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Legislators begin to ponder tax hike to do something about the T
By adamg on Thu, 10/27/2016 - 8:05pm
WGBH reports yesterday's Back Bay smoketastrophe has gotten legislators to thinking about taxes.
WFXT, meanwhile, reports the reason the driver couldn't open the doors all at once was because the train was not fully in the station - and that the T is sending him to reeducation because he should have gotten on the PA and told riders he was going to have to open each door individually.
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Comments
Yeah
I'm sure people would have remained calm and suffocated in place once they had been reassured that some dude was slowly opening one door at a time.
How much difference would that have made?
1. At least half the time, you either can't hear the PA, or even if you can hear it, you can't make out any intelligible words.
2. I am a rule follower, but even I am not going to believe the MBTA when they tell me to sit tight because they'll be right there to let me out of a smoke-filled train.
3. I'm a little uncertain as to the order of events, but if the train wasn't fully in the station because its motor had caught fire, isn't that better than carefully and correctly parking a train that is, y'know, on fire?
Train had just left the
Train had just left the station when one or more of the motors blew on the first car. so at least the first, maybe first and second car, where not in the station when it stopped. If he opened the doors, some people may have climbed down onto the track and be at risk contacting the third rail, which was still alive. It is safer to stay on a car with a smoking blown motor than to touch the third rail.
Tricky
If you honestly think the air is quickly becoming poisonous with smoke you take your chances with the 3rd rail. At least you can step around the 3rd rail (in theory) but you can only hold your breath for a few minutes at best.
I've been in an electrical fire and it's scary. Sickening black smoke makes it impossible to see and breath within minutes. I don't know what it was like on the train yesterday but if people felt their lives were at danger staying put you'd have to expect them to ignore the conductor and do whatever they had to leave.
Fair enough
I didn't know the details and I don't know anything about trains. I was operating on the instinct that if it's on fire, one should stop driving it. But you make good points, thank you.
Easy blame
Yeah, its all the conductors fault.
Will this re-education include how to say the desired message in other languages? And say it really really fast, since you know, the train is smoking and he needs to hurry up and get to opening the doors one by one.
The Orange Line PA system is so clear and easy to hear and understand, no doubt everybody will be soothed and calmly wait for their door opener to arrive once this announcement has been made. So what if there is smoke and you're trapped in a train car, an announcement will be made and that fixes everything.
Perhaps if MANAGEMENT
hadn't eliminated the second person on trains, then the train CREW would have been able to both manually open the doors faster AND make announcements. But demanding that the one person operating the train make announcements BEFORE informing operations of the problem and then taking steps to evacuate the train (by manually opening doors) is absurd.
If you read any CVR transcripts of airline emergencies, you'll note that the passenger announcements are one of the last things the cockpit crew does, and they are made AFTER they assess the situation and determine the appropriate action for both the crew and the passengers to take.
Baker was banging on the operator too.
I'm not about to say he was heroic like the union guy in this video says, but Baker is tone deaf.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/10/27/mbta-orange-line-back-bay-city-cou...
I echo the comments about about why the protocol seems absurd. Baker seems to have never ridden the T.
Not True!
He did once.
Question?
The smoke was outside of the train, wouldn't it be safer to keep the doors shut thus exposing the passengers to less smoke? I can't blame the passengers for smashing the windows out but wasn't it employees who smashed the windows first?
well that's weird
it's almost like, if you underfund and understaff a vital public service, it begins to fall apart.. huh, you learn something new everyday I suppose.
Well that's rich!
Underfund and and understaff.
Have you ever analyzed the MBTA budget?
Lack of money is not the problem.
Yeah actually it is,
Yeah actually it is, especially if you look at capital funding rather than just operating.
Imagine how much better the T would be today if the legislature and successive administrations hadn't repeatedly put off allocating funds for replacing old equipment and infrastructure. If we actually gave the T the appropriate funding for capital projects, it would be in a lot better shape, and honestly need less money for operations.
If the scarce funding they're given by the state is 100% eaten up by personnel, then obviously maintenance will suffer. Lack of money IS a problem.
Nope
There has been plenty of money. But instead of allocating it to capital projects it went to salaries and bennies. Debt service remained virtually stagnant until a few years ago and now the T is playing catch up. If you track the income statement from forward funding until now, it's clear. Income has doubled and until a few years ago debt service was essentially unchanged. Nothing to do with fundiing, everything to do with allocation of those funds.
Sigh
One way or another, we'll continue to pay more for less.
Good idea. Use the increased
Good idea. Use the increased tax money to cover MBTA legal fees. The condition of the trains, and other equipment, can cause a major disaster with possible casualties in the very near future. The Defendants will need all the money they can get when families of loved ones sue them. I pray it never happens .
The MBTA already is
The MBTA already is ridiculously top heavy in the legal department and leadership positions.
Thank Billy Bulger for structuring the MBTA to serve patronage and not function properly as a transit agency. The institutional structure, work rules, and culture are so corrupt and badly prioritized it isn't funny. They are an employment and benefit payment agency which just happens to provide some transportation services on the side.
T Officials: Can't Use New Funding Now
But yes, in a few years
http://commonwealthmagazine.org/transportation/t-officials-no-new-revenu...