17-Year-Old Schools the MBTA

Stuart Spina, a 17-year-old student at Commonwealth School, stood before the MBTA Board of Directors yesterday and told them how to fix some of the most sluggish, inefficient routes.

Spina produced a 22-page report that was more detailed than what any pricey consulting firm could pull off. Read it, and you might want him in a major transportation leadership position. He studied multiple bus lines, including the notorious bus 23, which another teenager exposed as a scary experience full of crimes that went unreported.

Here's his recommendations, as printed in the Globe:

Require dispatchers to use new satellite tracking better, so that when two or three buses are bunched together, dispatchers can order the trailing bus to wait a few minutes to avoid gaps in service.

Adjust the schedule on routes 1, 15, 22, 23, 28, 39, 44, 45, and 66 to allow late-running buses to get back on schedule when congestion is heavy.

Operate larger accordion-style buses on routes 22 and 28 during rush hour to avoid crowding. Spina has identified six spares in the Southampton Street Bus Garage.

Operate the same number of buses in the afternoon rush hour as in the morning.

The ball is in the T's court. All they need to do is tick off the items on this list. It's up to the Riders Union, Stuart Spina, and us to make sure they don't waste any time.

Edit: Spina has a blog.