Thursday, December 11, 2008

Boycott the Pike, Boycott the T?

In a protest against the proposed Mass Pike tolls, Stop the Pike Hike is calling for a boycott of the Mass Pike on Tuesday, December 16th, according to The Boston Globe. Tuesday is the 235th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. Since service has been beyond dismal on the MBTA/MBCR commuter rail, the subway lines and the MBTA buses this week, perhaps mass transit commuters should also consider making a statement and not using public transportation on Tuesday. Wouldn't that create a cluster of traffic beyond belief here in the Commonwealth?

Here is the link to the Boston Metro Q&A with MBTA Big Pubah Dan Grabauskas that Train Rider mentioned in a post from yesterday. A commuter from North Andover asked about the 100% parking rate increase. Dan gave a typical canned answer, but EA Silver raised some excellent points. It seems pretty obvious that the T is dismal at strategic planning. If they actually cared about the parking experience, long ago they would have instituted systems beyond just shoving dollar bills into an "honor box" that has a hole barely big enough to get your dollars into. Plus, when the trains are late (such as this week), how can people obtain a refund for not parking? Honestly, the parking lots just seem another way for the T to generate "free money." It is really sickening.

Earlier this week, The Bostonist actually asked if the T did something sensible. That seems like a crazy question to ask, huh?

Funding for the Silver Line expansion could be in jeopardy, according to this article from today's The Boston Globe. Duxbury and Marshfield now have bus service provided by the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA).

WickedLocal Wellesley reports on efforts by State Rep. Will Brownsberger (D-Belmont) to obtain community feedback on transportation-related issues. There are some interesting suggestions about ways to fund transportation.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder - since parking is primarily a cash business, how much of the money collected actually goes to the T? Does anyone ever audit the lots and compare cars parked to cash received?

Commute-a-holic said...

Anonymous at 12:02 PM -

This is a great question. Perhaps a reporter from a local media outlet could take this inquiry and run with it in a story. I, for one, would love to know how much of the total revenue actually makes it to where it needs to go.

If you think about it, if they encouraged people to pay by check, it would be a lot harder to steal a few dollars as the checks would need to be processed by the MBTA or the parking facility company.

Great question!!

Commute-a-holic