Single-digit temperatures early Thursday, the coldest day in almost a year, sparked a slew of transportation delays around the region, leaving riders disgruntled at late arrivals and missed appointments.
As bitter cold swept across Eastern Massachusetts during the morning commute, 10 of the MBTA system’s 129 trains experienced mechanical problems, while a broken rail at the Central Square T stop, also caused by extreme cold, interrupted service for almost two hours.
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I don't understand why this bit of cold should so interfere with MBTA trains and subways. Cars and trucks run fine in the cold. How is it these big diesels and electric motors suddenly stop working when it's cold out? (We're not talking -10, here, but only +7.)
The T preventive maintenance program includes extended sleep phases for the workers. Frozen air lines mean water in the air system. Industry standards are not even being followed.
Perhaps the maintenance program should eliminate the sleeping phase so that proper preventive maintenance can be performed on the equipment.
Richard Davey. The problem is Richard Davey. Since he took over state transportation, the T's service has been going downhill. He doesn't know how to run a vital public service. God help us if he ran a power company.
I'd guess he's never seen the inside of a train or bus unless it was a ribbon-cutting or some other ceremony. Closing down the T twice in 2 years, the first closings since 1978, were a sign of the times. I'd vote Republican next time, just to get rid of him.
Well, he did get himself (along with Jonathan Davis) cornered on the Hingham ferry during the big to-do over ending T support for it, but he looked so far out of his element that I doubt he ever used any form of public transportation. Worse, he (and Davis as well) had this condescending attitude that suggested he still didn't understand why everyone on the South Shore wasn't flocking to use the Greenbush line to the exclusion of other means, conveniently ignoring the fact that if they did it would overwhelm capacity. Any thoughts on incoming Chief Exec Beverly Scott? Cheers, Jim Erwin.
I hope Scott will be an improvement. She's worked in Atlanta where many people are dependent on public transportation, especially buses.
Vital public services require a dedicated workforce. Not every employee will have that dedication, of course, but it's a necessity for a well-run grid operator or telecommunications company. Management has to emphasize that people depend on the service the company provides, and that conditions are less than ideal is when you as a worker are needed the most.
That doesn't mean workers don't complain. It does mean they do their jobs under often harsh conditions. They don't call in sick because it's inconvenient to get to work. And their chests swell with pride about the job they do. Despite what is often said about unions, they emphasize that importance to their members.
That's something that's always been missing from the MBTA, but it's worse now. Closing down the entire system for a day because of a storm that lasted 3 or 4 hours sends exactly the wrong message to employees: they aren't a vital service.
That's my thoughts, anyway, based on my own career.