The T loses a rider
By adamg - 3/29/09 - 9:02 am
The 78 bus stops right outside Rob Sama's home in Belmont. But starting Monday, he'll be driving into work every day, rather than rely on a bus line where buses don't show up to get him to a Red Line that keeps making him late:
... It's nuts to be living in Belmont, commuting to Boston and having it take over an hour to get into work. ...
Comments
The Joy Of Buses
The Red Line issues don't even come close to a typical day on the bus lines. The only one that runs anywhere near schedule that I know of is the 95. Others have entirely fictitious schedules that allow them to not run a bus or two because they think people can't count and won't notice as they wait for up to an hour in all weather.
My husband tried taking a bus to a bus to get to Kendall Square, and that lasted about a month. On paper, the ride should have been 30 to 40 minutes, tops. In reality, it ranged from an hour to an hour and a half because of the fictitious schedules and no-show buses. This was true even when he took the nominally reliable 95 (which also suffers from mystery deletions and paper buses, even if it typically can keep to schedule).
Note that his office is a 30 minute bike ride on a bad day - I pass it on my way home from a 45 minute ride north from downtown. An hour and fifteen minutes on average to get 5 miles.
I agreed that he should get a motorcycle to switch off with the bike. I used to be at the mercy of the 93 bus in the winter and it's joke of a schedule (every 10 minutes another scheduled bus would fail to show up ... 10F with wind in the face for 40 minutes waiting at Sullivan Sq.). When the ice and snow months hit, we coughed up for a parking space and carpool - somehow, it takes the same amount of time to drive from Medford to downtown and back to Kendall Sq. as it does to go straight to Kendall - if you have two people in the car.
When I was in high school, Portland, OR had serious issues with buses not keeping to schedules. Somehow, they managed to fix these problems while undergoing a massive expansion of the entire transit system during a time when the population in the service area has more than doubled. Perhaps Boston should find out how they did that?
I've lived near a bus stop
I've lived near a bus stop for both the 88 and the 90 bus in Somerville for about three months. Despite taking the bus a few times a week, I have only seen the 90 bus in action once. That's either awful scheduling or awful service.
Oh, but it's both!
The 90 is plagued with awful scheduling and awful service! It's the winningest line in Somerville!
I used to commute from Highland Ave to Wellington and most days I would stick with taking the Red Line all the way in to Downtown Crossing and taking the Orange Line all the way out, because it was better than waiting for a scheduled bus that, for all I knew, would mysteriously disappear en route to Highland & Lowell.
When you do luck out and catch a 90 bus, you are assured of hilarity every time you make it to Sullivan, because no matter how loudly the driver says "THIS BUS IS GOING TO WELLINGTON, IT IS NOT GOING TO DAVIS" to one passenger, the next passenger in line will ask if the bus is going to Davis. And the one after that will ask, too. Things might have been made easier if the LED signs worked, but more often than not you'd get the bus with the hand-written "90" note taped to the windshield.
And when the bus pulls out of Sullivan and takes the right to Assy Square instead of left, there'll be one person who'll holler "WAIT I WANT TO GO TO DAVIS, STOP THE BUS, STOP THE BUS!"
I don't think I've had cause to use the bus route ignominiously dubbed The Useless 90 since that job.
Boston and Portland
What's even more upsetting on those occasions that a 15 minute drive takes 2 hours by MBTA buses, is the thought that the only people who would take these buses regularly must have no other options.
I do remember Portland public transit from the mid-to-late 1980s, which contributes to my empathy for those who are at the mercy of public transit. For my trip from home to a community college in a BFE section of the Portland metro area, I think I had to allow 2 hours, in case one of the three buses was not on schedule. But those buses were generally not too bad. I understand that trip is much easier now.
I don't fully know why the MBTA buses seem so unreliable, nor why there is not better connectivity between some parts of the metro area. Portland does have the advantage of having benefited from modern urban planning relatively early in its growth. Portland is also more progressive, which is not just about warm-fuzzy feelings, but also about foresight and change. Boston, while in some ways admirably progressive itself, simultaneously resents much of the change that has already happened, and longs to return to some of its images of years past.
Oakleaf Bus #33
I used to pick up the bus to Estacada via Milwaukie Transit Center at the Oak Leaf shelters in downtown Portland in the early 80s.
The performance was horrible, but I'm not sure it was for the same reasons as it is for the T. The #33 might turn up downtown on time, but the driver sometimes went AWOL for ten minutes in Milwaukie and then we would be lagging the schedule by 10 to 15 minutes at Clackamas as a result. It would usually idle in Carver for another 5 minutes for no apparent reason, according to my usual clubbing buddy. Heaven knows when it got to the end of its route!
With the T, it isn't the drivers taking long breaks on long routes - it is the fictional schedules that screw things up so badly. They only allot an extra two or three or maybe five minutes on most lines for rush hour traffic, instead of actually timing the route at a bad time and going with that. That, and paper buses.
My dad lives in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Portland now, just up the hill from the Aladdin Theater. Bus service is great there and is nearly always on time. I hear they have fixed most if not all of the system and put measures in place to keep the buses on schedule - like giving them the right of way when pulling out of stops. I think they also cracked down on drivers taking excessively long breaks at random intervals. My organization is having a conference in Portland, and transit improvements and performance was a big part of the selection of that venue.
Phew!
When I read that headline, I thought maybe a train was searching frantically for one of its passengers.
More views on this from today's Globe
I was thinking about the value of tracking bus service when I read this article in today's globe.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/03/29/tech_savvy_teenager_takes_lexington_transit_in_new_directions/
If a teen can do it, the MBTA can do it but will it show up the gaps in service and highlight the realities of trip time on the MBTA.
Perhaps these facebook groups can make a difference.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2009/03/29/t_riders_taking_the_facebook_route/
Ah, but did you read the comment from Joe Pesaturo?
He once again maintains the T's stance that it never, never, never listens to anything those whiny bloggers and Facebook people say.
Who needs Google Transit?
Who needs Google Transit? Just use Hostop. I have used both in NYC and Hopstop proved to be a much better service. Plus you can text yourself the directions.
I tried just now
Google Transit seemed to work better than Hopstop for the queries I just tried.
I did notice one glaring usability problem that Google could probably fix in a few lines of code.
I didn't see a way to SMS/MMS (text) the directions to me from Google Transit without using gateway tricks. But considering that AT&T Wireless has upped my cost for each sent or received SMS to 20 cents, I avoid texting anyway.
What this goes to show is
that, when one lives out in those 'burbs, they're better off with a car, unless they live right near the train station or the bus depot. Commuting to and from the city from out in those 'burbs is much more difficult to begin with, however.
Thanksmiki?
Wait, so are you telling us that commuting to downtown Boston from, say, Dover, takes longer than commuting to downtown Boston from, say, downtown Boston?
http://1smootshort.blogspot.com
Ha ha ha!
n/t
I recommend bicycle commuting
I had the same problem for years with the green line. If it showed up at all it would be packed with people and if I managed to get on, it would usually break down.
I just ride my bike now. Even though service has improved, Its just more reliable to bike and the distances involved are really not that great. Biking comes with its own set of hazards but its worth it for punctuality.
This:
plus health benefits.
How is stinking up the
How is stinking up the office a health benefit?
When I rode my bike to trade school every day from home
When I rode my bike to trade school every day from home in good weather, I never, ever got any complaints from any of my classmates about stinking up the classroom. Plus, I shower every day, and make sure to wear a deodorant.
Stinking up the office?
There are some pretty amazing inventions to prevent that ... like soap, water, washcloth, deodorant ... nothing too high tech.
My office has a shower, which is used by lunchtime exercisers, bike commuters, and people returning from Europe or Asia on the red eye. It also comes in handy if one of our execs has a "suit emergency" - has to quickly put on a suit and look nice because we have company coming.
While we're weighing in on the topic
I live on the route for the 87, 88 and 89, and have been using the 87 a lot, both peak and off-peak, lately.
So far? Right on time, every time.
The worst part of this
Try mbta.com. There are some point-A-to-point-B optimal routes that are less than 5 miles long and yet take 45-60 minutes due to how schedules work out with the buses. You don't even need late buses to take forever getting around the city.
Yes, the bus system sucks.
I'm in Arlington off Mass Ave and just need some way to get to the red line in the morning. The 67 bus that goes to Alewife doesn't run often and is easy to miss. The 79 bus doesn't run often but if you catch it will take a person to Alewife fairly quickly. The 77 bus runs the most often but doesn't go to Alewife. It goes to Harvard, which almost no one on the bus goes to. It's mostly full before it leaves Arlington and everyone usually gets off at Porter. I've given up on buses and just walk a mile down the bike path to Alewife. Only about 20 minutes and way quicker than the buses. But if it's raining that's a no go.
If the world made sense the 79 bus would run more often, shuttling everyone that needs the red line to Alewife. It would also help to ease congestion at the Porter red line platform.
Another problem with buses:
The bus system, especially here in Boston, isn't any more efficient for getting around, because they, too sit in traffic and produce noxious fumes. I also might add that having so many poorly-designed intersections doesn't help the situation, either.
I don't know about where you live
But in the southern part of Boston, the T has replaced all the diesel buses with CNG buses, which are far less polluting.
I stand corrected about the diesel buses.
However, I stand by what I said about the buses also having to sit in traffic and therefore being no more efficient in getting around this city than it is getting around the city in a car, especially during rush-hour. Moreover, the fact that there are so many poorly-designed intersections, etc., in this area compounds the problem...by a lot, imho.
No, a bus is still more efficient than a car
Because at the end of your trip, you don't have to worry about finding a parking space.
But,
there's no disputing the fact that, since the buses also have to sit in traffic, that if one has to be somewhere at a certain time and the traffic is back up for at least a mile, slowing everything to a snail's pace, particularly at rush-hour, then the bus-taking person stands a good chance of being late to where s/he is going.
And
So does the person in the car next to the bus, which is also stuck in that traffic backup.
What I'm saying here, adam,
is that there's no getting away from the fact that buses get stuck in rush-hour traffic jams just as much as cars do.
I wonder whether we'd have
I wonder whether we'd have traffic jams, if everyone rode public transit and/or walked.
Nonsense
A car isn't burdened by being forced into a single, sometimes circuitous route, has no reason to curb every 2 blocks to exchange passengers (and miss the green light because the stop was before the light), and when running late isn't further delayed by excessive passenger build-up at all of the stops causing even further delay.
Destination-dependence
I hear what Adam's saying: if you consider the parking part of the driving, sometimes that's enough to tip over convenience in favor of the bus. It depends on your destination. Some places the parking will take as long as the driving.
So in theory, this makes sense. I practice, I hate the goddamn bus as much as everybody else. For me, it'd have to be pretty damn convenient to overcome the negatives.
Regarding parking vs. having to stop at every stop for passengrs
Regarding parking after driving vs. buses having to stop at every stop to pick up and/or disgorge passengers:
Both arguments have a strong element of truth to them.
I've been taking the 67 bus
I've been taking the 67 bus to/from Alewife for about three years and have very few complaints. Yes, it doesn't run that often but I find it is reliable and runs very close to its posted schedule.
I used to take the 77 (from Arlington to Harvard) and it was unreliable and it took forever. It was taking me an hour to go door-to-door from Arlington to Harvard Square during rush hour.
The OP quotes Rob Sama as
The OP quotes Rob Sama as saying: ... It's nuts to be living in Belmont, commuting to Boston and having it take over an hour to get into work. ...
Rob, try living in Boston, commuting to downtown Boston, and it takes over an hour. Under 3 miles on the B line.
Of course part of the fault also lies with BU students.
The fault, dear BlackKat, lies not in our stars
If you're only going three miles and the trolley takes an hour, then why don't you walk? You'd get there the same time and be healthier.
I wish my commute to work were a three-mile walk in the city.
Split the Difference
Six miles round trip each day is a bit far to walk - although it takes less than an hour each way. For that distance, a bike is a great option for much of the year. You don't need to get fancy with six miles a day - schwinn and huffy from Target will do you well and be relatively theft averse, and Bikes Not Bombs has refurbished bikes that are set up for city riding. Even if you are timid and ride slowly on the sidewalk and don't break a sweat, that distance will take less than a half hour.
Then there is the multimodal option: I bike to train stations all the time. If I take the commuter rail, I take my folding bike to manage the mile at either end.
A major reason for buses not
A major reason for buses not running on time is traffic. So adding to it will make it even worse for the remaining T riders! Thanks, guy!
Fixed that for you
Look at a bus schedule, and compare the time alloted to make the route at 5am and at 8am. See any problem?
Then again, the buses could run on schedule if they didn't stop for passengers, too.
the t should hire some mathematicians for that
Bus math: it's all the rage. See here. Also, here. (Own horn: tooted.)
This is what the MBTA uses
This is what the MBTA uses for scheduling:
http://www.giro.ca/en/products/hastus/index.htm
Route 78 on Sunday morning
Route 78 on Sunday morning at 6:49 AM has 13 minutes to get from Pleasant St. to Harvard Station
At 8:02 AM weekdays, it is given 22 minutes to make the same trip.
http://www.mbta.com/uploadedFiles/Documents/Schedules_and_Maps/Bus/route07884(1).pdf