Why Does Public Transport Not Arrive on Time? The Pervasiveness of Equal Headway Instability.

Although the paper attempts a generalized discussion of the issue, it specifically mentions the MBTA's attempt to deal with the problem by periodically running express Red Line trains.

Via Mike the Mad Biologist.

The MBTA reports a plainclothes transit cop arrested two teenagers on charges they etched something on the window of a 32 bus in Hyde Park this afternoon.

A brawl that erupted around 2:45 p.m. yesterday at Forest Hills disrupted bus service through the station as MBTA and Boston police tried to clear both combatants and groups of teens who gathered to watch, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.

Finn posts a photo of the rear window of a 9 bus, which, he reports, somebody shot out with an air rifle at Dorchester Street and Broadway around 7:15 p.m. Nobody hurt, he adds.

Well, maybe not fun, exactly, but still a fact, at least when it comes to MBTA buses vs. bicycles.

Just before 8 this morning, I passed MBTA bus 0435 on southbound Main Street in Wakefield. The bus was sitting on the side of the road with the engine compartment open. There were two T mechanics and a supervisor on scene.

Assuming the bus had been in service when it broke down, it was apparent that whatever riders were on it had already been transferred to another bus, as there were no other people milling around.

UPDATE - Bus was in service when it broke down. From the T Web page:

Route 137 experiencing 15-20 min delays due to disabled bus 10/2/2009 7:31 AM

Kalunlee posts a photo of three Silver Line buses in the wild, all bunched together in a convoy; adds:

This is a typical occurrence-30+ min waiting & then 3 buses blow by.

Ed. note: It's hard to break them of this natural habit, which protects them in the wild from roaming packs of busiraptors.

Eric Kilby reports:

I was given a hard time last night by an inspector at the Haymarket bus platform, as I was trying to get a shot of the Government Center garage. The light was interesting. He said that he was instructed to tell people to get a permit or go away. I told him that there was a memo, but I didn't have a copy, and he said he hadn't heard of it. I thanked him for looking out for our safety and left, because it really wasn't worth the trouble to argue. He said it would be ok if I took like 5 steps back so I was on the public sidewalk and not the MBTA sidewalk (the texture was different), which seems kind of odd.

This comes a couple days after another T worker harassed some poor tourist for daring to take a photo inside Back Bay station.

If the T has suddenly changed its photo policy, you'd think they'd update the online version, no? Oh, wait, this is an agency that's only now updating 40-year-old maps ...

Sheesh, some people are just so picky. It's not like there's ever anything that could go wrong that would require human intervention.

Location

It's a faceoff! CT3 bus driver vs. SUV driver at W. Concord Street and Harrison Avenue in the South End.

Jason Laramie, who took the photo around 9:47 this morning, reports the two have been facing off like that for 10 minutes, blocking traffic (including him) all the way back to Mass. Ave.