The Globe has a fun piece detailing the relationship between the MBTA and MBCR:
Then, in 2007, the MBTA added contract language that effectively offset the penalties and the T began paying Mass Bay about $2 million a year in bonuses for trains that did arrive on time, even as customers were complaining that an increasing number of trains were arriving late or not at all.
Boston Police report arresting a Dorchester teen on charges he shot another teen to death on the platform of the Savin Hill Red Line station.
Police say Nhu Nguyen, 19, fled to Portland, Maine, where he was arrested last night.
Nguyen is charged with firing a single fatal shot into Derek Matulina during a brawl in which Matulina was attacked by several other teens around 2 p.m. on Saturday.
WHOMP! Inspector tackles suspect, around 1:02 on this MBTA surveillance video.
Snellman and GrisoliaAn MBTA inspector who saw a Watertown man mug a woman about to get on the train at Maverick last night didn't let the guy leave the station, MBTA Transit Police say.
According to a police report, Inspector Ira Lawrence was in the customer-service booth at the Blue Line station around 11:20 p.m. when he noticed Sean Snellman hand a guitar and bag to Brittney Grisolia, then run toward a woman and grab one of the two purses she was carrying:
A 14-year-old student who was punched, robbed and warned not to snitch by two classmates at the Ruggles stop on the Orange Line around 2 p.m. yesterday thought he'd managed to escape them by making his way to the Cambridgeside Galleria.
But, he told police, the two - and an older guy - were waiting for him when he left the mall around 5:40 p.m. and they jumped him again, stole his cell phone and threatened to "drop him" in class if he told anyone what had happened.
MBTA Transit Police report arresting one of the classmates and the older teen on a Green Line shuttle bus at North Station.
Yes, that pretty much sums up what happened on commuter rail out of South Station last night: a train died at a critical track junction. But it's also a phrase from a report written in 1999 about capacity problems at South Station.
9:26 update: Geoffrey Brownell reports operator on his Alewife-bound train just announced: "Worst delays I've ever seen."
Some Red Line riders spent close to two hours on a dead train between Porter and Davis while many more found themselves stewing in other trains or on platforms - or just giving up and walking.
Take a look at Chris Spanring's photo from the Red Line near Porter tonight. Now read Spanring's evacuation tweets:
We could find out tonight thanks to rush-hour delays and a cancellation on commuter rail. Steve Poftak tweets:
S. Station concourse impassable. Mult. Delays. DefCon 5 meltdown.
Down the line, John Valerio reports from Back Bay:
Broken down train causing delays at Back Bay. Nothing on T site; short-tempered station announcer yelling updates.
MBTA Transit Police report arresting one of three men who allegedly held a woman up at knifepoint just past midnight Sunday at the Sullivan Square T stop - after a police dog bit him in the ass.
According to a police report, a woman was standing by the upper busway when three Hispanic men approached her, pulled out knives and demanded her money. For good measure, they called her a "nigger." She told them, in Spanish, that she was Hispanic herself, but that didn't work. After they fled, and police arrived, she got in an cruiser with an officer - and Marco, the police dog.
MBTA Transit Police report they are looking for a guy who responded to a woman's request to put out his cigar at the State Street Orange Line stop by blow
N. forwards this photo, which he took around 5:20 p.m. on Tuesday on the Red Line. "Good time and place for a dog walk," he writes.
The Globe reports the MBTA board decided today not to change its policy and ask parents to fold up strollers on T trains and buses.
The vote came after mothers showed up at a board meeting today to express their displeasure at the idea.
Dan Lord reports the Best Buy vending machine at Downtown Crossing was smashed. MBTA Transit Police say the machine was broken into last night, but that nothing was taken.
The Best Buy machine at Forest Hills was broken into in March; policy say they were able to grab the alleged perp when he returned for more goodies.
Average weekday ridership on the T went up 5% in March compared to last year, the state reports.
The Green and Mattapan lines saw the biggest jump in ridership; buses the smallest.
From MBTA Alerts. Note the time.
Green Line B experiencing 10-15 min delays due to intoxicated male on train. 5/3/2011 6:26 AM
The Herald reports the T is readying a policy that would require parents to fold their strollers while on trains.
MBTA GM Richard Davey: "There are some that are like SUVs."
Carla, mother of two, however, is aghast:
On busy train, parent should stand holding baby in 1 hand, stoller in other, & not be able to hang on to anything? Unsafe.
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