ansoncfit

Last Update of the Night

T experiencing delays, dispatchers asking operators to hold connections and apologize to passengers for delays.

Route 8 is being diverted due to Boston Celtic Championship Celebrations. Boston Police have closed Brookline Ave. from Park Dr. to Beacon St.
Inbound Connections can be made Brookine Ave and Park Dr..
Outbound Connections can be made at Kenmore Station.
6/18/2008 12:20 AM

[From mbta.com]

EMS called for man who lacerated his arm by punching through vehicle window.

Officer yelling: “Foot pursuit!” [Dispatcher and other officers confused]

Outside fire, 1263 Tremont [police verify, report mostly boxes being burned in middle of street]

Possible Missing person, last seen in Waltham, reported at 267 Waverley in Belmont

Fire alarm, Broad and Water

Central Square (closest bars to me) has just been reported clear.  I’m going to sleep, though I’m sure the fun will continue…

Read Full Post | June 18 2008 | Local News | No Comments » |

Red Line: Longfellow Bridge Work

For the past couple of weeks, Red Line trains have been ordered to slow to a crawl while crossing the Charles River, due to concerns over railroad tie deterioration on the bridge. I’m a bit nervous about this, especially since the T has decided to make emergency repairs (without calling them that).

Pesaturo said the ties were scheduled to be replaced during the rehabilitation of the Longfellow Bridge, “but MBTA staff has decided to accelerate the schedule.”

[From the Somerville Journal.]

I’ve seen how slowly the trains have been running from the Harvard Bridge (Mass Ave), but hadn’t actually ridden one until yesterday.  They really are crawling.  The “accelerated schedule” means the Red Line will be shut down on June 14-15 and 21-22.

Read Full Post | June 06 2008 | Local News and Transportation News | No Comments » |

Operator 65891

Tonight, I met my favorite bus driver ever.

Read Full Post | June 05 2008 | Anson and News and Happenings and Transportation News | No Comments » |

D Branch Crash

Two trolleys crashed on the D Branch of the Green Line this evening. The operator of one of the trolleys died. Pretty scary stuff…

Read Full Post | May 29 2008 | Local News and Transportation News | No Comments » |

Boston teen to win award for transit work

May 23, 2008

As you know from yesterday’s blog, we will be highlighting our Jammin’ awardees leading up to the event next Wednesday. Today’s selected honoree is TRU member Stuart Spina.

Stuart’s involvement with the T Riders Union (TRU) began with a chance encounter last summer. In June 2007, he was at Dudley Square Bus Station conducting his own research on bus service and came across a TRU organizer doing outreach. He realized that we were working on the same issues, decided to attend a meeting, and as he says, “the rest is history!”

In the past year he has become a prominent face at the ACE office, TRU events and MBTA board meetings. At a recent press conference Stuart presented his research on twelve bus routes in Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan, which he collected over nine months of observations. This report caught the attention of the MBTA, and they offered him a summer internship in scheduling and service planning. Read more…

Read Full Post | May 23 2008 | Environment | No Comments » |

Service on the Silver Line bus anything but ‘rapid transit’

May 21, 2008

Our friends at No Free Transfer have started a 25 Things I Hate about the T list. Ranking at number seven is the Silver Line bus. While the MBTA promised the residents of Dorchester and Roxbury service equal to or better than the Washington Street Elevated Orange Line that was torn down in 1987, the T’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) replacement has been anything but an improvement.

The Silver Line bus has not incorporated widely used BRT innovations. Even transit-starved Los Angeles has been able to implement signal prioritization and headway-based scheduling (which would reduce the “clumping” of buses which plagues the Silver Line bus) for its BRT, and other cities are following LA’s lead. Read more…

Read Full Post | May 21 2008 | Environment | No Comments » |