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MBTA slow-cooks rush hour
By adamg on Wed, 12/14/2022 - 1:24pm
Lauren Picone on the Orange Line and David Weininger on the Red Line filed photos this morning showing their situations trying to get into town during Boston's new normal slow hour on the T.
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Well...
To quote Q'aia Die Göttin-Vaderin: "So, Trollije Feldmarschall, is Boston's sloppily-made pizza of a U-bahn system still burning in the oven?"
Those signs are often
Those signs are often inaccurate. Multiple times lately a 13 minute wait quickly is adjusted to a 6 minute wait or something along those lines. There should absolutely be more frequent service, but lets be fair.
wait times
The orange line is often 12+
three times the last 2 weeks sat at forest hill's on the train for 12+ minutes before it moved.
always was 8 or less at 7 am.
luckily I only use it 2 times a week now instead of 5
I've heard a few things about
I've heard a few things about the process that calculates those estimates. Suffice to say that it's a lot more complicated than you might guess, enough that while I always have a little shade to spare for the T, I can't really criticize this particular operational detail.
Data!
Rather than relying on anecdotes (and, yes, there are times near the end of the line when a vehicle is not logged in and times decline) we can look at data to see what's going on.
In the case of the Orange Line, the shutdown eventually brought down travel times and even headways; by mid-October headways were around 10 minutes, and travel times were where they should be by early November. The good times rolled for about a month. In the past week, travel times have risen a bit, but average wait time has crept up to 11 or even 12 minutes.
Of course, there's the Red Line, where in the past 18 months travel times have crept up from 21 minutes from Andrew to Davis to 27 minutes (and just as bad on the branches). Quincy Adams to Davis has gone from 43 to 53 minutes in the past 15 months; Davis to QA 40 to 51.
tl;dr service has gotten demonstrably worse in the past few weeks. Thanks, Charlie.
I think I know why
I don’t look at that data a lot, but I do look to see how many trains are on the Orange Line.
Before limits due to lack of dispatchers- 16
After limits, before (and after) shutdown- 10
The last few weeks- 8
That’s half of what was on the line at this time last year and 80% of what was on the line at the start of October. Sad.
Somewhat related
I've now taken the GLX from Medford/Tufts each day since the system has opened. The train is jammed packed by the 3rd stop (Gilman) at 8am. Anyone who said the GLX wasn't need or "would only replace a bus" is flat out wrong. The ridership shows GLX is needed and well used.
They say trains every 6-7 minutes but it's more like every 15 min in the times I've used it. Perhaps that's partly why it's so crowded.
There are restrooms at Medford/Tufts and they are in good shape. That probably won't last long but nice to see public amenities that are easy to find and use. (Do the other stops have bathrooms?)
Has there been any enforcement on the "tap to validate" honor system?
Forest Hills
Although you have to pay your fare first to use them. Also Back Bay.
Ah
I was asking if all the GLX stops have restrooms.
I know about the fabled Back Back restroom although I haven't had reason to experience first hand. Alewife is another restrooms of last resort but it's better than nothing when duty calls.
Alewife men's room has been
Alewife men's room has been closed for a while I think. Do not trust that it will be available.
Back Bay
They redid all their restrooms...Have to say, the Ladies Room is nice, and way better than South Station's creepy Ladies Room.
Rest rooms
Harvard, Porter, and Davis, too. Davis in paid area; Harvard and Porter free. But Harvard is often kept locked. Upstairs, the city has placed port-a-potties, open 24 hours; plus Smith Center at Harvard open into the evening, 7 days.
Central?
I could have sworn Central had a restroom off of at least one of the platforms, but this was maybe 15 years ago, and I never dared trying to check it out. It might have even required unlocking by an attendant on duty (ha!), but again my memory is hazy.
Yes - outbound to Alewife
At Central, the restroom is in the middle of the outbound platform, halfway between the exit onto Mass Ave and the end of the platform. Your best bet would be to board the third or fourth train and you can walk right to it.
It's MBTA standard...no toilet paper, no soap, and in need of a good wash and remodeling.
Go Lauren!!! Hayyyyy!
Go Lauren!!! Hayyyyy!
Yes anecdotal….
… but as a regular Red Line commuter, I can say that the Red Line is a mess Not only is a 20 minute wait for trains normal no matter the time of day, but the trains crawl once they surface after Andrew. The slow downs are worst on the Braintree branch. Don’t know whether this is equipment-related but it seems they are running the oldest cars most frequently lately.
Less than four weeks until January 7th
when Maura Healey and the rest of us find out how _really_ bad it is.
Overnight Shift Rush Hour
I'm not sure what to call the times between 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM when you're waiting for the T but "Rush Hour" would seem to work.
So tonight 12/18/ 2022 I arrived at Forest Hills Station at 10:11 PM to be on time in the vicinity of the Longwood Medical Area for an 11:00 PM shift. The #39 bus would not arrive for another 44 minutes and the one following that was 56 minutes. I ended up taking a cab.
Slow downs aren't just for trains anymore.