Alerts for when the T doesn't issue alerts
By adamg - 1/8/09 - 9:19 am
Don Martelli reports that when he got to Wellington this morning, he found "major delays" on the Orange Line, which he didn't expect since he didn't get any e-mail or text messages from the T before he left home:
Check my email. Check my blackberry. No messages.
Major FAIL MBTA. Major.
Ryan: Orange line is an absolute disaster this morning.
StevenMB is not much happier out in Brighton. He tweets:
Waited 45 min for MBTA 501 bus that runs every 7.
Comments
Heh. Green line inbound was
Heh. Green line inbound was also a disaster today (something about the loop at Kenmore). Reminded of a quote I think I saw here: Thank for riding the MBTA. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Twitter Hashtag...
Why don't we institute our own Twitter hashtag for crowd-sourced alerts about T delays?
I suggest #mbtdelay
Example:
"Green line screwed. Something about Kenmore. 57 yourself through Allston. #mbtdelay"
Good idea
Although there's already #mbtasux
Um, I got them
I got email alerts from the T starting at 6 (I think) this am. Took the 39 bus instead (although that's pretty pokey on its own).
Update from Don
He now reports he did get an alert - at 9:16 a.m.
Got the alerts, too
...at 6 am, and so substituted Green for Orange. Lucky I did.
But it would've been nice if I could've confirmed the alerts with the "customer service" agent at Davis, where I boarded. (After all, most of the alerts I get are worth ignoring.) But he knew nothing about any Orange Line problems when I asked him at 9 am.
Do T employees not have walkie-talkies? Or just no batteries? Or do they just not care a shred?
Jammed in at Green Street
Arborway reports from Green Street this morning, reports he didn't get an alert until 9:07 a.m.:
Green B Line today
I just scootered by Babcock St on my way to work at 9:30 today and they had an NStar truck on the tracks with a work crew fixing something on the power line above the trolley. Inbound service was held at Packard's Corner while they were doing the work. I don't know when it would have restarted yet. (This also may have been part of a problem that had the Packard's Corner traffic lights out...but no signs of any police to control traffic flow there)
So, it
was a wire problem as the T stated - but not with the T's wires.
Um
Wasn't paying too close attention, but I think it was the trolley's power wire that they were working on even though it was an NStar truck. I know there's some sort of coupler right there at the inbound Babcock that often sparks when the train passes by and it seemed to be what they were messing with...but like I said, I wasn't paying too close attention to be certain.
One Guess
Ice storms and icing on the wires and/or the overhead pantograph can cause arcing. This arcing, if severe, can melt completely through a wire! (just like a welding arc can melt metal)
Not their yob
Kaz, have you EVER seen BPD doing "traffic control"? Definitely not a job requirement, at least without extensive union negotiations and a base pay increase for the risk and inconvenience involved.
Perfect example some years ago when Boston Transportation Dept was about to implement a "Don't Block the Box" anti-gridlock campaign. BPD (or the patrolmen's union?) insisted that such a minor task was beneath them, not their responsibility. Then when BTD offered to do the enforcement themselves, BPD raised a jurisdictional stink and the whole project was dropped.
Gotta love this place sometimes...
Staties?
Packard's Corner/Comm Ave to Brighton Ave is part of State Hwy 20 and the Staties love to let you know it if you're ever speeding later at night through Brighton Ave near Allston St where they park in the poorly lit shopping lot pointed at the road as a speed trap.
And, yes, I'm all too aware that State Police often take up traffic details at malfunctioning traffic lights (n.b. - My court date is set for two weeks from now).
But if it's a state highway ...
why does it have parking? I thought parking was prohibited on state highways.
US 20
Technically, US 20. Not or not just MA 20, it starts in Newport, OR at US 101 and ends at Kenmore Square.
No parking on state highways? Nowhere? Not even Comm Ave through Chestnut Hill and Newton? (MA 30)? I can think of several state highways through cities in MA where doesn't seem to be the case, such as Northhampton and areas of Lowell.
Ignoring the US 20 issue....
Just thinking off the top of my head about parking on state highways, I'm guessing there's a difference between having a MA route number and being a "state highway." That's why there are signs that say "State Highway Begins/Ends."
What about Rt 9?
Plenty of parking all along that state highway.
Re: Staties?
No kidding, I never knew that -- somehow I figured their jurisdiction, highway-wise, was just DCR roads and the interstates, plus the occasional bridge and tunnel.
There's so much to learn about government agencies in Massachusetts...
Twitter and the T
I have a couple of accounts that I follow:
http://t-tweet.appspot.com/index.html
t_redline
t_greenline
t_orangeline
No blue line tweets yet available. I don't know who (cdanis) is updating them or from what source, so this may just be a redundancy from the MBTA alerts, except that the detail and frequency seems to be much higher than anything I ever got directly from the MBTA before. So, I don't know the source, but they will often have the latest delays and better reasons.
Just how bad it was on the Green Line this morning
The Outraged Liberal provides a blow by blow. Not pretty.
My hunch is
that all this may get worse before it even starts to get better, if the situation improves at all. Why has it been such a horrible time for the MBTA? It's the worst I've noticed so far.
Nice: Orange Line sucked in the evening rush, too
Steph Teebagy tweeted around 5:30 p.m.:
Also, no recap of the morning's Orange Line mishegas would be complete without Some Assembly Required's amazing Wellington saga.