Thursday, February 14, 2008

Is the "Realistic" Schedule Fair to Riders of the MBTA/MBCR Worcester-Framingham Commuter Rail Line?

Train Rider is still abroad. Due to airline schedules, Train Rider did not arrive back into the US last night. I do not have an ETA for when Train Rider will return to the states. My guess - sometime today (meaning Train Rider may not be riding the rails tomorrow due to the time zone changes).

Even though Train Rider is still away, there was a lot of news in today's papers about the MBTA/MBCR commuter rail.

"New" Worcester-Framingham Commuter Rail Schedule:
The Worcester Telegram & Gazette published an opinion piece in today's paper about the "new" MBTA/MBCR train schedule for the Worcester-Framingham commuter rail line.

The new train schedule will go into effect on Tuesday, February 19th, the day after the President's Day holiday.

The T&G's editorial staff "agrees" with the new schedule:
We agree with MBCR officails who said the new schedule is "more realistic" and should help to decrease passenger complaints about on-time arrivals.
While the new schedule may be "more realistic" is it a fair compromise for riders? It looks like riders, especially those who live in the greater Worcester area, will face longer days. The trains are departing earlier in the morning for the trip into Boston and later in the evening for the return trip home.

Can the MBTA/MBCR deliver "on-time performance" results with the new schedule? That remains to be seen.

The editorial staff also noted the following:
The schedule changes are most welcome. The next step the MBTA must take is to bring the Worcester-Boston line to its long-promised full schedule of 20 round trips each weekday.
Central Massachusetts residents deserve reliable and efficient commuter rail service. Now is the time to work with elected officials to (1) establish "reasonable" schedules and (2) ensure that the commuter rail is an efficient service for the cities and towns located west of Boston.

MBTA GM Daniel Grabauskas Accuses Governor Deval Patrick of "Inaction" Over Inappropriate Emails

In today's Boston Herald, Casey Ross wrote a piece about how Grabauskas claims the Governor has been slow to react to a string of emails that used derogatory and obscene language to refer to Mr. Grabauskas.

A commuter rail rider turned to using derogatory language over the course of a seven-month period of contacting Grabauskas over the late service and other problems plaguing the Worcester-Framingham commuter rail line. This rider works for the Department of Corrections and he has been placed on paid suspension.

While Train Stopping does not condone the tactics employed by this rider, we whole heartedly understand the frustration of increasingly poor service without any response from the MBTA. Once again, we think Mr. Grabauskas should commute for a period of time from Worcester to see how poor the experience is. Even with the new "adjusted" times, there isn't a lot of optimism about the effectiveness of the Worcester-Framingham commuter rail line.

Honestly, I think a lot of people probably agree with the emails this rider sent in:

“Fire the (expletive) Grabauskas, as he is as useless as (expletive) on a bull,” Roberts wrote in one e-mail sent Jan. 14, according to a copy provided to the Herald.

In another message dated Dec. 11, 2007, he allegedly wrote, “Run the (expletive) trains on time or fire someone, how about starting with Grabauskas(?)”


Commuter Rail Issues for Lines North of Boston

The Gloucester Daily Times reported on the meeting held earlier this week by the MBTA and local North Shore community officials for residents who rely on some of the northern commuter rail lines.

Riders in attendance at the meeting complained "about late and dirty trains, rising ticket prices and unresponsive officials." All the lines seem to have similar issues, huh?
"I pay $168 per month to travel into Boston from Salem, and I've seen nothing but poor quality," said Beth Curley of Peabody.

The everyday commuters at the meeting, however, did not accept MBTA officials' explanations for the more basic problems with train service. They said trains are regularly late, don't have enough ticket-takers and are filthy.

Mary Anne DiAnno of Beverly waved a written list of trains she said had arrived late. She said she was so fed up at the lack of response to her complaints that one day she walked into the Boston office of Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, the private company that runs the trains for the MBTA.

DiAnno said the woman she spoke with blamed everything on the MBTA.

"You guys are fighting each other. You're supposed to be working together," she said. "It's all lies and miscommunication. We're fed up."

Wow!

North Shore riders even complained that the South Shore seems to get all the new trains. The MBTA claims that 70% of the commuter rail's ridership is out of the South Shore. I wonder if that stat can be verified?

The Salem News published an editorial about how people have stopped riding the commuter rail because of issues ranging from parking to latent service.
There's one group MBTA officials failed to hear from when they came to Beverly Tuesday night to talk about service on the commuter rail lines. Those are the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people who have given up on the train for lack of parking.

The result is that many potential riders — despite the complaints heard Tuesday, the train is generally a cost-effective and reliable means of getting into Boston — don't even bother trying anymore.

In recent years, political pressure has prompted the construction of large parking facilities in places like Lynn and Lawrence. Yet these stand empty, while commuters arriving at the Beverly or Salem depots after 7 in the morning are hard-pressed to find a place to put their vehicles.

There have been promises galore over the years, yet not a single shovelful of dirt has been moved for the construction of a new garage in either place. Yet such facilities could play a major role in both cities' downtown revitalization efforts, would yield new revenue for the T and might cut down on the number of cars using our overcrowded highways to get to and from work. Construction of these garages should be a priority

Perhaps the time is now for the Governor and state leaders to really take a look at mass transportation in Massachusetts. The problems are systematic. If the state could improve mass transit, especially the commuter rail system, more drivers would opt to take the commuter rail than drive on traffic congested highways.Publish Post

Happy Valentine's Day!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the MBTA just lost a customer with their new schedule. I take the first AM train from Southborough and the new departure time is just too early for me. Any opinions about Cavalier Coach?

Commute-a-holic said...

Anonymous,

I think a lot of commuters who depend on the Worcester-Framingham commuter rail line are going to be searching for other options.

Before the commuter rail line was extended to Worcester, there used to be car pool vans that were operated through a program that was run by some element of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. I actually was a rider on one of these vanlines in the early 90s - they were an affordable and pretty efficient way to get into Downtown Boston. My van departed from the Millbury Mass Pike exit's "Park & Ride" lot. While the inbound departure time was early (slightly before 7 a.m.), we did arrive into Post Office Square most mornings before 8 a.m. The outbound departure time for my van was also early - 4:45 p.m. But I had a job at the time that was flexible. We usually arrived back to Millbury between 5:15-5:30 p.m. And the parking was free!!

I truly hope that elected officials and state business leaders will work in unison to create a more dependable commuter rail schedule that meets COMMUTERS needs. The T needs the revenue and residents need transportation alternatives. We all know that driving into Boston on the Mass Pike is not the solution.

The Dancing Writer said...

That article reminded me of how frustrated I had become. Now Dan is upset because the Patrick Administration is taking too long to address the issue-- well that is how we feel!! Perhaps Patrick should say its because of CSX, say sorry and offer him $15.

Commute-a-holic said...

The Supreme Goddess,

Agreed! While I don't condone writing derogatory comments about a person, I can whole heartedly support the frustration of writing to a public official and never receiving a response.

Perhaps Mr. Grabauskas should keep this in mind as the leader of the MBTA. He should expect that all of T's employees treat their customers (commuters) with respect. This respect should include timely and accurate responses to the T's customers, efficient service in well maintained coaches, and a cooperative working relationship with organizations including the MBCR and CSX.

Governor Patrick should be holding Mr. Grabauskas accountable for the myriad of issues plaguing the MBTA. The T is in a $75 million deficit, ridership is down on some lines, the infrastructure of both the commuter rail and mass transit lines is outdated. The T and Mr. Grabauskas can't be blaming the MBCR, blaming the rising cost of few, and blaming how some frustrated rider chose to use some inappropriate language to personally attack Grabauskas. Maybe if Mr. Grabauskas actually responded to the first email, the emails wouldn't have gotten so nasty.