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MBTA to expand free WiFi to all commuter rail lines by this spring
By adamg on Mon, 12/15/2008 - 11:24am
Worcester Line experiment a success, so the T now plans to equip up to 258 of its 410 coaches with WiFi, with at least two cars on every single train WiFi enabled by this spring, T officials said this morning. WiFi cars will have a special logo slapped on them.
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Comments
After sitting on the Red
After sitting on the Red Line for almost an hour this morning because of "signal delays," I wonder if this is the best use of the T's very limited budget.
WiFi - WTF????
Billions of dollars in debt, can't come up with the money for mandated wage increases, but we're gonna WiFi everywhere...effin insane.
Theyre doing exactly the
Theyre doing exactly the right thing. Increasing wages wont get anyone else to ride the commuter rail. Providing extra value over a car commute by allowing train riders to work during their commute provides alot of incentive for people to ride the rails. And as a bonus, people on a delayed train may have less reason to complain when they are getting work done or distracted by an online game.
I agree
I don't have the benefit of Commuter Rail between my home and my job, but I wish I did. I get stuck in traffic jams on 128 all the time - probably as often as the MBCR is late. Next time you're in a delayed MBCR train doing your work over the WiFi, think of how you could be in a traffic jam getting nothing done.
I think what the T is doing
I think what the T is doing is figuring they're making people late for work anyway, why not get some work done while you wait?
I was just thinking how it
I was just thinking how it would be nice to have wi-fi on the subway lines but that would probably just increase iphones and laptops getting stolen.
WiFi Doesn't Always Work
The Worcester line was the pilot line for WiFi. It isn't always up. So you're still stuck on the train AND you can't get any work done b/c the WiFi isn't up.
What they should do
Mount the access point near the door with a large re-set button accessible to riders.
Genius!
Man, even if it didn't make the wifi work, I would love to press that button!
does almost never work
I would be psyched to have Wifi on the Worcester line, if it worked. We get a connection about 2 tries out of 10, and one of those tries leaves us with a connection that drops when we hit Back Bay on the way home. Calling the tech support number gets you a rude guy who tells you that you need to reboot your system and check in 15 minutes (at which point the ride is almost over) or, better yet, tells you that the reason it isn't working is that you're on a Mac and their wireless connections doesn't support Macs (wrong! WRONG!).
I agree with you wholeheartedly, effie & Rob.
Somehow, this makes me wonder if this whole Wi-Fi business isn't just sort of a ruse to shut customers up who complain about the delays. The T's limited budget could, imho, be put to better use. Why don't they try to make the T more efficient, and increase the service, if possible, if they're going to increase the fares?
Worcester line WIFI
Yep the wifi on the Worcester line is a joke. I have tried it many times and i dont think i have once been able to even load a single webpage before it dies.
I cant see how the MBTA can call thier testing a "success" if the thing never works.
I know part of the problem may lie in the cellular data network, I have an At&t broadband card for my pc and pretty mych anywhere in between Newton and Framingham its useless. I may as wall have two coffee cans and some string connecting me to the internet. My Blackberry dies in the same areas too, there is just no service where the train runs. Maybe some of the other lines may be better, who knows.