The T Riders Union set up a few polls over on our site on how riders feel about the fare hikes.
We're going to collect the results of how riders feel and present them to the MBTA, so head on over and feel free to leave comments as well: http://www.ace-ej.org
Charlie on the MBTA gets e-mail from somebody who praises a driver on the 7 bus in South Boston and decides February should be T Employee Appreciation Month because the majority of T workers are decent, hard-working folks trying to do the best they can in often bad conditions.
So huzzah, T employees. Except maybe for this person.
Above: Erinob sums it up.
Ooh, look, you can already buy I Survived the Mooninite Attack t-shirts!
Todd Vanderlin posted about the gizmos two weeks ago.
Michael on ChaosFactor: It's equal parts amazing, damning, and jaw-droppingly stupid that the city of Boston could be brought to a stand-still by 5 modified Lite-Brites.
Mass. Marrier: It kind of makes you wonder how they'll react if there is a real threat.
TC sums up:
Deval Patrick: "There is not a reason for anyone to panic, but there are reasons for us to be vigilant."
But Patrick, Menino and Police Superintendent Ed Davis aren't saying what the things they recovered are. Davis referred to "an individual" as being to blame; said there might be more news later this evening.
Davis said police are still being vigilant around state and city buildings, hospitals and bridges.
Menino called the things "bombs" several times before correcting himself; said whoever's to blame is not going to like what's going to happen when they're caught.
Long, long lines waiting for customer service. Wasn't fixing that at the Registry one of Dan Grabauskas's crowning achievements? Any chance he'll ever get around to replicating that on the T?
Also, Mr. G., as long as we have your attention, Lewis Forman has some issues, both in general and with the Blue Line in particular.
Regular bus riders put up with a lot - but having a large man fall on you because the driver is getting ready for a bus rodeo is a bit out of the ordinary. Alison Stevens reports on a ride from hell on the 57 bus from Kenmore to Watertown around 6 p.m. on Monday:
Moxilicious posts today's Can You Frickin' Believe It? CharlieCard horror story, this time involving the cold, a WageWorks faux-credit card and recalcitrant CharlieCard machines at Lechmere and Back Bay that kept her from getting a February Linkpass.
The Outraged Liberal thinks it'd be a sure thing: Transit Terror:
... Join Mary and Donna and Bill and Robert as they ride the mean streets and underground of Boston, forced to make split-second decisions on how and when to pay, where to get off (and avoid being told where to get off).
T general manager Dan Grabauskas and the Globe's Mac Daniel join Simon Cowell and the gang in judging a rider's agility and savvy negotiating the obstacles and the people who make up the nation's oldest transit system. ...
Mats Tolander doesn't mind the MBTA's army of surveillance cameras, but says that while they may help catch criminals after the fact, they won't stop crime:
... I say: Put more cops on the T and more criminals in our prisons. ...
Charlie on the MBTA offers yet more proof the the T selects only the choicest, most arrogant drivers for the Green Line.
These are, of course, the new trains that were promised for 2004 delivery. Charlie on the MBTA reports that the first of the cars are now in a T service center in Wellington to begin testing.
Jason Muth doesn't have an ounce of sympathy for BU students who now face the agonizing question of whether to fork over $2 to take the Green Line outbound or walk for five minutes:
Which explains why Refaris was almost arrested for this photo of a train entering the Aquarium stop.
Apparently, many had to wait 25 minutes in the cold this morning because the trains were delayed. The author compiles all the other problems with commuter rail - which include delays when it rains and when the leaves fall.
Fitchburg Line regular Gary McGath reports his train was 15 minutes late and that:
... Two of the cars were unheated, so passengers packed into the remaining cars. ...
Jennifer Stewart sat next to him this morning, unable to escape:
... Holy cow patties...the SMELL. It was like a six-week old garlic and egg salad sandwich that had been left out in the sun for several hours in a dog poo infested park in the middle of an August heatwave. *gag* I'm not entirely convinced that I won't have to spritz my winter coat with Febreze when I return home tonight, it was that powerful. ...
Hey, we're not the only cold-weather place where some people report problems with their computerized transit passes - Chicago's equivalent of the CharlieCard doesn't always work in the cold, either.
Is the silicon chip inside Charlie's head set to overload unable to withstand the cold? Any CharlieCard problems to report today?
Should there be an IQ test for parents who bring their kids on public transit?
Charlie on the MBTA gets some e-mail from one of the T's "ambassadors" about problems with both the machines and the suits at T headquarters who bought them.
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