My Commute was Atrocious and Other News

Yup, that's right, my commute was atrocious. Don't know why today was all screwed up. It wasn't snowing. Its not raining. It is actually fairly warm. I understand when the trains are delayed due to weather events and I understand that from time to time, the trains won't run on time. But what is going on with the Worcester line? You can't tell me that the line is going to have a high on-time approval rate this month? Because, for the past two weeks, the trains have been beyond bad.

Not only have the trains been horrific in their on-time performance, but what is up with the parking lots? The Grafton lot was absolutely pathetic last night. For $4, the least the T could do is to come by and make sure that someone is sanding or plowing the lots. Dan Grabauskas and MBTA team - I know you read this blog. Care to blow some smoke up our butts and tell us why the lots aren't taken care of? You are one big pathetic organization.

As much as I believe in public transportation, I am seriously contemplated driving to Boston or using a private bus service. Enough is enough.

Since our entire transportation network seems to be unraveling, here is the news you need to know.

Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi weighs' in on the Governor's proposed pick as the new Secretary of Transportation. Joan pretty much feels the same way as most of the editorial staffs feel - that Aloisi is not the right person for the job.

Also, in today's Globe and Telegram & Gazette: lawmakers debate if there should be a toll increase or an increase to the gas tax. NECN has video with their report.

Today's Boston Herald reports that Boston Mayor Tom Menino does not think the seatless Red Line cars are a good idea. The MBTA claims that, in a survey on the seatless cars, 2 out of 3 riders said they would travel again in the seatless Red Line car. Approximately 300 people have completed the survey - so 66% of respondents said they don't mind the seatless cars. This is what the Mayor had to say:

“They’re taking the seats out and making people stand up, that’s not a transportation plan,” Menino said during a legislative hearing on tolls this morning. Menino said MBTA officials should come up with another way to handle the increased ridership.

The Bostonist takes a page from San Francisco's MUNI Manners by advising on T-appropriate etiquette. If you have an idea for what consists of good manners on the T, email The Bostonist at tips AT bostonist.com. Here are the first two:

1. Wearing sweatpants ripped in inappropriate places.
2. Slurping the crumbs from your finger after eating a Dunkin Donuts muffin. (We've all had them. They're not that good.)

I did enjoy the headline that Boston Magazine's Boston Daily came up with regarding the T employees who failed the drug tests situation: "High Times on the MBTA?"

MetroWest Bus to the Green Line and More T Employment Hijinks

Picking up from yesterday's news, the video report is from a NECN report about the T's busiest year ever.

Yesterday's The MetroWest Daily News also ran a story about a new bus service that would link Framingham-Natick to the MBTA's Woodland Station. We first mentioned this on Friday. There was a bit more detail in yesterday's article. The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority would like to run one bus an hour from MetroWest to Woodland. The plans call for the bus stopping on Flutie Pass, which is located between Shopper's World and the Natick Mall/Natick Collection. Flutie Pass hovers between the Framingham and Natick town lines. The bus could also extend into some office parks in western Framingham.

All in all, the bus trip would be expected to last one hour. This line could be up and running by January 2009, if the budget is approved. While MetroWest residents would benefit from this service, it is also expected to help out the people who reverse commute from Boston and immediate suburbs into MetroWest.

For the second time this week, The Boston Herald has published an article about the T's mismanagement. Say what you want, this is certainly the Herald's forte. Today's topic: 65 MBTA employees drive to work (and to "emergencies") in cars paid for by the Authority. The MBTA pays $16,650 each month in gas alone!!! The cars are solely for professional purposes and the T claims that the employees who have access to this perk are on call 24/7.

Wow - they have 65 employees on call 24/7, 365 days a year? Call me a skeptic, call me critical, but don't call me gullible. I just don't believe it. I've worked in departments where employees are on call 24/7. When I was employed by Massport in a critical mission function, most employees on call 24/7 where on call for a specific period of time. Ditto the IT teams I've worked on - usually on-call employees are on rotation.

When pressed for an answer, the T's spokesperson could not specify which car-gifted employees aren't on call.

At least someone is looking out for the interest of tax payers and the users of this debt-plagued system:

Paul Regan, executive director of the MBTA advisory board, demanded T
officials justify why some non-emergency workers are allowed to drive home.

"I'd like to hear an explanation of why someone who isn’t an emergency
responder would get a vehicle,” Regan said. “(The agency) should be guarding
every dime because they’re going to need it this year”

Amen!

The Herald also noted that the employees with cars live as close to the city as Quincy (um, keep your car parked at the State Transportation Building and use the Red Line, commuter rail or commuter boat to commute to work) or as far away as Plymouth (a 40-mile one-way trip in). As previously noted, MBTA GM Dan Grabauskas lives in Ipswich. I believe he has a 50 to 60 mile one way commute.

Along with the 65 take-home vehicles, the T also funds 17 "pool" vehicles. The pool vehicles are used "in the event of an emergency."

For an agency so mired in debt, perhaps they can make some reductions that common Americans are making. If they eliminated the 65 take-home vehicles, they would be seeing a savings of nearly $200,000 in gas alone, never mind insurance, maintenance and all the other costs associated with cars.

Finally, from Newsweek, road rage among bicycle commuters in Oregon. Portland has always had a high number of residents who bicycle around town. In the past year, the number of bicyclists has increased 24%.

Grafton MBTA Station Break-Ins Featured on NECN

Yesteday NECN ran a report on the break-ins at the Grafton MBTA commuter rail station. As a Grafton Commuter noted in a comment yesterday, The Grafton News is supposed to be writing an article about the break-ins and the Charter Cable channel also aired a report. Unfortunately, Grafton Commuter's car was broken into.