If the Mountain Will Not Come to Mohammed
The brilliant people at the Make-Believe Commuter Railroad have finally hit upon a way to make the trains run on time. Change the time!
Yesterday, the T released new departure and arrival times for its Worcester/Framingham line, the tardiest of its routes, adding 6 to 12 minutes to scheduled trips.
Starting Tuesday, some trains that used to be counted as late would come in officially on time, even if they don't actually travel faster.
Rejoice, all ye Framingham riders! Your train is now officially on time!
The MBCR justifies this move by saying the times hadn't been measured for 13 years. And there are more riders. And things are different. And those other trains are in the way. So off they went.
The T and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co., the contractor that runs commuter service, said the changes were based on a study of actual travel times using stopwatches...
I think this is a brilliant method to improve on-time performance. And if the MBCR wants to shell out a hefty contracting fee to this professional logistician (certified!), I'll show them an innovative way to meet their contractual obligation of 95 percent on-time performance.
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It's better than nothing
At least the schedules will reflect reality now, right?
I mean, ideally we'd have better-maintained infrastructure and a rapid transit system, but accurate timetables are at least a start.
Exactly
Let's start with honest transit times and deal with whether they are not acceptable for people's schedules and needs rather than continuing to be angry about never being "on time" when it's implausible that the previous definition for "on time" will ever be met.
It remains to be seen
Whether expanding the timetable by 12 minutes will increase the miserable 48.4% on-time ratio to the required 95%. I somehow doubt it.
I think it's marvelous that when a company is required to meet goals, they can pursue that end by moving the goalposts.
Insanity
Insanity was once described by Rita Mae Brown as performing the same act over and over again and expecting different results. If the first train of the day is delayed due to some other use of the line, then every other train is put off-schedule. You're probably lucky that they ever met a 48.4% on-time rate in that case.
There's no reason to think that they can't get it write if they're given the chance to wipe the slate clean with a new schedule.
Look!
http://www.universalhub.com/node/12869
Adam scooped you!
Yesterday!