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Guess we spoke too soon: Red Line shut about noon

By adamg on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 12:18pm

The T reports it's busing Red Line riders between Alewife and Harvard due to a power problem at Harvard. Word came right after Gov. Baker, in a snow news conference, said, "The T actually had a pretty good morning."

Neighborhoods: 
Cambridge
Harvard Square
Topics: 
The T
Free tagging: 
Red Line
Alewife


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Comments

By anon on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 12:23pm.

What a joke this guy is.

By cybah on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 12:24pm.

Of course it had a good morning. I left my house (Chelsea) at 5:30am.. it was still raining and just starting to snow.

By the time I walked over to the new office from my old one (~8:30) in DTX.. it was snowing but not sticking.

It didnt really start sticking until after 11.

I just walked to Gov't Center (from my old office near South Station) and the flakes are big and wet. My pea coat was covered in snow. The sidewalks and roads are getting slick)

My point is.. of course the T had a good morning, an inch of snow hadn't even fallen (or at a minimum stuck anywhere) until the tail end of rush hour.

By anon on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 12:40pm.

When i left my house in W. Rox around 7:45 the snow had already began to stick, probably 1in.

By cybah on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 2:19pm.

But the difference between W Rox and Downtown Crossing can make all the difference. Interior locations started earlier. Boston (downtown) always is last due to the warmness of the harbor.

By roadman on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 12:41pm.

is this: Did the T fare (no pun intended) any better this morning dealing with a (until recently) minor snowstorm than they normally would have on a morning without snow?

Ancodotal evidence - plus the lack of Green and Orange Line alerts - tells me the answer is yes, they did.

By J3 on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 12:44pm.

I'm guessing this is because ridership was down due to schools being cancelled and some people not going to work. Basically one of the adverse situations that the T struggles with is people trying to ride it.

By anon on Sat, 02/06/2016 - 6:50am.

This Red Line issue is all at underground stations, so it's just typical T decrepitude and can't be counted against their winter resiliency work.

By J3 on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 12:39pm.

Expert panel recommends fixing the MBTA by moving the system to a region where there is no snow, rain, or heat

By dirtywater77 on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 1:03pm.

As of 12:55pm the red line is running between Alewife and Harvard, despite the T's announcements to the contrary. No staff visible at Davis except two Transit Police officers doing fare gate enforcement... because that's exactly what's needed in this situation?!?!

By roadman on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 1:11pm.

No staff visible at Davis except two Transit Police officers doing fare gate enforcement... because that's exactly what's needed in this situation?!?!

Transit Police should be doing faregate enforcement every minute the system is open to customers - regardless of snowstorm, diversion, or whatever. Having them in the stations also allows for quicker response should emergencies happen. Sadly, these are two points that seem to be totally lost on T management.

By dirtywater77 on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 1:23pm.

Agreed. The issue was that they were hearing the announcements, watching the pax continue to stream onto the platform, and not taking any action. To be fair, they probably didn't have complete or up-to-date info. But the lack of coordination reflects poorly on the T.

By jmeltzer on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 1:30pm.

"All hands, to the lifeboats!"

By J3 on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 3:52pm.

General fare enforcement is all well and good, I guess, but wouldn't it be more cost-effective to be better about fixing broken fare gates that are constantly frozen wide open? I feel like I'm constantly complaining about this, but it's just ridiculous that the MBTA would put fare increases so much as on the table when they don't even have a handle on fare collection.

By Daan on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 7:28pm.

Gate crashing frequently happens at Green St. People either rushing behind faregate payers or two people walking in close to each other so that only pays. That there rarely is station attendant at Green is one problem. The other problem is that when there is a station attendant they are reading a bible or just not paying attention at all.

By roadman on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 8:42pm.

the basic design of the system encourages fare evasion. THAT is what needs to be fixed.

By anon on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 1:56pm.

The problem was a smoldering cable near Harvard

By Christie-Baker 2016 on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 4:22pm.

#BakerHappens. Unfortunately, theres a not a lot you can do.

By anon on Sat, 02/06/2016 - 6:53am.

Yup, a cable (which is probably 30 years old) catching on fire is the Governor's fault.

By Baker-Christie 2016 on Sat, 02/06/2016 - 12:13pm.

Its part of his job, a deteriorating system which the governor loaded with highway debt 20 years ago last time he was in government is now responsible as governor when he is starving the same system of money it needs to update and maintain, as well as expand. Instead, he just convenes "blue ribbon" panels which recommend what he wants them to do, cut and starve, increase fares and cancel expansion projects that are needed for the overcrowded system.