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MBTA doesn't know yet when train service will start again
By adamg on Tue, 02/10/2015 - 11:44am
And at a feisty press conference, MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott could not rule out further shutdowns if we got more snowstorms. She said she should have a better idea later this afternoon when service can resume.
In contrast to the quiet, subdued Walsh and Baker press conferences, reporters went for the jugular and Scott didn't back down. "Oh, Lord Jesus!" she said at one point as a reporter asked her about the T's debt issues - some $3.5 billion of which she said was dumped on the MBTA by state officials desperate to find a way to pay their share of the Big Dig.
She did not mention that one of those officials is current Gov. Charlie Baker. But she said she has yet to talk to Baker about the recent series of storms - in contrast to Walsh's office, with whom she said she and her staff have been busy exchange a blizzard of tweets.
And she said the answer to fixing the T's weather woes is not more budget cuts. You can cut everything, she said, but what the T needs now is "systemic, planned, serious, bold reinvestment" to make up years of deferred maintenance on the system.
Scott said 95% of the MBTA's buses are currently rolling - good news for the people who really depend on them, such as seniors and people who need to get to dialysis treatments. She added she has made sure her managers know that, while clearing out bus stops is really a municipal issue, if they are digging out stops, they better not just limit themselves to Boylston Street - Dudley Street deserves just as much attention.
UPDATE: At a press conference of his own not long after Scott's, Gov. Baker said he will finally be sitting down with Scott and her staff on Thursday. He said he has had repeated discussions with Scott's boss, Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack and that under state law, "I don't have authority over the MBTA."
"Beverly Scott is doing all she possibly can," he said, then adding the MBTA didn't live up to promises it made to state and others.
He said only a third of the T's debt is due to the Big Dig.
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Comments
It's all part of her cunning
It's all part of her cunning plan to reduce the MBTA to bus service just like Atlanta.
...? Atlanta has a subway
...? Atlanta has a subway system and streetcar?
crack is whack
crack is whack dude.. or have you been inhaling too much rock salt dust..
Have you been on MARTA, we
Have you been on MARTA, we took it around Atlanta when we visited and it was good.
ask people who live in ATL about MARTA
MARTA is marginally useful for tourists and me occasionally when I need to get from the Airport to downtown or close to the CDC campus but it's a disaster for most locals. The system only goes to a few places and the (white) and affluent communities and outlying areas have fought tooth and nail to prevent MARTA service from extending their way because they won't want the poors and undesirables moving in. Every attempt to extend bus or rail service is fought back and beaten down despite the regular gridlock traffic that occurs
My $.02 as an few-times-a-year biz traveller to ATL
As a resident for a bit less han 8 years...
... a couple of ago, this describes my feelings on MARTA then. Nothing I've read makes me think it has changed much since our residency there.
MBTA
The GM is utilizing the Marta system in Georgia as her blueprint. I do not think she fully understands that lots of people utilize the system to get too and from various places. Marta Atl transit is horrible. I live in Atlanta currently and take the transit M-F it is subpar. Yes investments in equipment is needed, but the MBTA transit system is one of the best when operated with efficiency. People's livelihood depends on the transit system, she has to understand this.
sigh
But at this point, I suppose, what can anyone do?
Cute black lady for white liberals
I expect more specifics. This train will run, this one won't. We need more flexibility to respond to this kind of thing. For instance I rode the express bus home last night at rush hour -- two passengers. Dispatcher is sending out calls begging for drivers to cover red line shuttles. Why doesn't the t have small shuttle buses for underused lines?
Anybody in government can yammer for lots more money. She had a cute act for Deval Patrick but now operational flexibility is called for.
How dare you assume that an
How dare you assume that an intelligent and accomplished woman only achieved her prestigious position because she's a "cute black lady" that had a "cute act". Your condescencion is nothing less than ugly racism and sexism.
I much prefer a cute black lady...
...to an ugly white bigot.
So who drives your shuttle bus?
If the call was for drivers, putting you on a smaller bus doesn't free one up...
huh.
Maybe one of those four horsemen I see out on the horizon could give me a ride to work when (if?) we reopen.
That press conference
was entertaining. She went all out and read people the riot act. She called it exactly how it is. Good for her. No more Mrs Nice GM.
YOU GO GIRL!
Edit: And seriously, no talk with the Governor in 3 weeks?!? Seriously?
She should be out there every day giving press conferences
Where has she been until now? She can't issue a press release? Show up at a station and show sympathy?
I don't blame her for all the woes of the T but I do think she's a PR disaster.
What good would showing up at
What good would showing up at a station expressing sympathy when all the stations are closed?
The T only shut down this week. She had two weeks before that.
How many press conferences has she given before today? I'm not saying she has to be on tv every day like Mayor Marty but seeing once in a while just to show that she is actually working would have been great.
We need facts
She should be saying things like "The MBTA has discovered that the red line third rail is frozen from Quincy Adams to JFK stops. The switching has broken down and unusable at XYZ stop, making train travel unsafe."
Give us data. We know the system is old and needs a cash infusion.
Lack of funds is not a reason to shut down an entire system.
She's often a guest on Jim Braude/Margery Eagan's WGBH show, and she's always breezy and jokey and upbeat. Why wasn't she saying in October that if we had some major storms it might shut everything down? Suddenly there's outrage but it seems like they should have been sounding the tocsin a LONG time ago about the possibility this could happen.
No one expected 3 back-to
No one expected 3 back-to-back storms bringing 70+ inches. Technically, the MBTA probably still have enough to hold together(-ish) after one big storm. Yes, there would be tons of breakdown as it did happen, but after a bit of time, it will kinda recover enough to cool off the anger.
But instead we have 3 storms and it has taken out the T. If the MBTA were in a better position with adequate funding and use of the funding, then it would the trains, switches, and electrical system to fair better. So funding does matter unless. At the very least the lacking of funding played a role in why we order new RL/OL trains so late. That alone shows funding played a role even if you don't think the other causes are linked to funds.
I would imagine in this alternate reality, the funded MBTA would have still succumb to all these storms, but without the 3 previous weeks of breakdowns, delays, and cancellations with this 3rd storm leaving the MBTA operating like the aftermath of the 1st storm rather than the total shutdown we are seeing now.
But HOW did it shut it down is the question
Yes the amount of snow is unprecedented. But we've had big crippling storms before and the T would run even in the worst of them. When they closed at 7 I thought for sure they would be up all night plowing all the tracks. Why didn't they?
If the snow-covered tracks are unusable why not open all the underground stations and increase shuttle buses above ground?
There is something they are leaving out, and the public is owed more of an explanation.
Beverly Scott is losing the PR battle, and alienating former supporters (like me).
Unfortunately I can't give a
Unfortunately I can't give a true "data" answer to that. I can give some speculative thoughts. Previous storms didn't give 3 back-to-back hitting in a way that the MBTA has not been able to recover. It's also been noted before that 40% of the OL trains from the first storm so maybe the successive ones kept knocking out more trains faster than the disabled can get fixed. I would imagine this would affect ability to bring service and undermine old tactics like keeping the train running to keep snow off.
But yes, being a data person. That's only speculative. But I doubt what's going on right now is because Scott is holding back clean up crews and something she can actually do. Unless the "how" is something like that, I'm leaning to sympathy to her.
I should note that I currently not holding hostility to Baker unlike many of the comments here either (ah such fun to take this viewpoint). $14 mil (or $40 that some keep thinking that it's all on the MBTA) could well be administration rather than something that directly affect trains. I'll reserve judgement on if he will react to address the backlog, electrical issues, and signal issues or just try to roll heads in a case where the heads seem very unlikely to be a factor at this point. That will take a little bit more time.
I'm sorry, but this Boston,
I'm sorry, but this Boston, not Orlando. Even if there weren't 70 inches weren't expected, shouldn't there be contingency plans in place in case of massive amounts of snow, rain, etc?
plans
it strikes me that in the face of unexpected snow and blizzard conditions, closing down (with notice so people can plan) to prevent further damage to already fragile equipment is a reasonable contingency plan.
Why wasn't she saying in
It's, unfortunately, a borderline unreadable book but if you are actually curious Nicholas Taleb did some important work here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Swan_%28200...
explaining why we think unusual events are more predictable than they actually are. He then went on to make a bazillion dollars running a hedge fund based on the concept.
When did this scenario become new?
Much rolling stock was never provided the mid-life overhaul that is needed. Trains that should be retired continue to run. Your question is answered by the proportion of decay to improvement that has developed over the past couple of decades.. To not expect that this would happen is to live without any concept of the deterioration of the T. Perhaps that is why the T is dying. Most folks (in spite of daily first hand experience) truly do not believe that the T is dying or they believe that it can not be rebuilt. Therefore why bother making changes?
Everyone - from voters to legislators - have ducked the elephant in the middle of the Commonwealth's living room: the T is treated as a unwanted stepchild that can't bet out for adoption. Not that this is new in the U.S. Public transportation seems to be tainted as a necessary evil in this country.
The T has not gone without any improvements. The Blue Line if far better than it was in 1998. At least there are more cars on each trains. Stations that verged on shuttering have been rebuilt (with varying degress of success).
But the laws of thermodynamics are more powerful that laws of The General Court. In other words, unless enough energy (i.e., political support and money) is entered into the system to keep entropy at bay then entropy wins. This week entropy won.
The T's funding was set up to fail. When the Commonwealth decided to fund the T based in part on the sales tax (which was just before 2008 if I remember?) they sealed a fate already set. A terrible recession, massive state budgets cuts, decreased sales tax revenue, etc. all contributed to the T not having enough money.
Add any debt added to the T which shouldn't be there.
These are some Images that to me represent how much public transportation is actually valued:
Stalactites hanging from Shawmut Station. These don't grow overnight. (Granted they are now gone. But for them to have grown at all shows that this station was basically forgotten and ignored.
Orange Line cars so rusty that a more accurate name would be the Rust Line.
After millions spent on Copley (and nearly destroying a beautiful landmark) the station itself still looks like crap.
Other Orange Line stations such as Chinatown and Haymarket are disgusting.
The Blue Line was rotting away (though it was pulled from death's mouth).
There have been many improvements. So an argument at the T spends nothing on improving the system would be false. But the vastness of the degradation is still there, plain to every set of voting and legislating eyes. Unless the debt is reduced and funding is increased we will continue to have a dying public transportation system.
These past few weeks caused the system to faint. Unless we as voters force the legislature to act eventually the system will start falling to pieces with cutbacks, shuttered stations and a system that is crippled (which will cripple the local economy).
Will that mean more taxes? Yes. Unless the Crotch Brothers are willing to spend their next round of election money on the improvements that create wealth (such as infrastructure) instead of trying to buy the elections for people whose choices belie a willingness to let the nation's infrastructure disintegrate, then we need to pony up the cash. There is no governmental Prince Charming to save this stepchild from being shut out. It's up to legislators. Given their lack of courage (evidenced by the new Speaker for Life) they need a fire put under their elected butts that make them do more than sit in a big room and generate hot air under the Sacred Cod.
Buffet, Gates, Soros, etc
Buffet, Gates, Soros, etc could donate their money to such public infrastructure causes like Carnegie and the old 'Robber Barons' did. But instead they are hiding their money in phony tax dodging charities.
The era of the wealthy creating public infrastructure unfortunately appears to be over with the exception of the Mugar , Shapiro, or Yakwey families donating to local hospitals/museums.
That reminds me 9/11.
That reminds me 9/11. Guiliani seemed to be the only person in front of the camera giving out real information connected to hard data. It seemed like everyone else was just repeating how they felt about all the "heroes" dealing with the "tragedy" (as if everyone watching TV hadn't already heard that a zillion times).
Today everybody seems to be going in front of the camera repeating how this is a "historic" snowfall and people are "working very hard" to deal with it. It's hard to get past all that fluff to get real info.
JFK
She was at JFK station personally meeting/apologizing to riders when they were shuttling from there over the weekend.
You must have missed her
You must have missed her appearances the last few storms. She was definitely in the stations.
Governor of What?
I'm starting to think our governor isn't that interested in governing.
You think?
https://twitter.com/CharlieBakerMA/status/564860247517716480
What makes you think that?
He's been governor for 4 weeks. He spent most of the first 2.5 weeks figuring out how to find $1 billion. He has spent the past 10 days figuring out how to shovel 1 billion tons of snow.
Give the guy a break - he came in and found that the state was both broke and broken thanks to his predecessor (s).
And all those who say he shouldn't have laid off the debt on the T - I still haven't heard what you would have cut if you were in his shoes (or others managing the state for the last 20 years). Just moving it to the Commonwealth's side of the ledger doesn't make the debt go away - it just takes it out of another pocket. Which pocket would have best been picked to pay for the Big Dig overruns - which weren't his fault (there's plenty of that to go around this town)?
He could be more flexible
He could be more flexible about new sources of revenue?
Cuts to MBTA
I think he's not serious because he hasn't talked to the head of the MBTA in 3 weeks and because he calls for $14 million in cuts to the MBTA and then tries to claim its not going to affect service. I guess if your baseline of "service" is today he's right, there isn't any service to affect.
So yeah, his lack of honesty out of the gate and lack of willingness to discuss the problem with MBTA leadership has me thinking he's not serious about governing. Happy to be wrong.
Yeah she was fired up! I
Yeah she was fired up! I think a very honest moment for her. We all shit on the T for their service the last few weeks but it has to be equally frustrating for her when there's not much she can do--in this moment--with the aging fleet and debt we have. I sensed a few moments where she came close to dropping an F-bomb on live TV and I can't blame her, really.
"This Ain't This Woman's First Rodeo"
Prison Rodeo
"Jumpier than a virgin at a prison rodeo" ?
Link
But too little, too late for her.
I admire her in that she apparently seems like she wants to go down fighting, but she needed that fight 2-3 weeks ago. She also could have insulated herself a little bit if she had come out on Sunday and said (publicly, not just to the Governor) "I am very sorry, but we are not going to be able to make this happen tomorrow with 50 year old equipment". The Governor would then not have been able to hit her on the "misinformation" and "mislead" stuff that he is bandying about now.
The short and long of it is this - even without the storms, she would have been a target (but for her contract) because she is the last guy's appointee (even if she is nominally appointed by the Board - but as I mentioned earlier, the Governor is out for them, too). The storms and the T's performance are, more than anything else, a convenient vehicle for the Governor to push her out - contract or no contract.
Expect an ugly public battle, too, replete with arbitration and/or litigation.
My prediction
Baker doesn't like an agency like the MBTA that can make him look bad but not actually be controlled by him. The quasi-public/private nature of the MBTA vexes him. You could hear it in his responses on what he's going to do about the problems.
He will use this calamity to organize the legislature to revoke the MBTA's charter and make the MBTA a state agency directly under MassDOT so he has full control over its administration. HOWEVER, he wants nothing to do with the disaster of its funding/debt problem if he can avoid it at all costs. So, he'll also have it drafted in such a way that the MBTA still only gets Forward Funding revenue and maintains its own debt bankrolls and doesn't just get absorbed into the MassDOT budget for him to have to reckon with when next fiscal year's budget comes due.
To your first point:
How is the MBTA chief selected? The State board of whateverthefrig votes and gives her a contract? Is there legislature involvement anywhere?
Board of Directors decision
http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/leadership/?id=1046
The Governor appoints six members plus himself as Board of Directors at MassDOT and they choose as a group whom to be CEO of the MBTA.
I thought the stereotype with
I thought the stereotype with Republicans is they want to privatize everything. I've seen numerous comments on uHub over the past few days predicting this kind of reaction. Why are you predicting Baker will do the opposite?
MBTA is already part of the
MBTA is already part of the Rail & Transit Division of the DOT.
Yes...
Sorta.
And the GM of the MBTA, is
And the GM of the MBTA, is also the director of the Rail & Transit division of MassDOT.
I suspect she'll go quietly
I don't think she wants it to end like it did with MARTA - having to go to therapy in order to keep her job. She left Atlanta just before the final results of her counseling were going to be made public.
Bev and MARTA
Dr. Scott, I know you
Dr. Scott, I know you republicans hate to see a black person in any sort of power, but calling her "Bev" as a slight intead of Dr. Scott is pathetic. You sit at home and troll the comment section. How many times did you call Bush "Georgie" or Charlie Baker "Chuck". And both of those guys were just MBAs (I know, Harvard MBAs) but still, its not like they have a PhD.
It was Executive Coaching - not therapy
The idea that the MBTA GM had mental health "therapy" at her prior job in Georgia is rubbish. She and her team got executive coaching and leadership consulting, which anyone who actually works in the corporate world knows is commonplace.
At my job we provide coaching as well as leadership training. We have, for example, a Fortune 25 company as a client. They're as big as Apple. Half of you have probably been in one of their retail locations in the last week or two. We did a lot of training for Fidelity in the past. These companies pay us millions of dollars to do coaching and leadership training. They are not mentally ill and it's not "therapy." It's an investment in their organizations.
Thank You
I've been wondering about this because if it was a real mental health issue it would fall under HIPAA and it wouldn't be made public. And what would be released (if any) would be extremely vague because of patient rights. Just because you are in a highly visible public position doesn't mean your rights to privacy as a patient go away (and yes even if it was work sanctioned).
You should probably do more research first
Before posting something like that. As others have mentioned, she didn't undergo counseling before she left Atlanta. She hired a management consultant.
Adam. what's sad
What's sad is that Nancy commented on that story (which amazingly enough I had missed, so thank you for the link to clarify it).. so she knew, but instead chose to perpetuate the bad journalism from BDC.
She also could have insulated
She's interviewed fairly frequently on WBUR. For the past two weeks, I've heard her saying exactly this - several times - but nobody seems to be listening.
I don't remember her saying exactly that.
I remember her saying that it would be a tough time and to expect delays because the equipment sucks.
That's very far away from saying that the entire rail system will be shut down, and in any event, is way to vague to allow for anyone to plan appropriately.
T GM press conference
The new governor, the media and others are trying to make her the sacrificial lamb for everything that has gone wrong with the T over the past couple weeks, not to mention the many years it took for the T to get this screwed up. I am a daily T rider and I think she is doing the best she can under the circumstances, the problem here is that the circumstances are unprecedented and many people are going to focus their anger on her rather than look at the big picture. I can only hope she can "weather the storm" with her sanity intact. I don't think I could!
It can't ever be the fault of
It can't ever be the fault of the smartest guy in the room.
Not her boss
Unfortunately, Baker is NOT HER BOSS. Baker has met with the Transportation Director to discuss problems and the T boss is under her, not Baker.
Charlie baker just took
Charlie baker just took office so how much blame do you want to throw at him Adam? Don't use things out of context
Oh, please
Pointing out what somebody says and how she says it at a press conference isn't attacking him.
History Lesson
again,
LOL
Love the Alanis picture.
And for those under 25 who don't remember, here's a refresher on the reference.
The song
Did it rain on his wedding day or something?
And supposedly he's supposed to be a good manager.
Supposedly.
it ain't his first rodeo either.
Go look at his resume. its not his fault as governor - its his fault in his previous role under Weld that set the T up for failure in the first place.
Good talker
She sure can talk, glad Jon Keller was there to ask specific questions and try to get specific answers. For instance, who is responsible for shoveling out bus stops. That sent her on a ten minute spree in which she talked a lot but did not answer the question. It made me tired just to listen to her...Jimmy McGill has nothing on her.
Slippin' Jimmy would be in
Slippin' Jimmy would be in his glory here.
do we have a countdown yet?
She knows she's finished. You don't make thinly-veiled criticisms of the governor like that and keep your job. I appreciate that while she's going down, she isn't going to roll over and play dead - she's gonna take some shots. So how many more days is she on the job before Baker fires her? I am going to bet now that he waits until the T cleans up "the damage' from the NEXT storm, Thursday/Friday, and make the T work extra hard, and then clean out a whole bunch of people Monday. Not that that would do anything, but Scott is showing her hand - she's not going to play nice with Baker. So, she's done. He will install someone who knows how to play nice with him.
It does feel strangely like T management is playing games with the state right now in a pitch for funds. As in, "well ,we might run service tomorrow, we might not..." to force their hand. They are holding it hostage.
I don't know how area hospitals, universities, and businesses can function much longer without it though.
yeah however
And Baker hasn't been nicey either. He's just as guilty. Come on.. three weeks, no contact with your public transportation GM? Who you trying to fool. He's just as guilty in this too (in many more ways than just this)
I'm not saying that. I just
I'm not saying that. I just think he's going to have one of "his" people in place after he fires her, who will take the blame should sh-t hit the fan again, won't grumble about investment, and most importantly won't bring up the Big Dig. Scott doesn't strike me as the type of person to shut up and play the political game - which is maybe why she should do something better than this thankless awful job.
Actually the thinly-veiled
Actually the thinly-veiled criticisms might be what will save her job, ironically. At the least, a higher chance like this than standard PR subdue deflection. Usually attacking like that will get her fired, but she may have set herself that firing her now would look like scape-goating for image than punishing for failure. It's going to depend how the public will popularly view her.
Isn't her contract up soon?
Isn't her contract up soon? I don't think popular perception of her will matter much. T GM has to be the worst job in state government, followed closely by Transportation Secretary. God bless her for doing the job for that long. I don't think she's amazing or anything, but it's tough to do a good job in an agency that is so massively underfunded and where you have little ability to actually change anything. They should retire the job "MBTA General Apologist".
Now would be a great time for the Governor, the Transportation Secretary or perhaps even a legislator to propose legislation to finally solve these massive MBTA's problems. The public's attention span is typically short and as hard as it is to believe right now, even some T riders may forget how bad this is settle for the status quo again by the summer.
Link to press conference?
Does anybody know if the video of the press conference is online anywhere? I missed it, but it sounds like an interesting watch.
Link
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA-NDJRJOXE
Courtesy of WCVB
Your link is better!
Ignore my link! This one is much better. Thank you!
Reality check
MBTA GM Beverly Scott managed Atlanta's MARTA, a much smaller and much less heavily used transit system vs the MBTA.
Beverly Scott was FIRED from her MARTA GM job, even though she was given considerable opportunities, including management training, to improve her performance.
Why was GM Scott hired for the MBTA position, a larger and more complex system than the job she was fired from in Atlanta?
And the whole rail system did not have to shut down, this is bogus. If it's not back up and running Wed. (perfectly acceptable and understandable to not be operating at 100% due to conditions), even after more moderate snow, something is seriously wrong.
MBTA
I feel for Beverly Scott. Coming from someone who rides the T multiple times per day due to my job as a behavioral consultant in BPS, I feel like the service is as good as can be expected. The T has needed a massive upgrade for many years now, but the MA budget has not made it a priority. The T will struggle until significant snow melting has occurred and is drained. Without significant budget for T maintenance and upgrades, how dare this city place a bid for the Olympics.
There is a 2009 report that
There is a 2009 report that clearly blames the state for the dismal T finances. the plan put in place as a result of the Big Dig fiasco was short sighted and unrealistic. No one anticipated the huge rise in costs of fuel and electricity or of the Ride so the T has never been able to manage the debt it was saddled with from the Big Dig. http://www.mbtareview.com. I blame the state for this problem not the MBTA GM.
Here's what the 2009 report
Here's what the 2009 report said about the T's debt.........
".....While there is little question that total debt for the MBTA is a
problem, conventional wisdom holds that a major driver behind
the MBTA’s inability to be self-sufficient was the debt service
payments. That is not true....."
Of course the trope used over and over on Uhub is that but for the debt the T would be in good shape. The report shows that it is much more complex than that.
Ignorant statement
Most people do not complain that the debt service broke the bank. It was a combination of stupid funding combined with the debt being too large. The report's conclusion was that "they could have paid because they refinanced". Then they condemn the refinancing for sinking the later budgets and ignoring initial recommendations on handling that debt.
They want their cake and eat it too in that report by ignoring their own past conclusions in order to defend a view that forward funding was sound...but just didn't get drafted well enough.
No Maintenance plan since 2009 report
The MBTA has no idea what the maintenance backlog is!
It has $13 Billion in assets to manage and little in the way of status information, maintenance schedules, and age/capital depreciation schedules for everything that a well run company would have and keep current. Staying on a maintenance schedule is vital to reliable service.
Cubans have managed to keep 1950's automobiles running as have American antique car owners, yet Beverly Scott complains that the trains are old. Maybe she is too old for the job. Old gear just needs regular maintenance to keep running reliably. Sure its more work than buying a new car every 3 years, but few can afford that.
Those Cuban cars are empty
Those Cuban cars are empty shells full of new Russian parts.
Adam, get your facts straight
Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) who sued to overstress the MBTA with more service (GLX, southern rail, silver line) by a court order, are the ones responsible for what some here mistakenly claim as big dig debt. Without the CLF lawsuit, there would not be the added debt on the MBTA.
CLF and their friends wanted public transit to expand and trumped up some claim of increased air pollution from the big dig to win their case against taxpayers. Well, EPA air pollution numbers since the big dig don't bear out their claim that pollution would go up, yet these burdensome projects go on, except the re-blue connector. Yes, previous MBTA debt held by the state was given to its owner, the MBTA, in exchange for 20% of state-wide sales taxes. I'm sure too the MBTA carries a great deal of revolving debt, much like all other MassDOT transportation segments.
So, don't blame the big dig, blame the assholes at Conservation Law Foundation who are also hard at work increasing our electric bills over CO2 emissions. Want to lower CO2? Turn your heat down to 50 degrees. Be a martyr. All that GLX money should have gone to maintenance instead of expanding an already over-stressed system.
Our political system sadly requires crisis to get anything done. Somebody has to die or something to fail miserably for change to happen. CLF know this and is blackmailing taxpayers with courts to squeeze more money from us to stabilize the forcibly growing system.
How stupid do they think we are?
Yeah, as if. Like increasing the number of cars driving through the city could possibly increase air pollution.
Look at actual EPA data
Air pollution is down since the Big Dig. Possibly because congested traffic produces more pollution than free flowing traffic. Either way, pollution is down, not up.
Oh yeah, those CLF folk!
Without agreeing or disagreeing with anything Markk wrote, I feel I should remind everyone of a nice irony (which, undoubtedly, Markk was waiting for someone to do).
Do we know anyone in a position of power who might have had something to do with CLF's suits that Markk alluded to?
(One of the many reasons why this appointment continues to baffle me.)
No, I don't. Who? What?
No, I don't. Who? What?
Please inform.
Must be big oil and GM behind it
Conspiracy theorists try to blame all transportation problems on big oil and the car industry. Perhaps Baker wanted to give the greens a seat at the table and let them f things up so we can be rid of them.
Agreed. Crisis is the manager where the T is concerned
Our political system does often move according to the demands of crisis. But the collapse of the T was not brought upon by Conservation Law Foundation, nor the Union of Concerned Scientists, nor Cassandras pointing out how much carbon has been released from the ocean of oil burnt so far in the past century, but by decades of management by crisis.
Blaming courts or CSL is to attack a straw man and divert attention away from acknowledging that the citizenry, legislatures and executives (not just Deval) have chosen to address public infrastructure as an afterthought. In 2013 Deval Patrick actually stated in his State of the Commonwealth speech that over a billion dollars was needed to be injected into transportation and education. He was ignored.
In a region as dense as the Boston metro area public transportation needs to be treated like a top priority. Instead it is treated as a necessary evil. In political terms, where money is concerned, a plurality, if not majority of our citizenry are selfish cowards who don't have the balls to accept that we get what we pay for. Public transportation is one of the most vital services of the Commonwealth and yet, as transportation has been politically used in the past, it is sent to the back of the bus with all the rest of the unwanted.
I would sum up your thoughtful comment with this thoughtless one
that is something that you will actually still hear some older folk say:
"the T is for poor people".
I thought this attitude was changing until the referendum question. If nothing changes now, we will know for sure that nothing has or will change.
Last time we talked bout this
Last time we talked bout this, you turned into 5 points. I responded piece by piece. Now you saw the same thing again taking nothing I said or responded to it.
Let me try and reword it again. Your attempt to correct "Big Dig" debt as MBTA debt missed an important part - the plan did not include the MBTA to use their operation budget to paying off debt. This is like having your dad buying a new car for you with the original plan you to handle gas and insurance... then he transfers the car loan to your name.
Aside from that analogy. The state should be expanding those projects anyway and making the investment rather than the way you paint as one or the other. If you say "don't have the money?" I must respond that the MA budget is still 40 billion. So maybe we should stop cutting transportation first before the other departments.
So that address your "Big Dig Debt is MBTA debt". The CLF portion, I'll address saying this. Even if CLF force the state to spend, I again point out the MBTA should not be foster to handle the debt. That sounds off to you in a way, but I remind that MBTA is not a business - though it should take as many things that works as possible for it - it's infrastructure.
Crap analogy
Is why it didn't deserve response.
If I get a car and pay operational costs, how can I complain that the car wasn't gifted to me since I'm driving it? Is the MBTA the spoiled daughter of daddy warbucks who deserves lots of gifts? I really can't complain when a car I'm driving wasn't bought by someone else.
The MBTA is a service with an infrastructure to deliver that service. The RMV is also a service with an infrastructure that includes computers to provide the service.
Bus and cab companies are businesses and a service. They have infrastructure and manage to operate without largess from taxpayers (sales taxes, excess RMV fees, stolen car inspection trust fund).
MBTA fares simply need to increase. Perhaps use a system where wealthier people pay more, though commuter rail pricing is kinda like that. City and town assessments need increasing too, as the 3rd greatest source of revenue for the T (after fares and state sales tax).
I do agree some of the CLF lawsuit projects were necessary. The maintenance ones, not the service expansion ones. The T needed stuff fixed first before adding more strain that CLF put upon it.
Bus and Cab companies get subsidized roads
Bus and Cab companies get the benefit of huge amounts of infrastructure - roads, bridges, parking lots, transit stations.
Bus companies like the MBTA?
Yes, the MBTA too gets free roadway infrastructure too and still loses money. Its simply because much lower fees are charged than cabs and other bus companies per trip. Private bus companies charge less per mile, but only because they do longer trips.
So, you are incorrect for claiming private transportation is the only beneficiary of "free" infrastructure.
Wait a tick
"He said only a third of the T's debt is due to the Big Dig."
Yeah? The question is: why is the T responsible for any of the Big Dig debt?
Because it is debt for public
Because it is debt for public transit projects required as mitigation of the Big Dig, none of the debt transferred to the MBTA comes from the actual construction of the roadway itself.
Misnomer - Big Dig debt
The T has no Big Dig debt. Its the combination of transferring existing MBTA debt from state balance sheets to the MBTA in exchange for 20% of state sales taxes, plus all the added debt put on the MBTA by the Conservation Law Foundation lawsuit alleging that the Big Dig would increase air pollution (it has not).
BZZZT
Wrong.
The Commonwealth agreed to a contract to get Federal money. They tried to pretend it wasn't binding. A judge told them otherwise.
Rather than not pay contractors for overruns or put in a toll on the tunnel, they fucked over the T instead.
Broken record
Repeating it doesn't make it true, Markk.
There was no exchange. It wasn't MBTA debt, it was state debt. The CLF didn't sue the MBTA for anything, it sued the state for compliance with the Clean Air Act. The CLF didn't allege air pollution would increase, in fact, part of the Big Dig was to improve air handling from the tunnels which couldn't be done with a raised bridge. On top of that we have instituted a number of the CLF remediations already so what you're noticing is partly those improvements (QED you are supporting their argument if air pollution hasn't increased). Also, cars put out less emissions today than when the mitigation was drawn up and idling/delays have decreased with the new road. If these things hadn't happened then pollution would be increased compared to right now since traffic volume has increased.
You are ALWAYS wrong when you talk about this. Stop talking about it. Also, from now on, any time you bring this up, I'm going to copy and paste this same response.
This sentence is five words
This sentence is five words too long:
Hugs,
Strunk & White
The Green Line Extension should be cancelled
Since air quality is better even without it! Thus, mitigation of alleged Big Dig air pollution is already complete. Use the money instead to fix shit.
We should close Route 2 instead
There are too many local roads that do the same job.
How can they cancel the Green Line Extension?
It's already started, in some respects. Also, the Green Line extension would be beneficial, since there's not enough public transportation here in Somerville, and buses are no more efficient for getting around this city as a whole than cars, since buses, too, sit in all that vehicular traffic.
Relativism failure
Let's say pollution was at an 8 in 1980 and predicted to be a 10 in 2020.
The Big Dig alone would have pushed the 10 to an 11 in 2020.
The Big Dig plus its remediation projects was predicted to make the 10 into a 7 by 2020.
Large initiatives like fuel efficiencies and improved exhaust systems knocked 2 off of all 2020 outcomes.
With the Big Dig and some of its remediation projects in place now and the federal efficiency initiatives, as we approach 2020, we find ourselves at around a 6 already.
Now....you say "a SIX?! Clearly we don't need to do anything else since that's more than we could ever dream about given how bad it was predicted in 1980!!". The rest of us say "a SIX is a good start, but we could really do with a 4 or a 5 and that's where we are supposed to be in 5 years".
hey Charlie...
why wasn't Stephanie Pollack at your press conference today?
And congratulations on putting yourself in such a sweet spot. What a great time to cut the MBTA budget, especially since you've got the relatively new director to blame for the problems.
Speaking of Beverly Scott, why aren't you meeting with her, to serve the public good.
Could it be because she is black and female?
Now we are going to start
Now we are going to start accusing of racism and sexism? Seriously?
yes, seriously
definitely, yes, seriously
if it were a white guy, he'd definitely meet with her
Why would he appoint a female
Why would he appoint a female MassDOT director if he disliked women?
LOL
"Could it be because she is black and female?"
Yea. That's gotta be it.
Clown.
Yes that's it. How could we
Yes that's it. How could we miss that. I mean, it's not like anyone has ever used the T GM as a scapegoat before when it was (always) run by a white guy. (For a dose of reality, see my note above about how T GM is always the WORST job in state government, for a person of any race or color).
The mayor of London is in
The mayor of London is in town, and he took(no, waited for) the Red Line. I'm sure he is impressed with all this. Look at a London Tube map and you can see why they could handle an Olympics,and the Tube keeps expanding(check out crossrail.co.uk). The MBTA has added ONE subway station since 1987, and that wasn't even an extension of any sort. Oh, but Mayor Curtatone can tell everyone it's in Somerville.
Here's a novel idea.
If all of these private investors backing the Olympics ACTUALLY give a shit about Boston and its future, dump that money into the MBTA instead of a party nobody wants to throw. Baker can work with the feds to make some tax-incentive magic happen for these people/companies so everyone actually gets something out of it.
If you missed Scott's press conference
WCVB has posted video of it.
Only excerpts
All the posted videos I've seen are 3 minute excerpts/collages of an approx. 30 minute press conference. I'd like to see the whole thing (I tuned in about halfway through).
Shaking her finger at the
Shaking her finger at the public and ranting is unprofessional and 100% disrespectful to people who rely on the T to get to work and earn a living. I'm pretty shocked by her lack of professionalism -- completely uncessary to lecture the public as if we've been naughty school children. Inexcusable!
Why Trains Fail
So for those wanting more tech talk...
The trains can fail for a wide host of reasons.
Green Line - Streetcars (trolleys) have to pull electricity from an overhead wire (called a catenary system). If ice builds up the ice can actually turn into an insulator preventing the electricity from flowing. On the trackless-Trolley (electric bus) routes the T actually has two older buses fitted with dummy trolley poles that they run during bad weather to help keep the ice at bay. While the Green line will run work trains or revenue service trains all night to keep ice from building up, it is not an exact science. Ice and moisture can also build up on the roofs of vehicles that can cause shorts in the electricals. While they are built to withstand rain and ice, age of a train can cause insulating gaskets to wear and moisture creeps in.
Red, Blue, Orange Line - Lots of things can happen. Most trains of this nature have ventilation systems on the wheel motors (called wheel trucks) that pull air in from above, and blow down and out to keep the motors from over-heating. Even in cold temps the heat can build up. If the air filters fail or moisture creeps in - which it does - sensors will trip to prevent a short circuit and the train will shut down. Ice can also build up on a 3rd rail, and just like the streetcars above, can become an insulator preventing electricity from flowing. I know that is counter intuitive but it happens. That is why 3rd rails spark so much on snowy days.
All trains on these services have an emergency brake trip arm that extends down to track level. At each red signal a matching arm raises. If the train passes the armature (often called a "T-bar" because it looks like a letter "T") the matching arm on the train is clipped and the emergency brake go on. It's a safety feature to prevent collisions. If the arm on the train is clipped by ice hard enough, and if the armature itself is loose, the brake will apply. The operator then needs to go through a reset procedure. Of course that assumes the armature is not clogged with ice itself. Also the T-bars can also get stuck causing the same problem.
Train brakes have a dual system. One pressurized system is used to apply the brakes. A second pressurized system is used to feed the emergency brakes which actually keeps the brake springs from closing. If the pressure is lost in the emergency system, the brakes close with a spring and the train stops. It's a safety feature. I have been on trains that attempted to power up forward, having released the service brake that stops the train, only to have the train's electronics also release the emergency air. The train locks up and the operator has to reset. If this happens too many times he/she gives up and the train is taken out of service.
Some of these issues are due to a lack of regular maintenance and sadly, due to funding, maintenance often happens when something breaks completely. How many of us have been on a train and only one-half of the door opens? This is because the door sensors or air line is broken and the train cannot get a signal that allows the train to operate. So the operator or the shop locks down the single door and makes note of the problem, and when there is time for a less critical fix to be done, then it is addressed.
Snow Plowing - FRA regulations say that a train's plow blade cannot be less than 3 inches from the top of the rails. This means that while the bulk of the snow will be cleared, it is actually the wheels and the undercarriage of the train that is clearing the rest of the snow. Read above for what happens when moisture gets into the train motors.
Even if they could go lower, the T-Bars, and various track sensors that tell them where a train is, or to stop it in an emergency would be torn up, so about all they can use is the big snow blowers.
Usually running a train repeatedly over the tracks is enough to keep it cleared, but these last storms were too much. Note the T has 2 of the jet powered snow blowers but one was out of service for repair.
Commuter Trains - The locomotives are large diesel generators that produce electricity that powers the motor trucks the same as a subway train. They have a similar ventilation system subject to moisture. All locomotives are like this and they cannot go through water any deeper than about 1 inch over the tops of the rails, otherwise the water shorts out the motors. The biggest problem in a commuter train set is the brake system which has valves that can get stuck and freeze up and not work right. If that happens the operator cannot get the train to move. It's a safety feature.
Locomotives have two power generators. One large one powers the motors. A second provides power to the coaches for the heat, AC, and lights. If one of these generators fails due to lack of maintenance, you may see an additional locomotive added to the train to supplement the need. However, more often than not, if one fails the whole train is taken out of service. If the motive power fails, then you don't move. If the coach power fails (called the "head end power") you have no lights, AC, heat, WiFi, PA system, etc. And also, the rear cab that operates the train when running backwards needs some of that coach power since it is essentially running the locomotive by wires that run through the train couplings. If any of those wires along the train fail, the train doesn't go backward..
Switches and Signals - Despite the fact that many have heating systems, they can ice up and not work. All switches are controlled by electric motors and those send information to signal towers (red lights) and back to the central control area. If any of the switch fails and there is no clear understanding whether it is working, trains will stop until someone can double check it. This is a safety procedure. This is why some trains were returned to South Station recently - there was no clear indication of what was happening, if the switches were correct, or if the track ahead was clear and not occupied by another train.
Add to this trains that are over 30-years old for the most part, well... this is what you get.
Tell me any automobile that runs for 30-years? Average life is 5-10 years and maybe 15 if you drive less and change the oil faithfully. How long would your car run if you never maintained it and beat it daily with highway and local driving.
Often people complain that the T can build new stations, extend rail lines, but not maintain the fleet. This is usually because they get federal money to do these things, in whole or in part, and by law they cannot redirect those earmarked funds for other purposes. Strings are always attached.
I reflect that many think Beverly should go but under these conditions, there is no human available that can change this. This is the result of years of under-funding, often by a legislature membership that has no interest in the MBTA, so the funds are passed over.
This will not change until the legislature "gets it" and makes changes. Nationally, the dialogue needs to be that moving people is as important to an economy as moving freight and goods, and more recently shale oil. If your people cannot get to work, the stores, elsewhere, the economy fails. What is yet to be seen is the effects of these storms and how long it will take to recover financially. No Governor or MBTA manager can fix this immediately.
I wish
I wish I could like this more than once! Excellent post on why! Thank you! *hand clap*
Bravo!
Now if only the majority of the body politic had an attention span that could carry them through more than the first paragraph, we would really be cooking with gas!
I loved reading that though. Thank you.
FAQ nominee!
How energy inefficient switch heaters and the like sound to me. No wonder the MBTA is the biggest consumer of electricity in the state! Its sad how energy efficiency has changed so little in public transit while the average car has about doubled in MPG.
Comparing the longevity of MBTA trains to automobiles is apples and oranges. Instead compare with commercial road vehicle fleets like for short haul trucking, private passenger bus fleets, and cabs.
MBTA is more what Fung Wa was to buses than Peter Pan, in terms of maintenance and service issues!
Okay, but who voted for Baker
Okay, but who voted for Baker? Ugh.
I did
And you should thank me. somebody's gotta keep an eye on our crooked legislators who do things like screw up the T and then let the governors take the blame.
The way the previous 16-year run of Republican governors did?
Weld, Cellucci, Swift, and Romney all did such a great job of oversight of the legislature during their administrations, right? That's why the Big Dig came in under budget, the MBTA's forward funding plan allowed for reasonable cost increases (one assumption: "health care costs will not increase", haha!), and the gas tax kept up with inflation.
Or, y'know, not.
And the alternative
Imagine what would have happened WITHOUT any checks and balances?
The governor's power is limited in this state - but they have the bully pulpit - which 2 or 3 of those Republican governors did pretty well (Romney's failure wasn't what he did - it's that he stopped doing what he was doing to run for Prez- he could have been a phenomenal governor and waltzed into the White House if he'd just stuck with it another couple years - which is why he's never gotten my vote again).