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Photo of the Day, November 24, 2009: Hook, Line, and Sinker
Photo of the Day, November 25, 2009: Boston as seen from the harbor
Cheap Eats: Burtons Grill
Sports Redux: Nobody Puts Bergey In the Corner
Oh MBTA, why are you so, so, so wrong all the time? We read in Brian McGrory's column today in the Globe that the T is unveiling a new "courtesy campaign" to address employee and customer rudeness.
Now, we know about rudeness (both receiving and dispensing), and more good feelings on public transportation would surely be a good thing. But when the state's secretary of transportation says, "The public isn't going to ride if we're rude," someone has to bring a little reality into the game: The T is on the verge of raising fares while cutting back service; Roxbury was long ago promised a T line and instead got a bus pretending to be a train; the Green Line continues to be an antiquated, slow-moving nightmare; and the much-vaunted Charlie Ticket system is more complication than benefit and has no plans to let Bostonist get from the Red Line to the Blue Line without paying or changing twice - and you can't even take pictures! (Is that not enough transit-related gripes for you? Don't worry - there are more out there.) Courtesy may be a nice thing, but no one elects to leave the car home and take the T for the ambience.
Maybe, instead of having undercover T employees give out $2 Dunkin Donuts gift certificates to especially nice passengers (which is apparently part of the plan), they could give out tokens. Wait - if they gave out tokens and you wanted to get on at the airport, you couldn't, so maybe they should give out Charlie Tickets. Except then you couldn't get on at Central Square. And anyway, the tokens would be a waste if you needed to take the bus. Maybe they should just give people two dollars in change with at least a few dimes and nickels so there would be exact change for the bus.
Photo: A courtesy sticker on a New York City bus. The MBTA's courtesy campaign will include similar signs urging riders to give up their seats to people in need. Hopefully, if the MBTA uses the same phrase as New York's MTA, they'll have the good sense to end it with a question mark.
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INDEED.
The one thing I agree with in that article: T employees set an example for conduct. I've pointed out in the past that I shouldn't be witnessing conductors with cigarettes in hand ready to hop off at a trainstop and start puffing away along the edge of the platform when there's a huge problem with people standing directly in front of NO SMOKING signs and smoking away amidst morning crowds.
It's with lament that I abandon the MBTA in two weeks and start driving north to work. I purposely planned the purchase of our new home last year to be within walking distance to a train stop so that I could get to work without starting a car. Late trains, lack of appropriate conduct or enforcement, and now, with temperatures rising, trains with broken AC in at least one car...MBTA: You're not a viable option for enough people and no one believes that raising fares is going to address service shortcomings sufficiently to lure new riders, or departed ones back.
Note also: T employees who go through a 5-minute diatribe at every stop about courteous conduct and being nice to people and taking their belongings and blah blah blah don't set a courteous tone. It's condescening and obnoxious, especially when piped through broken speakers. This is New England. It's not the South. Respect me by not wasting my time, and understand that most of the riders know the drill. You're only making an impression on the infrequent novelty riders that drive the rest of us insane.
And while I'm ranting...How much did the new system in the T portion of North Station cost? It is USELESS to announce "The next North/Southbound train is now arriving." There are two tracks side by side (Orange and Green). Which are you referring to?? We're underground and used to In/Outbound! What the hell does North/South mean!? And what does it accomplish! I'm either on the platform, ready to board, or out of reach of a train that will depart just after pulling in. How many people should I push aside, trip, or tackle to run to board this incoming train you've announced with a recorded voice?
Ugh. Spend some time in the trenches with the riders and figure out just how far off the mark you actually are.
The MBTA is famous for "diversions".
A "diversion of service", or "this train is on diversion", etc. (They've also used this gem: "this train is terminated", which brought visions of the Robot-Arnold).
This is nothing but a diversion - one designed to keep the very general public off target. The issue as the commenter above points out is that the agency is going down by the bow and the issue that the transportation secretary brings to the table will have zero effect on it. When you go down by the bow, as in being $8 Billion in debt, you don't hand out flyers: "Please be courteous while drowning. Try not to flail the other victims. Give up your life ring for those in need."
The transportation secretary has had, what, over a year to roll out this program. It took a year to print up some flyers and make a deal with a donut shop?
The timing is too good.
Stand by for more as the MBTA's "proposed" (assured) fare increase season reaches its usual political peak, and hold on to your wallets.
You need to come visit seattle, where there isn't dick for real mass transit. Then you will be set right for a while.
The T is in a self-induced death spiral. Ever-worse service equals fewer riders, equals higher fares, equals fewer riders still. Brilliant strategy, don't you think?