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Imagine Kenmore Station times a bazillion

A bankrupt MBTA continues to press for a $1.2-billion bus tunnel linking the two legs of the Silver Line even though officials have no idea how they'll pay for it:

Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the MBTA, calls the Silver Line Phase III a good transit project, but does not explain how his agency can afford it, other than borrowing more money and hoping for a longer-term fix to the T's budget problems from the state government.

The Outraged Liberal is not amused:

... [L]et's assume, foe the sake of argument, that we somehow miraculously find the money. Does anyone believe the MBTA will bring this project in on time and one budget? Can you say Kenmore Station? ...

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Comments

noone likes the f----- silver line doesn't the MBTA understand?

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the Washington Street section can be converted into a branch of the Green Line using an existing abandoned tunnel under Tremont St in the Theatre District. I would venture to guess that it could be done for a fraction of the price of the proposed Silver Line tunnel.

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This project is utterly absurd. How about showing some leadership instead of cowering behind the "we have to do this b/c of some concessions made to the Big Dig."

The T is bankrupt, but they can find the money to spend on frivolous projects like WiFi ($1 point something million) and the new "Be nice when riding the T" campaign.

Oh, and commuters, we'll be making $20 million off of increased parking fees. But we still won't plow the lots when it snows and your cars will still be vandalized. What do we care - we can just keep on taking you to the bank.

When I saw Dan Grabauskas smirking on Fox 25 this morning, I wanted to slap him. I was so angry. He doesn't even use the T, so how dare he tell me what I want or what I need.

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Who gets to pull in the reins on this out-of-control loco?

It's not a public entity by either government nor openly traded commodity and yet it's responsible for a good amount of the public's ability to move to, from, and about the city. It just makes NO sense. It was pushed even FURTHER out of accountability in 2000 when they stopped funding its failure to stay in budget and simply gave it part of the sales tax as funding and then it started to use debt spending and bad investment strategies in order to try and stay afloat.

When is enough going to be enough?? When is Beacon Hill going to stop ignoring all of the warning signs? We're heading for a total collapse of a major piece of the infrastructure and it's not like the guy behind the wheel is doing anything intelligent to pull out of this nose dive either!

I'm not even sure what the next largest metropolitan area is that has a private entity at the helm of its public transportation. We charge the state and city with handling our roads, but not our subways? What kind of sense does that make?

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The private-sector solution would be to let it continue to rack up ridiculous, unsustainable debts and then let it go bankrupt and default on the pensions.

UA got away with it.

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The MBTA is a public agency. A body politic, according to state law with a board of directors appointed by the governor. It is not a private entity.

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People tend to think of it as a private entity because it's insulated enough from the people to be nearly completely unaccountable to those who actually pay for it.

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I'd reckon that "insulated" feeling also has a lot to do with the fact that the Federal Government pays for a big chunk of MBTA costs, so it doesn't seem like a "local" entity. Like over 40% according to this:

http://www.mbtaadvisoryboard.org/Reports/CIPdraft_...

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Capital Improvement isn't quite the same as Operating Income. The vast majority of the T's operating income comes from fare collection, local governments, and state sales tax. The Federal government gives the T $8 million annually towards it's operating budget.

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Yes I considered that but moved forward on my post anyway... so :

http://www.mbta.com/uploadedFiles/Documents/Financ...

Look at those Federal Gov't contribution amounts... and how they dwindle until 2005. But yeah, so, more like 1-10% rather than 40+

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And these days it's about as corporate as you can get without letting go of the last vestiges of politic that basically only exist to feed it the sales tax monies and ask for nothing in return.

When was the last time Dan reported to anyone what was going on except when he needed more money? When was the last time Beacon Hill had hearings on the MBTA since they foisted their financial responsibilities to the "budget forward" sales tax budget method instead of having to deal with the ugly realities of how the T was running when they would get it back to even every year?

The closest connection the governor or legislature have to the MBTA is that they give it part of the sales tax every year (automatic, no effort on their part at all) and the Transportation Secretary is the head of the MBTA board.

Grabauskas isn't even a political appointment. He is a contract worker. We can't even remove him without paying him out! The Transportation Secretary could be replaced tomorrow by Patrick if he chose...but I don't think it would have any effect at all on his MBTA board membership! The MBTA exists on its own, separate from Beacon Hill in so many ways...and yet still has to get partial funding from Beacon Hill because it's hardly a self-sufficient company. If it were, there'd have been a complete destruction of its management scheme. Since it's not, there wasn't...too many politics. If it were wholly political, there'd have been heads to roll for its mismanagement. Since it's not, there weren't, because as long as it's only taking 20% of the 5% sales tax revenue and Beacon Hill can work around that loss, then it's no further thought from their mind what goes on once the money is handed to them.

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...for pressing forward with this important transit investment for underserved corridors even given the MBTA's shaky financial situation...

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I hope your job as internet cheerleader is the first one cut by the MBTA when the reaping finally happens.

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...and I find it quite funny that I'm accused of being an MBTA 'mole' simply because I happen to like the Silver Line...

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I find it unbelieveable that anyone could like the silver line. What do you like about it? The "shelters" on the Dudley section? The "High Speed" service in the tunnel? Sitting and waiting for 5 minutes for the bus to change from gas to electric? The fact that when coming from Logan you drive past the outide of the world trade center station and it is 10 minutes before you pass through the inside?

It is a horribly executed line because they insisted on using buses because that is where the funding is at.

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...about the Silver Line. On the whole, I've found that it is on par with or superior to the B, C, and E branches of the Green Line as well as the entire central subway. I like the shelters and the real-time countdown systems present on much of the Washington Street portion of the Silver Line. I like the fact that the Waterfront portion of the Silver Line offers an easy, fast connection from the Red Line to Logan International Airport (without it, one would have to first switch to the Green or Orange Lines from the Red Line, then switch to the Blue Line, and then transfer to an airport shuttle for the last leg of the arduous journey...). I like the speed of the Silver Line. I like the frequency of service on the Silver Line. (Heck, at times around downtown I've preferred taking the Washington Street Silver Line to taking the Orange Line.) I appreciate the fact that the Washington Street portion of the Silver Line is part of the bus fare structure. I could go on...

...but I'm sure you get my point already. :)

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"... I like the speed of the Silver Line...."

You mean the teeth-chattering crawl through the tunnel?

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...it's comparable to speeds in the central subway, generally speaking. But I was referring more to the speed in the Ted Williams tunnel and the speed of the Washington Street portion between the Boylston/Chinatown and Herald Street stops.

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10 mph is "fine"? Yeah, it moves OK through the Ted, but there is a 5-10 minute delay getting from one tunnel to the other due to the power change, traffic signal and circuitous surface routing.

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...it's comparable to speeds in the central subway, generally speaking. The speed is far from great, but it's acceptable as far as I'm concerned.

The power interchange at Silver Line Way hasn't bothered me too much, it's generally been relatively speedy in my experience. The circuitous surface routing - meh, what can you do?

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...it's comparable to speeds in the central subway, generally speaking.

The central subway hits 25 MPH on a bad day. The Silver Line actually moves more slowly in the tunnel (which is ostensibly there to allow it to avoid traffic and travel faster) than it does on the surface. BRT indeed.

The circuitous surface routing - meh, what can you do?

Use the state-owned onramp.

It's directly across the turnpike from Silver Line Way. 2 right turns instead of I don't know.... 30 or whatever the SL takes these days.

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On the whole, I've found that it is on par with or superior to the B, C, and E branches of the Green Line as well as the entire central subway.

Way to set the bar extremely low! Congrats to the *brand new* Silver Line for matching the speed and efficiency of a 150-year old trolley system, just as Dan LOVES to hide behind remind us when the crap sucks out constantly. Nobody said the B, C, or E line are anywhere close to what any other branch of the T should be succeeding to.

Everything you've described that's "great" about the Silver Line is exactly what's wrong with it or compensation for the fact that it sucks (like keeping it bus fare for part of the line). But, hey, unlike the E line that gets a dedicated "lane" as part of being a street trolley, the Silver Line on Washington travels in a "reserved lane" that attracts tons of double-parkers...which gets patrolled nearly every 10 minutes during the day, generating revenue through tickets! Can't write too many tickets on the E Line, but that Silver Line can real rack them in...hmm, wonder why it's a bus in the right lane and not an actual street trolley in the left lane...

But hey, paid or unpaid, have fun shilling here for the craptastic MBTA and its dysfunction-is-the-norm attitude. It needs a ton of reform or we're all going to be driving or walking pretty soon.

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The Silver Line is far from perfect, I was just pointing out what I liked about it. Overall, I like the Silver Line. That's obviously my personal opinion, and your opinion is equally as valid as mine.

Is there any quantitative evidence that outdated technology is solely responsible for the performance of the B, C, and E branches of the Green Line? It seems to me that vehicular traffic and traffic signals have a lot to do with their performance...

Also, I was merely pointing out that the Silver Line is at least comparable in performance to much of the Green Line, which is a good comparison to make in my opinion. The Silver Line is clearly much more similar to a light rail/streetcar line than to a heavy rail line. I am not arguing that the Green Line has spectacular performance. In fact, the Green Line's performance is far from spectacular. I prefer to avoid taking the Green Line when possible.

I am merely expressing my opinions and viewpoints, I am not here to 'shill' for the MBTA. There is no need to attack me simply because I'm not joining in on bashing the MBTA or the Silver Line.

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For responding to the inquiries. I partake in my fair share of ranting, but your posts are always vaguely optimistic, and I appreciate the occasional foil.

I think both sides of this Silver Line discussion are valid. I appreciate the "easier" connection to the Airport for those rare times, and the "countdown" clocks are must-have for all subway stations, but obviously the Silver isn't perfect.

Cheers

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for your post. I for one appreciate it. :-)

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Also, I was merely pointing out that the Silver Line is at least comparable in performance to much of the Green Line...

...except for the reduced passenger capacity, the fact it travels at a fraction of the Green Line's speed, has abysmal ride quality, and very little interior space?*

* Which I fear the MBTA will "solve" with perimeter seating - which is just the worst possible thing to have on a jerky bus ride. It works on trains, but on buses - even BRT buses - you inevitably end up falling onto the people next to you, and then end up falling on you as well.

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Other light rail trains have support poles that simply go from ceiling to floor*. I wish the MBTA would use some more utilitarian common sense when accepting designs for their passenger areas.

(edit)
* in the middle of the car

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Well, obviously, the Silver Line is not the Green Line. But I think I've already addressed some of these issues you raise. "Fraction of the Green Line's speed?" Not really, from my experience with the central subway and the B, C, and E branches. "Abysmal ride quality?" Ride quality seems generally comparable to ride quality on the Green Line from firsthand experience.

And also, the Silver Line has generally been less uncomfortable to ride than the Green Line...

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I think that you are all missing the point that this tunnel may be the only way that we will someday be able to convert the silver line to rail and fully capitalize on the sunk costs that have already been spent.

And I don't care what you haters say, the silverline is an EXCELLENT way to get from the airport to the redline, or from south station to the fast-growing waterfront area. In a decade or two when that section of town has a chance to grow out, you will see ridership grow tremendously.

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...although I'm perfectly happy with the Silver Line BRT service as-is. The Silver Line is an excellent short-term (Washington Street) but especially long-term (Phase III and Waterfront) investment.

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It is a whole lot of money to spend putting a bus in a tunnel. It would be much better as light rail.

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