Hey, there! Log in / Register

On the Orange Line, it takes a village to get a woman off a train, because the cars are old and rusty and falling apart

Jed Hresko recounts an experience on the Orange Line today, involving a poor lady in a wheelchair who just wanted to get off the train:

The front-most doors would only open half-way thus the lady in the wheelchair couldn't get out at her stop. She either spoke very little English or had developmental issues so she was sorta shrieking. She rolled to the next doorway... same problem! (i.e only one door of the two would open).

Then, we (passengers) blocked the other doors from closing, got the driver's attention while the lady wheeled to the last set of doors and was able to get off.

When the T finally extends the Orange Line to the Promised Land and we actually get those new cars, this should become just a sad reminder of the past, because the doors are wider, wide enough she would be able to get out even if one didn't open, but they will be more likely to open because they use a different mechanism than the current ones, which date to the days when people actually still paneled their rec rooms with the sort of fake wood Orange Line trains still sport.

Topics: 
Free tagging: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

"She either spoke very little English or had developmental issues so she was sorta shrieking."

Or this was a simple scream of frustrated rage. Admit it, we've all done this on the MBTA
at some point...

up
Voting closed 0

Red line train stopped at Park, one door opened, people got off, guy in wheel chair started yelling for train to wait for him to get off.

This is whole thing is pure stupidity. New trains will only provide a temporary reprieve from MBTA neglect of maintenance. Riders need to start asking how the MBTA plans on maintaining the new fleet. The response will more than likely be, "Well see, we got new trains..."...

up
Voting closed 0

like, you think the mbta just twiddled their thumbs and spend all day at the garages smoking weed? the fact those trainsets are still running at all, decades past their expected lifespan, some of them having missed their midlife overhauls required for even meeting those original lifespan projections, and get used all day every day in all kinds of weather is AMAZING and a testament to the skill of the mechanics and shop people the T have working for them. those cars get maintained at the best level possible - but all the maintenance in the world is a stopgap bandaid at a certain point, because things just get old and break, dude.

anybody who's still riding around in their 40-50 year old classic car babies the shit out of it, keeps it garaged in bad weather, pulls it out for fun drives and special occasions - they aren't treating it like a winter beater through the snow, letting people eat and drink and piss in it, running it 19 hours a day --- and maintaining a car like that is still a huge involvement of passion and energy. but you think magically the trains just haven't been maintained. ok.

up
Voting closed 0

I am glad that people were aware enough of the disabled woman's plight. actually im kinda shocked since most people are so deep into their phones or music they are usually clueless

up
Voting closed 0

Well, her screaming might have drawn their attention...

up
Voting closed 0

Now we know why the other guy took the turnpike.

up
Voting closed 0

Quick boomers, what film is this a quote from?

"Dimi....Dimi....why do you do this to me Dimi?"

I took the T yesterday to Downtown Crossing from Central Square in Cambridge. Just miserable. It wasn't like this in the 80's and 90's...or have I just gotten old and intolerant? In 1985 I was managing an office building right where you got off at St.Pauls Church. When I took the escalator up I was greeted by a bunch of young kids whose pants were halfway down their thighs, exposing their underwear. I mean c'mon. And their average age was 17 and they had cigarettes hanging out of their mouths and were spewing swear words and racial slurs.

Don't these kids go to school?

up
Voting closed 0

Your mother sews socks that smell

up
Voting closed 0

I think you might be in the wrong building.

up
Voting closed 0

The T or the kids? This is a thread about the T and you did a "damn kids get off my lawn". What's that about?

I was also around taking the T in the 80s and 90s. T was better, people were about the same. Were teenagers simply not on your radar back then?

up
Voting closed 0

Is the film in question.

up
Voting closed 0

The T's twitter account is pretty responsive. DM them the car number and door and they pass info onto maintenance...

up
Voting closed 0