Are You Being Served: The Urban Ring

Finally! Sorry for the delays, let's just say I've been experiencing some "technical difficulties" lately. I've also tweaked the format of the series a bit, as well as the names of each post. Hope you enjoy!

- The Lone Rider

So there has been a lot of buzz lately around the Urban Ring project. The tentative plan for it (including proposed routings, etc.) has been somewhat finalized. However, there is still some room for tweaking. Several community meetings held in Chelsea, Roxbury, Cambridge, and The Fenway gave residents (and possible future riders) a chance to learn more about the project, raise their concerns, and chip in some suggestions. Some chaps I know over at Alternatives For Community and Environment (ACE) stopped by the Roxbury meeting. Check out their blog to see what they think about the Urban Ring:

http://www.ace-ej.org/a_transit_injustice_in_the_making

So what is the Urban Ring, that experiment in rapid transit that has everyone talking? The Urban Ring is a proposed bus rapid transit system that would connect the outlying "spokes" of the current rapid transit system. Using a combination of private rights of way, dedicated bus lanes, and a massive $1,000,000,000+ tunnel under the Longwood Medical Area, commuters would no longer have to go into the downtown core to transfer between lines.

Or take often congested and slow buses across town...

*cough*Route 01*cough*Route 66*

Sorry, I think I may be coming down with something.

Trip times between major points such as Dudley Square and Cambridge, would drop drastically. As I said before, places that currently require passengers to take local buses (or if you belong to MASCO, a private shuttle) to get to and fro. Each stop would be a little mini-station, similar to the ones on the Silver Line Washington Street. Hopefully, they will be better designed. The Urban Ring would also have key features such as priority signaling, CAD/AVL (like that found on the current bus fleet) and much more state-of-the-art technology to ensure maximum efficiency and performance. And of course no new BRT line would be complete without a fleet of state of the art buses. Hopefully New Flyer Industries, my favorite bus manufacturer, will get the bid. It is projected to attract up to 175,000 passengers per day.

According to one of the slides from the Roxbury meeting (you may view a PDF of each of the meeting presentations on the official Urban Ring website, www.theurbanring.com) another goal of the Urban Ring is to bring "new rapid transit for environmental justice communities". That's sounds fantastic! Apparently, included in their definition of an environmental justice community are places such as The Fenway and Admiral's Hill in Chelsea. Those places seem kinda upscale to me, not really areas that jump out at you as "EJ". Check out their handy-dandy map outlining which areas are "EJ" and which ones aren't here, on page five. Just in case you're curious, Everett Shops and Briggs Field also count as EJ areas. Really? You mean the place where they store retired RTS buses before they are scrapped and the MIT sports field in Cambridge? Reminds me of how in the MBTA 2005 Title VI report several parks and even a pond were shown to be "Minority Transportation Access Zones", a rough equivalent to the Urban Ring's "EJ communities." Do they really count fish as minorities? Seems kinda insulting...

MASCO will certainly be happy: no more shuttles! The Urban Ring will pretty much do the job for them. Think of the money they'll save.

My enthusiasm, however, is somewhat curbed...

I'm all for a new transit line. Hopefully, it will draw people away from their cars and onto public transit. But the Urban Ring is going to be Bus Rapid Transit (or as some mocking call it, "Barely Rapid Transit"). Since the Silver Line debuted in 2002, I've wary of the whole concept. I'm still not entirely sold on the idea of a bus being considered rapid transit. I won't get into the particulars right now, that'll be the next post! When I first heard about the project several years ago, heavy rail rapid transit (i.e. a subway) was being considered as one of the options. Of course that never came to be. Would've been nice though.

It is the fact that Roxbury and Dorchester are almost all but skimmed over that really troubles me. Proposed stations in these areas include Ruggles, Melnea Cass Boulevard, Dudley Square, Newmarket (1010 Mass Ave.), Edward Everett Square, and UMass Boston. If you look at their Environmental Justice map (EJ areas are colored red), a large swath of communities are overlooked. True, the ring is focused on the "urban core", but while you're at it maybe build a new light rail line or two in Roxbury? The Urban Ring could be like one of those hippie bracelets that has strings of beads hanging from it. Only, those strings would be light rail lines feeding into the Urban Ring. All of this investment, about $2.2 billion dollars, but some people are still being left out. So once again, some riders will just be left waiting at the bus stop.

Are You Being Served?

Greetings, dear readers.

I am launching a series of articles called Are You Being Served? They shall have the overarching theme of looking at environmental justice and transit equity issues, and of course what would be best for the daily riders and the MBTA itself. I will attempt to be as fair and unbiased as possible. But of course, this is a blog after all! Thus I will be interjecting my educated opinion, but not in the Fox News-y kinda way.

It shall be divided into four parts:

Part 1 - The Urban Ring: Boston's Transit Solution or Nightmare?

Part 2 - The Silver Line: Sterling or Tarnished?

Part 3 - The MBTA Bus System (Sorry, no witty subtitle...yet!)

Part 4 - Light Rail On Hyde Park Ave: My Vision For Boston's Transit Future

Sorry for the cheesy names I gave some of them. I just couldn't help it.

So as I embark on this project I hope to open your eyes to some of the issues raised, invite you to share your opinions and of course criticism, and basically give you something to think about.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

This morning a woman was struck by an Oak Grove-bound Orange Line train. The incident happened at Sullivan Station. Rumors are abounding that it was an apparent suicide, but I will wait for the official investigation to come to a close. She was the third person to be struck by an MBTA train this week. Earlier this week a math teacher was hit by a Fitchburg Commuter Rail train near Concord. The MBTA said that he was trespassing on the right of way. Similarly, a teenage boy was also hit by a Commuter Rail train near Bellevue Station on the Needham Line. Authorities say he and a friend (whom was not injured) were walking along the tracks. My condolences go out to all of their friends and family.

But in the last two cases, one has to wonder. Why were they on the tracks? Don't people realize that walking on the tracks is a terrible idea? Well, not everyone has common sense. Maybe people will learn someday.

Please do not walk on or near railroad/subway tracks at any time. That shortcut could very well cut your life short.

So There Was This Neoplan AN440...

Alas, it has been about two weeks since my last post. Sorry to keep any of you regular readers waiting. So what's been going on? Well, on the 111 things are as usual. Last Tuesday (Bunker Hill Day) I had the good fortune to see all thirteen buses that were operating on the 111 during the PM rush hour. This of course happened in the timespan of about twenty minutes. Speaking of the 111, this morning I spotted bus #0518 heading inbound. What's so remarkable about that? Well, Neoplans are a rare sight on the 111.

For those who don't know, this is a Neoplan.

But that isn't why I was so shocked to see it. 0518 is a Fellsway Garage bus. The 111 is a Charlestown Garage route. Granted, Charlestown does cover Fellsway routes weeknights and weekends, but to flip things around like that? Bizarre. Then again, I have seen many a Cabot bus doing Arborway work.

Note the untiled platform. Summer rehab work at
Wonderland, Revere Beach, Beachmont, and Wood Island Stations
will soon correct problems such as this.

In rapid transit news, the Blue Line will soon become the "New Line" once several station renovation projects are completed by summer's end. Sorry for the corny rhyme. Taking place at Wonderland, Revere Beach, Beachmont, and Wood Island Stations, the work will primarily focus on redoing the platforms. Additional work such as putting up new signage and painting will also be done.

I have also seen some of Quincy's brand new New Flyer D40's. I still have not ridden one yet, but I plan to soon.
Our old pals, Type 3 snowplow #5164 and PCC wire car #3332, have now been incorporated into the collection of retired transit vehicles at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine. 3332 was the last double-ended ex-Dallas PCC (try saying that three times fast) still on T property. It spent its last years as a support vehicle on the Mattapan High Speed Line. 5164 (and I don't think any other T vehicle has accomplished this feat) put in 100 years of service for the MBTA, MTA, and BERy (Boston Elevated Railway). 5164 originally entered service as a passenger streetcar in 1907. Twenty years later, it was converted to a snow plow (with many of its Type 3 brethren). Unlike now, back then many cities and towns did not plow their main streets as they often had a streetcar line running down the middle of them. BERy (along with the Eastern Mass. Street Railway in the suburbs) took on the responsibility of clearing away the snow for auto (and of course streetcar!) traffic. Good luck at your new home!


Also, keep your eyes peeled for the 2008 MBTA Service Plan, coming to a community outreach meeting near you! The biennial assessment of the T's bus and subway service it sure to be chock full of good stuff (unless you take the 743, but then again who does?).

Heat Stroke

Well it was another fun day on the 111's. Four RTS buses died during the height of rush hour!
One bus broke down three separate times and was sent back out onto the street after it was patched up each time. We can't let too many buses fall off the line, now can we?

The heat must have finally gotten to 0258, even though it was doing a trip on the 111 the bus thought for sure it was an 89. The TransitMaster, no matter what the driver did, stubbornly spat out "Route 89 CLARENDON HILL". I later spotted 0258 heading inbound at Woodlawn saying "11 CITY POINT VIA BAYVIEW". Doesn't the 11 run in South Boston, not Chelsea? Yeah, a missing "1" can make a big difference.

0582 (a Neoplan from Lynn Garage operating on the 426) was showing off how tough it was at Haymarket Station. While waiting to leave the station, the engine was going full throttle. The bus of course was not going anywhere. Just burning fuel. Talk about being in a race to go nowhere. The transmissions on the Neoplans also have a mean downshift, which it why they are some of the noisiest buses in the fleet.

0240, still on the front line for the 111's, had no AC. Well, at least none you could really feel. The boys over at the garage told him to "keep his windows open". Guess that's what they had to do before buses had AC.

All I can say is that my bus, 0736, was working fine. Perfect AC! And no crowds! The only problem was that I kept getting a "hot engine" light. It just wouldn't go away. Well, the engine didn't catch fire so I suppose it resolved itself.

After we crossed the Tobin Bridge RTS 0392 greeted us with its lights out, engine dead, and hazard lights flashing. The operator, who is about eight months pregnant, was sitting with an inspector in his van trying to beat the heat. At least she didn't go into labor...

Also, a Red Line train with bad brakes lost control today. No injuries, nothing major. But with four safety supervisors at the helm, how could you have gone wrong?

PCC Photos

More to come soon!

Two For One Special! Today Only!

I was doing my rounds today and found myself at Ashmont Station. The original platforms have been demolished and the temporary ones in place are made from two by fours, plywood, and roof tiling. Sounds safe enough to me! The platform now extends towards Codman Yard, almost into it in fact. There is also a new exit on the outbound platform to a side street where Tower Q used to stand.
Anyway, I wandered over to the faregates and asked the CSA (Customer Service Agent, the folks in the burgundy shirts) how things were going. And then the trouble started...

You see, all four of the CharlieCard Fare Vending Machines were broken! A software glitch prevented passengers from adding value to their CharlieCards. Don't have enough to get on the train? Well, you're going to have to buy a $2.00 CharlieTicket then. Or walk to the next stop, Shawmut. I'm sure their machines are working. Your choice. Naturally, the riders were less than happy about it.


Note that the "Add Value" icon is gray. Tap it, slap it, punch it; whatever you do will be in vain. It just isn't going to respond. The CSA eventually decided to let two people split the cost of a $2.00 CharlieTicket and go in together. Of course, many people were still mad about paying the extra $0.30 (and rightly so) when there was no one to go in with them. The CSA told me it had been like this since the start of service. That's about 5:00AM. He had called downtown, however it was a software problem not a mechanical problem. Thus the "Charlie Crew" could not fix it. Guess those IT guys must be pretty busy with all the computers down at Park Plaza.

So I did my part and explained to the passengers what was up and what their best option was. After that, I went onto the Mattapan Trolley to see how things were going...

I really expected to get a trolley with the wrong farebox code. For you see, off and on someone has been telling the trolley operators to program their fareboxes as Route 831. FYI, the subway and trolley lines all have route numbers like the buses (Orange Line = Route 903, Red Line = Route 931 or 933, etc.). On the Green Line and Mattapan Trolley, the routes are programed into the fareboxes so they charge the right fares and accept the correct transfers. As I was saying, misinformed operators were putting in Route 831. The problem? That is the farebox code for the C Branch of the Green Line! Thus, when you get off the Red Line at Ashmont going to Mattapan the farebox charges you extra. Dude, Cleveland Circle is no where near Ashmont! You definitely had to have left the system to get here. Many an extra $1.70 was lost in the confusion. But they got hip and started putting in Route 899, the Mattapan Trolley route number. But none of that nonsense today. The farebox had the right route number, it was just not accepting anything. No coins, no dollars, no transfers, no coconuts. Other than car 3262 (remember this car? It derailed on opening day) coming off the wire, not too bad a day. I'll have some PCC photos coming soon!