Mats Tolander doesn't mind the MBTA's army of surveillance cameras, but says that while they may help catch criminals after the fact, they won't stop crime:

... I say: Put more cops on the T and more criminals in our prisons. ...

These are, of course, the new trains that were promised for 2004 delivery. Charlie on the MBTA reports that the first of the cars are now in a T service center in Wellington to begin testing.

Apparently, many had to wait 25 minutes in the cold this morning because the trains were delayed. The author compiles all the other problems with commuter rail - which include delays when it rains and when the leaves fall.

Fitchburg Line regular Gary McGath reports his train was 15 minutes late and that:

... Two of the cars were unheated, so passengers packed into the remaining cars. ...

Hey, we're not the only cold-weather place where some people report problems with their computerized transit passes - Chicago's equivalent of the CharlieCard doesn't always work in the cold, either.

Is the silicon chip inside Charlie's head set to overload unable to withstand the cold? Any CharlieCard problems to report today?

Dave Copeland runs into her at the Copley T stop.

Charlie on the MBTA marvels at the courteous, professional driver on the 65 bus out of Kenmore Square who helped a passenger get through what seemed to be his first experience with a CharlieCard reader. All the more pity that at the end, the fare box ate the guy's $5 bill without recording it onto his card.

They might sound like this:

... Please wait until the passengers exiting the car have all exited. They all have places to be too, so settle the fuck down. You are absolutely not anymore important than anyone else on this train, and pushing and shoving only makes everyone hate you more. ...

Oh, don't like the T? You'll love these T shirts.

BadTransit posts another cheery tale, this time involving a Green Line driver who thinks everybody's out to cheat the T, when he's just being an idiot.

Adaptive Micro Systems makes those displays at MBTA commuter-rail stops, the ones that get their messages from some happy place where the trains are always on time. Go to their success gallery and click on the middle photo for a souvenir photo showing commuters waiting for the next Needham Line train direct to Watertown.