More WiFi on the Commuter Rail
By DarkSun - Sat, 10/11/2008 - 10:45am.
It seems that Commuter Rail riders will soon have reason to rejoice and be merry: the MBTA is planning a broad expansion of free WiFi access throughout its Commuter Rail system, building on the successful Worcester line pilot program launched at the beginning of this year.
The T's Board of Directors unanimously voted to approve the $1.39 million contract to equip 258 coaches with free wireless Internet, a contract that includes upgrading WiFi equipment on ~50 Worcester line coaches. Installation will begin in December at a rate of approximately one coach per day. When the contract is complete, every trip on every Commuter Rail line will have at least one WiFi-ready coach, and many will have more.
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"expansion"?
why is this news? WiFi on commuter rail has been available on many lines since before the official announcement of the pilot program on the Framingham/Worcester line. The availability isn't 100% on other lines, but I'd hazard a guess that at least 50% of the coaches have already been outfitted with WiFi.
I still have to wonder if this has anything to do with Charlie Card rollout for commuter rail.
It's news for two reasons...
...first, the original Framingham/Worcester Commuter Rail Connect Pilot Project Test Program was just that, a pilot test program that was liable to be scrapped at any point. This decision by the MBTA Board of Directors moves Commuter Rail Connect out of the "test program" phase and will make it a standard feature of Commuter Rail.
Second, in the test program, there was only one Commuter Rail line that was the primary test pilot: the Framingham/Worcester line. However:
This decision by the MBTA Board of Directors will make Commuter Rail Connect a standard feature of all Commuter Rail lines.
Torn
I'm torn on this. As much as I like to see technology steps in the right direction from the MBTA, I can't help but wonder if there aren't better places they can spend $1.4 million right now given their current budget situation than to wifi-enable train cars.
Well...
You're right, at a time when the MBTA is preparing to drain its rainy day and equipment maintenance funds to help pay for its obligations, it is perhaps somewhat foolish from a financial perspective to sink ~$1.4 million into the WiFi project.
At the same time, though, especially with the issues with Commuter Rail service, this may be one of the best things the MBTA could do to boost ridership and improve commuter satisfaction and loyalty. After all, the higher the ridership and the higher the satisfaction and loyalty of commuters to the MBTA, the more likely it is that the state will step in and bail the MBTA out if that becomes necessary for the MBTA's continued operation.
As far as why the MBTA actually committed itself to this project, I think the answer might simply be because WiFi on Commuter Rail trains helps fulfill the MBTA's strong desire to serve customers by being at the technological cutting edge of public mass transit.
Kinda pointless
... if they don't bother to collect fares on the commuter rail though.
Pointless?
If you're referring to this:
The goal would be to improve the MBTA's chances of being bailed out by the state and/or feds. Not to use Commuter Rail fares to pay off the T's debt.
I admit
I didn't read the entire comment.
Though, does the state really have much of a choice with respect to bailing out the MBTA/MBCR? If it did fail, the metro Boston economy would suffer pretty intensely (a whole lot of people would have a hell of a hard time getting to work). And all the people who would start driving in would pretty much render the Big Dig moot because we'd be back to the sixteen hours of traffic a day that the big dig was supposed to stave off.
The preceding is my own amateurish speculation.
True
Public transit is pretty much an indispensable part of metro Boston. However, the scope of a bailout (if a bailout became necessary) is not guaranteed. While it is pretty much certain (at least from my POV) that the rapid transit network and key city bus lines will continue to run no matter what, (relatively) lesser-used but costly services to and in outlying communities, such as Commuter Rail, might well be significantly reduced or cut altogether to help drive down the costs of a bailout. The more commuters that use these services, though, the more likely it is that these services will continue to run. Just my personal speculation...