Government Center: The Roach Motel of Green Line stops
By adamg - 10/7/09 - 8:44 am
Because trolleys check in, but they don't check out. Yes, another day, another disabled trolley at Government Center.
Timothy Parcell tweets:
Sitting in this tunnel for 30 minutes is awesome. Thank you mbta this just how I wanted to start day.
Carissa DiCenzo adds:
Stuck on a train at Government Center. I love you MBTA.
Comments
Rate or reporting?
It seems like every day there is a report of a dead train somewhere on the Green and Red lines. Does this reflect an actual increase in the rate of broken trains, or, thanks to Twitter, etc., are they just being reported more often?
Half an answer
I'm definitely reporting stuff more because of Twitter: I see a tweet from somebody stuck on a train and I'll go to mbta.com to see if there's a problem on their line (that's how I was the first to report on that systemwide power outage - I noticed all these tweets from people on all four lines complaining about being stuck). It's just not something I did last year.
Having said that, doesn't mean there isn't a growing problem - that would take looking at actual stats. It is interesting, though, how many of the Green Line's problems seem to happen at Government Center, from broken trolleys to texting drivers.
Dead trolleys are Universal Hub's shark attacks
There's definitely a shark attack syndrome at work here: The stories of dead Green Line trolleys are prevalent in our consciousness so when we see another story, we think there must be an epidemic.
But yeah, Twitter contributes to the shark attack factor. Again, without seeing the full stats (something that a transparent company like the MBTA would happily give out to anyone who asks) it might be that the trains are breaking down just as they always have been.
When a Green Line train broke down in a tunnel last year or even two years ago, there was a much smaller chance that someone with the right technology would broadcast the news to the world. Trains break down all the time but we didn't hear about all of them. Out of sight, out of mind, etc. Am losing ability to write full sentences. Drink coffee now.
The MBTA now has
The MBTA now has stats:
per page 25, the Green Line faiure rate looks to be getting worse in recent months, but still not as bad as it has been at other times in the last five years.
Make that page 21
Make that page 21
Reported Stats
But that's also "reported" stats, or incidents that actually receive an official delay. What's the reporting threshold? 15 minutes +? What about the other instances that aren't posted for whatever reason?
An incredible benefit of Twitter is the ability to see, real-time, lags in the system. Especially ones that haven't yet been or will not be acknowledged by the MBTA. Adam pointed this out in his post above.
Thats a very interesting
Thats a very interesting report. It appears that every single aspect of the MBTA system improved while Dan was in charge (excluding ridership which he cant control). The subway speed restriction impact is very interesting, as is the dropped trips report.
You might be right about the
You might be right about the shark attack syndrome...BUT, why is it always government center? Is something wrong with the electricity there?
And why is it always red and green? Sure, part of it is that they have more service = more chance that any given train will break down, but I cant remember the last time there was a problem on the blue line.
A little of both. #FAIL rate
A little of both. #FAIL rate has been particularly high lately (based on my travel habits and monitoring of the MBTA status line), but Twitter certainly pushes it out there to greater awareness.