follow up to "thank you stranger"

This morning I woke a gentleman in a similar fashion in a similar situation...asleep at Government Center, 9am...

Thank you stranger

For waking me up at Park Street.

9 am at Park Street station; The first work morning of daylight savings; and I actually got a seat...it was bound to happen.

In my slumber I heard the announcement "This is the last stop" but it didn't connect.

So thank you to the nice blond girl that nudged my arm and woke me up.

Science has figured it out...

The cause of Traffic

I know traffic heading out of Boston can be bad but to be #2 on the most congested is real bad. Also, how is LA not on that list?

This is one of the few situations that makes me happy to be a T rider. At least I can zone-out and listen to music or read a book on the train and not be stuck on the highway annoyed at everyone in front of me.

Maybe that should be the T's new slogan: "At Least You aren't In a Traffic Jam on the Pike"

The Little Things

It is really annoying when you walk up to the T station and see your train arriving only to have the doors close before you can cross the tracks and get on board.

I used to run and try and beat the driver at his little game of who can I annoy today, but with the recent slippery weather events I decided to relax and just wait it out for the next train. It worked out though because I got a seat on that next train, which also arrived relatively quickly. I was a few minutes late for work but I am dry and got to do a little reading this morning so I will count it as a positive start to the day.

Thanks for not really ruining the start of my day today MBTA.

Hey Drivers, Surprise....the Sun Rises in the East!

There are many steps that have to happen each morning in order for me to get to work on time and be fully prepared for the day. I will be the first to admit I am in no way a morning person, which makes this process considerably more difficult. Unlike the gentleman from the preceding posts, I drive my commute each day, as my work and my home are separated by about 1.5 hours of public transportation commute, and yet only 15 miles.

On the stretch of highway I see each morning, there are two things that repeatedly drive me crazy:

1.) The sun rises in the east. This should not be a shocking fact for anyone who has passed primary grade science. Yet, day after day, I head east and then south, and multiple times on the drive the solar glare on the highway causes people to slam on their brakes in alarm, often creating accidents and at least creating traffic to back-up. Either stick to the right lane and go slow expecting the sun or get some sunglasses and maybe slow slightly if your vision is still impaired.

2.) Every weekday morning (and I mean every weekday morning), on the I-93S stretch, the far left lane is closed. The vast majority of the people on 93S on a weekday morning at 7:00 are commuters like me, who do this every day. However, that doesn’t stop a handful of people from riding all the way down the left lane to bypass the traffic and then to cut someone off and cause accidents and further backups for another couple of miles. People please have some patience and get in line. you may feel like you are moving faster and pulling one over on everyone waiting patiently in line but really you are just a douche and causing more of an issue.

Needless to say, if I make it to work on time, accident-free, and without too much traffic, I am slightly more willing to be awake and face the day. Then, there are days like this where I am running behind even though I should have had plenty of time, I get to work, and realize I have left my USB key (which I need today in particular) sitting on my desk at home….Happy Hump Day.

MBTA trying to make money selling merch.

This is great. Is there any service business that can be terrible at their main service and yet attempt to sell representative goods in hopes of making a profit?

Only the MBTA

My personal favorite is "Punctuality is Overrated"

The MBCR Company Reacts to some of the Negative Press as of Late

In the Boston Globe today the Mass Bay Commuter Rail Company spoke with reports to assure riders that they are aware of their short-comings.

Its a kind gesture, but it means a whole lot of nothings if no changes are made. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Also, this article only speaks to the issues on the commuter rail. How about the MBTA take a look at ways they can improve...it would be nice to hear finite ways the management intends to improve the system across the board.

The Boston Globe's take on the Commuter situation in Boston

Boston Globe Commuter Story

2/4/2011 D Train Green line AM inbound

Thought I would try to get back to my normal routine today. I left my house on time. Got to the station on time. Got my monthly pass and began to wait for the train which I expected in the next couple of minutes. A nice gentleman offered me a copy of The Globe that he had finished reading. I gladly took the paper as it would give me something to keep me occupied on the 45 minute ride into town.  I should have known right then that my morning wouldn't work out the way I had planned. Random kindness rarely goes unpunished.

Apparently my idea of getting back on the normal routine was not a priority for the MBTA. The train showed up 10 minutes later than usual and was packed. I got on and zoned out reading the paper as best I could in the crowd. (I tried to be as unobtrusive as possible and folded the paper as small as I could so I wasn't bumping anyone else or sprawled out taking up way too much space. That is one of my pet peeves when riding in rush hour crowds. The full list includes: taking up too much space, not filling in gaps, and long/loud conversations on the phone).  When the train got to Government Center I checked the time. It was 9:16am when I got off the train...instead of the usual 8:50am. Late for work and morning ruined. 

So getting back on a normal schedule will have to be re-attempted on Monday morning...

Thanks MBTA

MBCR

The Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company...

So here is their site:
http://www.mbcr.net/

And apparently this is who they are:

 MBCR's five-year contract began July 1, 2003.  Our obligations include:

• Operating all MBTA commuter rail service safely
• Maintaining rolling stock, stations, track, signals and support equipment and infrastructure
• Creating and staffing a customer service center specifically dedicated to commuter rail
• Implementing training programs for engineering maintenance, transportation and customer service employees
• Inspecting infrastructure and rolling stock and developing replacement and capital investment recommendations
• Establishing new, Boston-based systems for management information systems (MIS), human resource management and payroll systems. 

 Notice the first bullet point..."Operate all MBTA commuter rail service SAFELY". Dont get me wrong, I'm all for safety but stating that in their first bullet point seems a little strange. Shouldn't the first bullet be "operate well" or "consistent" or just leave it at "operate". Don't make your first bullet your excuse for not doing the job well, at least bury it at the bottom somewhere...
So I guess it's not so much the MBTA but the MBCR that is incompetent on this one...

Something New 2/2/2011

Didn't even attempt to make it to work today. Instead I stayed in town and shoveled out my mother's house and my girlfriend's car.

In my romp around town I came across something interesting. There were several vehicles parked on the overpass from Newtonville to Washington Street which isn't out of the ordinary. I assumed they were shoveling and clearing a path for people to use the station. The interesting part is that these vehicles did not have the MBTA logo on them. Instead they had "Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company" written on the door.

Strange right? Is this part of the MBTA? Is this a separate company that only works for the commuter rail? I have no idea, just seemed interesting. May do a little research...if anyone knows what the deal is, feel free to leave me a note on this company or whatever it is.

Framingham/Worchester Commuter Rail Inbound 1/28/11 AM

As a savvy Boston commuter I knew the wise move this morning was to check the MBTA website for delays before figuring out the best way to get into work. I first checked my normal commute, which is the D train of the Green Line, and found a 15-20 minute delay. Once again being a savvy Boston commuter I knew that there is no way that the D line was only 15-20 delayed during the morning rush and expected it to be much worse than that so I searched for an alternative. I then checked the Commuter Rail. Now, I don't usually take the Commuter Rail because it is more expensive and usually out of my way, but since I spent the night at the lady-friend's apt last night it was within walking distance and I was in a good mood so I was willing to shell out the extra dough. Upon checking the MBTA website for alerts on the Commuter Rail I was pleased to find nothing. This means that as far as I could tell the Commuter Rail was running on schedule.

I went to the station 10 minutes before the scheduled arrival of the train that would get me to work on time. There is a message board at the platform that indicates if there are any delays. The message board repeated the same message over and over: "Welcome to the Commuter Rail". This was another indication that as far as the MBTA was concerned the trains were running on time, otherwise they would flash a quick update saying something like "The commuter Rail is experiencing some minor delays" or some such. A crowd was forming of what seemed to me to be the usual crowd. People had their coffees in hand and were reading the paper. Everyone looking very relaxed and confident that the train would arrive on time. Well, the time came and went when the train was supposed to arrive and those same people started to look around at each other and a few broke out their smartphones, I assume to check the MBTA alerts. Everyone was mingling around and it was about 5 minutes after our train should have arrived when a message flashed across the board: "The next train to Boston will arrive in 25 minutes". About 15 minutes into that wait time a train appeared. It rolled up, stopped and the MBTA workers came to the doors but didn't let the stairs down. A person who was closer than I asked what the deal was. Apparently the train was an express and was not supposed to stop here and even if we were allowed on there was nowhere to sit. The MBTA worker said that our train was four minutes behind...

Several minutes later another train did show up and we were allowed on. I got to work and hour and a half late after waking up early to check my commute and attempt to alter it to make sure I was there on time.

The only redemption was that I was not charged for the 15 minute ride into town.

Thanks MBTA.