The On Time Service Guarantee is No Longer

Due to a family matter, I had been driving a lot these past few months, but have recently returned to the commuter rail.

Imagine my surprise when I went to put in for a late train and could not find the On Time Service Guarantee form anywhere ... very quietly it seems the MBTA has phased this program out.

It's disappointing ... I'm not saying I lived or died by that extra $$, but it was at least some form of accountability for late trains ... especially in a system plagued by on time service.

Here is the official announcement from the MBTA website:

As discussed and reported during this year’s budget process, the MBTA will stop processing refund requests for service-related delays when the new fiscal year begins on July 1st. By eliminating the only program of its kind in the United States, the MBTA anticipates realizing savings of up to $1 million annually.

“While some customers may be disappointed with the program’s elimination, it’s important that people know that this money will be put to very good use,’ said MBTA General Manager Richard Davey. “By reallocating these funds into the development of more customer service enhancements, we expect a greater number of T riders to benefit from this money.”

Among the initiatives to be rolled out in the coming weeks and months are:

• Smart phone apps for Commuter Rail that will provide customers with the answer to the question: ‘Where is my train?’


• Countdown clocks that provide subway customers with ‘next train’ information for the Red, Orange, and Blue Lines.


• The ability to use a CharlieCard for parking at Alewife, Braintree, and other stations.


• Discounted parking rates of just $3 at nine stations throughout the Commuter Rail system and along the Mattapan Trolley Line.

I think they need to extend discounted parking to all of the commuter rail lots, not just some of them. It doesn't seem fair that certain lots (like mine) has to subsidize parking for the rest of them.

Fares Not Collected

Grafton Train Rider shared the following correspondence on an inquiry submitted to the Commuter Rail Customer Service site.

Dear Train Rider,

Feel free to post.
Grafton Train Rider

Here was Grafton Train Rider's original submission, sent in because fares were not collected and the P533 train was late on 8/14/2008.

It's bad enough to have your trains arrive over 30 minutes late with no signage indicating so at the station! The female conductor did not even bother to collect fares. I asked another passenger who boarded at South Station, and she said that the conductor did not collect for passengers boarding there either. To make matters worse, there was no announcement, apology and/or explanation about the train arriving over 30 mintues late. Sometimes I wonder why I pay for a monthly pass when the fares are not collected consistently.

This is the response that Grafton Train Rider received from the MBCR:

Dear Grafton Train Rider,
I have read your email regarding your commute on the 14th of August.

I have forwarded this information to the trainmaster responsible for conductors asking that these issues be addressed with the crew of this train. There was a mechanical failure on an earlier train that resulted in the 36 minute delay out of South Station. There is no excuse for not telling our passengers something, even if the crew is not aware of the exact circumstance they are obliged to make announcements throughout any delay. As for not collecting fares, the proper collection of revenue is a major responsibility and I have been assured that this will be addressed as well.

I am sorry that it is necessary for you to have to write to us again but thank you for bringing it to my attention.
Sincerely,
Linda Dillon
MBCR Customer Service Manager

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I would hate to work in customer service and I would really hate to have Linda Dillon's job.

Seriously, though, when will one of the media outlets or one of our elected officials start to put pressure on the MBTA/MBCR to do the following:

1. Collect Fares. The T can't keep on bellyaching that they are running out of budget if they do not attempt to at least collect the revenue at hand. Yes, I get it, I know that the fares do not support the T. But when you have NO money, SOME money has got to help.
2. Communicate. We live in an electronic age. We are not relying on telegraphs to transmit information. How hard is it to notify riders that trains will be delayed?
   

Point #2 becomes moot if they just want us to let us ride the trains for free. If the trains were a free service, heck yeah, we wouldn't really have any right to complain if the service sucked.

But the key point is - we're paying for service. At least some of us are. And I suppose fewer people are paying . . . at least in the form of a monthly pass. Because, what's the point? Fares aren't collected. So why blow $250 a month if you're a Zone 8 commuter, when you can gamble and just buy a 12-ride pass for $93.00?

Better yet - how's this for a gamble - buy a Zone 1A multi-fare pass for $20.40 for 12 rides for your outbound commutes. If they're not collecting fares, will you actually get caught for using the cheapest multi-ride ticket outbound all the way to Westborough, Grafton or Worcester?

I would love to see a state rep, state senator or a "mainstream" media outlet run an investigation on (1) how many monthly passes are purchased - by zone, (2) correlate that to the actual number of commuter rail riders and (3) the actual amount of fares collected. If I had to make an unscientific guess, I would bet that there are way more riders than the fares are showing.

MBTA and MBCR - step up to the plate and do your part!

Thanks to Grafton Train Rider for sharing!

MBCR/MBTA Commuter Rail May 2008 Performance

Train Rider just sent me an email. Live from South Station. . . some May 2008 Performance Results for a few MBCR/MBTA Commuter Rail Lines:

• On-time performance for all of the South Division lines for May 2008: 84.75%
• Year-to-date on-time performance for the South Division: 81.08%
• The Greenbush and Plymouth lines met the "on-time service guarantee" with a 95.78% and 96.05% performance respectively.
• The Worcester line: 93.39%
• The worst performing line - Franklin: 56.83%
  

A Bad Providence Line Commuter Rail Trip

I came upon writer Robert Gillis' blog. Mr. Gillis recently experienced a commuter rail ride that most of us have, unfortunately, also experienced.

His train (I'm guessing the 810 inbound on the Providence line) was late and the MBTA/MBCR didn't do a great job in providing commuters at the (once again I'm guessing) Sharon station with updates about the delayed train. He was "only" 50 minutes late to work as a result of the delayed train.

Mr. Gillis also mentioned that he has been receiving his reimbursements for the on-time service guarantees, even though it takes months to receive a reimbursement.

Inbound Train - Only 25 Minutes Late

I'm finally at work.

My train into South Station at 9:23 a.m., so about 25 minutes late ... but not enough to request reimbursement. The on-time service guarantees stipulate that a train needs to be a 1/2 hour late. Blah!

My business trip is on. So Commute-a-holic will be posting any news articles about either the MBTA, MBCR or commuter rail service in Massachusetts. Commute-a-holic will also be monitoring comments, so please come in and visit and post about your daily commutes.

MBTA Employee Gets Involved with a Scam Involving On-Time Performance Reimbursement Dollars

Read the following on Boston.com: a MBTA employee falsified $465 of commuter rail on-time guarantee refunds. The refunds were issued at the maximum price point - $15.50 which equals a Zone 8 round trip fare.

At least the employee got nabbed, but how stupid on his part (and how stupid on the MBTA's part - aren't they checking backgrounds on employees who have to handle money?).

Reimbursement Bonanza

I have gotten 11 envelopes in mail from the T over the last two weeks ... at $15.50 a pop, that's almost $170 in reimbursements.

When I turned in 6 of them last week, the T employee said "this is ridiculous, how about having the trains on time instead of wasting money by reimbursing passengers."

Um, heck yeah!

Money, Money

One good thing. I got four more refunds in the mail yesterday. When I turn them in, I'll be receiving $93.00 back for 6 round trips. Sweet!

I received two refunds the other day.

Although, I still would like the trains to arrive on-time.

MBTA out thousands in refunds

This morning's Boston Metro published a lengthy article about how the MBTA has had to issue thousands of dollars because of ongoing service issues.

For September and October 2007, the T refunded $262,142 to commuters mainly because of the dismal performance of the commuter rail lines.

As part of the T's "On-Time Performance Guarantee," 10,570 commuters received refunds in October and 12,659 commuters got refunds for September. I'm one of those commuters who has submitted refund requests! I would gladly trade in my refunded fares for better on-time performance.

The bad buzz for the T continues. Along with shelling out $262,142 in refunds, the T has had to deal with irate commuters (this blog is just one example of how angry we are). In today's article, the Metro noted that they are receiving hundreds of emails from commuter rail riders just in the past month. Commuters have said that the delays range from 10 minutes to over an hour.

Unfortunately, if your delayed train is only 25 minutes late, you can't receive a refund. The "On-Time Performance Guarantee" is only good for trips delays longer than a 1/2 hour. And the T has been very slow to process the claims.

Overall, the T is running at a 9 billion deficit. That's crazy money, huh? To help manage their debt, the MBTA fines the MBCR (the lovely organization that runs the commuter rail) each time commuter rails are delayed. Since July, the MBCR had to pay $782,324 in fines for poor on-time performances. In October and November, about 30% of all commuter rail trains ran late.

Everyone has an excuse. The T has excuses for having such a large deficit. The MBCR is blaming the new Greenbush line and "aging" equipment for train delays. Blah, blah, blah.

Of course, I don't understand why they needed to add the Greenbush line. Residents in Hingham and other South Shore towns were against it and commuters South of Boston already have a wonderful ferry service and they are in driving distance to both the Red Line and other Commuter Rail lines. If you ask me, Greenbush was one big waste of money.

As a Massachusetts tax payer and a commuter who would like to rely on public transportation, I would obviously like to see the deficits go away and the services improve. Please do this without raising my already outrageous monthly commuter pass!