A Festivus Transportation News Round Up

Here's hoping today's commute on the Worcester-Framingham commuter rail line is better than yesterday's.

Train Rider is away on a pre-holiday business trip. Good luck with those travels.

According to WCVB-TV, Channel 5, commuters on the Rockport commuter rail line are being bused from Lynn to the Blue Line due to a draw bridge stuck in the open position in Saugus. Also, I heard there are delays on the Fairmont commuter rail line.

Seinfeld fans know that today is Festivus. This is a good day to air your grievances.

Remember the MIT students who found the security flaws with the MBTA's Charlie Card? The T tried to sue them earlier this year? Guess what . . . they're now working with the T to help make the system more secure.

Here's more about the car accident yesterday in Abington. Boy, was that driver lucky he didn't hurt himself or the people on the commuter rail. Read about it in today's The Boston Globe or Boston Metro.

A follow-up to the Telegram & Gazette's editorial on the appointment of James Aloisi as the new Secretary of Transportation.

Today's Globe reports that some of the Pike's urgent financial issues aren't so urgent thanks to a complex financial deal the authority closed yesterday.

Finally, Newbury wants to join the on-call transportation service offered by the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority.

Refused to be Stuck on the P508 Today

Are the commuters who take the P508 even in Boston right now? I ended up driving to work this morning. When I arrived to the Grafton station at 7:07 a.m. and saw that people were milling around, I didn't think it looked too promising. I asked one of my fellow commuters if there were delays and he said "yes," so I checked the T alerts and it said that all inbound trains from Worcester were delayed 15 to 30 minutes due to CSX not clearing the switches in Worcester.

I turned right around, got into my car and drove into work. Which worked out well, because I do have a lot of errands to run tonight and I had a meeting that I can't miss this morning.

According to commuters who use Twitter, it looks as thought the outbound Worcester trains are delayed.

This is not a good way to start the week. I have a business trip tomorrow, so I won't be riding the rails at all.

Commentary from today's Worcester Business Journal focuses on how the Commonwealth needs to address transportation structure issues.

Yesterday's The Boston Sunday Globe contained a front-page story on how most Massachusetts residents believe a gas tax should be used to fund the transportation budget deficits. The article noted that many residents of the Bay State really question what impact, if any, the Big Dig had since it cost so much money. The "Starts & Stops" column in yesterday's Globe reported that the MBTA station lots have fewer cars in them. The T is still claiming a victory with the parking fare increase, since more revenue was brought in during November due to the fees. There was also this "Letter to the Editor" about the Silver Line Phase III project and an editorial about the T's drug policy in Sunday's Globe.

On Friday, the Governor named James Aloisi the new Secretary of Transportation. Many pundits do not agree with this selection. Read about it in this article.

Saturday's The Boston Herald contained this article about residents upset with how the T chopped down some trees along the Mattapan trolley line.

Similar to the Boston Metro's Q&A, the Examiner is now running a Q&A with MBTA GM Daniel Grabauskas.

Changes Ahead

For the second day in a row, I had to drive into work. Today, my team is having our holiday party - a pot luck lunch. So it is a lot easier to bring stuff into work in my car then hauling a lot of things on the train.

I still cannot get over last week's ice storm. It is utterly amazing, when you think about it, that the Blackstone Valley was virtually untouched. Yet, many parts of Worcester and towns west and north of Worcester are still cleaning up. Some towns still do not have school today. Luneburg has canceled school through the New Year. Crazy, huh?

Thinking about all of the destruction the ice storm has caused, I was pretty surprised to see an article in today's Telegram & Gazette about last week's commuter rail delays. According to the MBCR, the Worcester line is back on track - yesterday the morning commutes were 100% on-time.

So why were things so messed up last week? Well, before December 8th, delays were due to speed restrictions put into place by CSX. "Significant mechanical problems" combined with cold temperatures caused the delays last Monday through Wednesday. The ice storm caused flooding on the tracks in Natick and Wellesley and caused a felled tree on the tracks in Worcester. Due to these issues, the inbound tracks (I'm assuming inbound to Worcester) didn't open until 10:30 a.m. on Friday. Mechanical problems on Friday also delayed 12 trains, with five of them delayed for at least 1 hour or more.

The ice storm also caused a lot of damage to the Fitchburg line. Even the MBCR's spokesperson acknowledge that last week's mechanical issues were too much:

“The breakdowns last week were unacceptable,” Mr. Farmelant said.

While the MBCR said the November on-time performance for the Worcester line was 90%, for the first two weeks in December that performance is now 84%. This is considered an improvement over last year, when only 57% of the Worcester line trains arrived on-time. The article also noted the following:

The state has taken steps to improve train service over the past year. Three new inbound and two new outbound trains were added to the Worcester line in late October. State officials are still negotiating to purchase the Worcester track from CSX, with the goal of adding more trains in the future.

Yesterday's The Boston Herald contained an article about the state's transportation woes. Lt. Governor Tim Murray was interviewed. The Lt. Governor is blaming past gubernatorial administrations for the current transportation crisis. Per the media speculation yesterday, State Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen did resign yesterday. His resignation is effective January 2, 2009. According to The Boston Globe, the Governor is considering James A. Aloisi, Jr. as Cohen's replacement. Aloisi was on the short list to be Transportation Secretary two years ago, but he was passed over due to his ties to the Big Dig. This is what The Globe had to say:

The new leader will take over at a crucial time for the millions of people who rely on the state's roads and transit systems each day. The financial crises at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the MBTA, which are both facing crushing debt and yearly deficits, have pushed the transportation debate to the top of Beacon Hill's agenda as commuters worry about large toll hike proposals this year and the potential for heftier transit fares that could follow. Legislators have complained that Patrick has dragged his feet in delivering a specific reform plan, which he first promised more than a year ago.

Last night, Cohen did attend the Mass Pike public meetings. Read about it in today's The Patriot Ledger.

Today is the Stop the Pike Hike protest. If you use the Pike, the Stop the Pike Hike group requests that you don't use your Fast Lane transponder and you pay using inconvenient currency.

Where's Bernard?

Saw this Boston.com headline and figured might as well post about it:

"Embattled transportation chief a no-show"

Massachusetts Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen didn't show up at a scheduled press conference this morning. His no show could mean that Governor Deval Patrick may be replacing Cohen. Deputy Secretary Thomas Cahir replaced Cohen at the previously announced press conference. Cohen's spokesperson directed reporters to Governor Patrick's office. Lt. Governor Tim Murray was at the press conference, but wouldn't confirm if Cohen is being replaced.

“I think it’s premature for speculation,” he said, when asked about it. “If and when, I’m sure it’ll be announced.”

Murray said the entire state has “real challenges” with its transportation system and that fixing it is not about “any one person or individual. This is a team.”

The article goes on to detail some reasons, beyond just the massive transportation mess, that could cause Cohen to be replaced.

Worcester Bloggers and More Debate About Parking

I would like to give a big shout-out to Neil of the 4-Rilla is Real blog and Linnea of Real Worcester for last night's meet-up at the Worcester Shark's game. Commute-a-holic and I both participated. It was nice to meet other Worcester-area bloggers and blog readers and it was great to get out and support the Worcester Sharks. The Sharks beat the Norfolk Admirals 4 to 3.

This was a fun and an inexpensive event. What more can you ask for in such trying days? In case you're either a hockey fan or you're looking to do something fun and inexpensive, the Sharks have a program where you can purchase tickets to Wednesday night games for $5.00 a ticket for groups of 10 or more. You can't even go out and see a movie for that. So if you're looking for something to do, consider checking out a Sharks game on a Wednesday night this winter. The DCU Center is a safe and welcoming environment which has been renovated to remove any sign of the old "Centrum" orange seats.

I even took the P527 train all the way to Worcester and walked to the DCU. Commute-a-holic was kind enough to return me to the Grafton station after the game.

Now on to commuting news!

The P508 was on time. We arrived into South Station at 8:21 a.m. The parking lots still look like they're only 1/2 way filled in Grafton, Westborough, Southborough, and Ashland.

Though I haven't seen published MBCR/MBTA on-time performance stats in months, I did notice a sign in the far corners of South Station. For the month of October 2008, the Worcester-Framingham line had an on-time performance of 90.55% and a year-to-date performance of 87.67%. I, for one, think these stats are suspicious. But there doesn't seem to be any accountability for publishing the stats by an outside authority, so I guess we have to go with what they are telling us.

People are still fired up about the parking rates. We appreciate all comments made to the blog - even if we don't agree with them. Commute-a-holic and I love how the blogsphere generates dialogue, which is what we are trying to do.

If you're a commuter rail rider and you're looking to connect with other riders, feel free to use Train Stopping to make those connections. A comment by Raghu Saranathan for West Natick commuters yesterday made me realize that others may be looking to connect. Let's all try to work together.

I will say, I do get annoyed when I see references to people "cutting out lattes to pay for parking." I've actually made a lot of reductions in my life over the past 2 years. I'm single and I work in financial services, so there is a very strong probability I could lose my job if the market continues its downward slant (spiral). I'm glad I started to become a lot more environmentally aware over the past few years, because it has helped me cut down on my consumption. That being said, I'm still irritated when I see utter mismanagement of public funds and I am still incredibly upset about this parking increase. But we will work through this.

On to the news. Yesterday's Examiner.com contained a scathing commentary on what happens when we don't pay to ride buses or trains. It is really well written and I agree with the sentiments. It may not solve all the debt issues, but I have got to believe that these funds help the bottom line. If not, then why even bother with fares?

Today's The Boston Globe focuses on how Massachusetts House Speaker Sal DiMasi is now pushing for the gas tax to offset transportation costs. Also, there is an op-ed by Senate President Therese Murray and Senator Steven Baddour. The focus is about reforming the transportation system in the state. The state is certainly in for a long haul, so to speak.

Finally, the MBCR and MBTA have entered into a partnership with the Samaritans to increase awareness about suicide prevention and support services. The partnership will also provide support to transportation workers who may have been impacted by a suicide. The partnership includes:

• Creation and implementation of a public awareness campaign about suicide prevention services, including advertisement for the Samaritans’ Statewide Toll Free Helpline 877-870-HOPE (4673) that will be promoted in posters placed in T and Commuter Rail stations.
• Creation of a Samaritans education and information program that will be available to provide emotional support services to transportation employees who witness or handle suicides.
  
• Creation and implementation of an awareness campaign regarding Samaritans’ need for volunteers to increase their capacity to assist persons in need and families of those who have died by suicide.
  

You Move Massachusetts Workshops

Thanks go out to Keith for sharing this article from yesterday's MetroWest Daily News with me. I totally missed it!

The Executive Office of Transportation has scheduled a series of public workshops called "You Move Massachusetts" to obtain opinions' from Mass residents about transportation issues within the Bay State. The workshops have been scheduled across the state starting on September 17th through October 20th. Here is the Workshop Schedule:



The MetroWest article said that State Senator Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) is hoping that citizens concerned about the proposed Mass Pike Toll hikes attend one of these public forums.

More information is available at the You Move Massachusetts website or by contacting Kate Fichter at katherine.fichter AT eot.state.ma.us (the AT should be replaced with the @ symbol; we use AT so Kate doesn't get spammed by the spammers).