Sunday, February 06, 2011

Snowpocalypse 2011

Any Bostonian who has has been on the T in the last month can attest to how poor the MBTA service has been running lately, incredibly apparent on Twitter posts. The commuter rail, buses and subway system has been plagued by grease fires on the tracks, off schedule buses hindered by the mountains of snow on the streets, off schedule commuter rail trains due to mechanical failures coupled with inaccurate announcements on top of their usual disabled trains caused by ice and snow and the removal of both. Boston has been relentlessly hit with at least one snowstorm each week since December 26, 2010. Some have been blizzards, some storms dropping over 12" of snow on the city. There is nowhere to put the snow, and some roofs are collapsing due to the weight.

Three of the five lines, the Green, the Orange and even the Red line have been plagued by grease fires on the tracks due to debris. These fires have been regular occurrences, occurring even at the major station of Park Street. Thankfully, this particular fire happened during the lunch hour. In fact, because it happened during the lunch hour, the trains that followed one after the other helped the evening commute during rush hour. How ironic.


Source: YouTube by drdry11

Today, I was victim to the 80 bus that runs once an hour on Sunday schedule. I appeared at Lechmere Station at 12.45pm, 15 minutes earlier to not miss the bus. The bus did not appear until 1.25pm. That is a 40 minute wait. When another passenger asked the driver why he was late, he said it was due to traffic and the snow. I asked if this is affecting the whole line down the schedule and he said no. I am fortunate that today's weather is warm enough to melt the mountains but for some people, especially the elder and small children, the sub zero temperatures we were experiencing, this cannot be tolerated. It is imperative that the MBTA must do their best to stick to their schedules. On the other hand, the snow has been such a hindrance, constricting two way streets to one way, testing drivers' patience and courtesy while they let the oncoming traffic through a snow clogged road.


Other days, the buses refuse to run at all. The cold has rendered the engine's ability to turn over.  Instead of solving the problem during the low temperatures, the MBTA has just run fewer buses. More people now have to wait in the cold. More people now have to jam pack into the buses. At least now, the MBTA has decided to shovel their own bus stops, instead of contesting that it should the city's job. The passengers lose in the end.


On a lighter side note, check out the MBTA's answer to clean off the snow that the Mattapan High Speed Trolley Line.  Because the trains are not strong enough to remove the snow like the other trains, this is what they use.

Source: >www.boston.com by John Tlumacki, Globe Staff


Many people tell us we are lucky to have a public transportation system as far reaching as ours. However, when thousands of people depend on it each day to make it to work, meetings, appointments, and to life in general, MBTA has been a real disappointment lately. The MBTA is in danger of losing the ridership they have gained, not by better service, but by higher gas prices and a slower economy. Please contact your state representatives to let them know that cutting funds to the T is not the answer.

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