's ridership right now? Should having a parade be the mayor's priority? Would it kill them to wait for a better time when the city can actually handle it?
God forbid we take away the population's ability to see Gronk on a duck boat!

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