What the riders are saying

[Scrabbleship]

Not sure what this is proving as it's easy to find online criticism of any transit agency, particularly from "witty" folks of the iphone crowd trying to "outsnark" each other.

From what I'm reading on these YELP pages, your beloved MBTA and their bus routes get quite a dose of their own gripes as well!

http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=MBTA+Bus&ns=1&find_loc=Boston%2C+MA#

From my own experiences riding the MBTA on many instances over the last 5 years (twice since the BWI/Logan low-fare battle began, plus one upcoming):

* The B branch of the Green Line is a major mess and the fact that there are 3 stops fronting the Boston University campus does NOT help matters at all.
* Some of the bus routes can be quite mental, especially those with not-heavy headways. I waited for 20 minutes in below-freezing weather to get a 30 from Mattapan to Forest Hills when I was last there; on a Saturday it runs every 50 minutes with only one bus on the route. A friend of mine and I walked from Central to nearly the bridge where Mass Ave crosses the Charles (a good 15 minutes, plus I had luggage) and saw no 1' s pass us by when it's supposed to be every 10 minutes.
* For those who ever railfan the E branch, don't stand on the platform at Heath Street. The train doesn't load from it. I learned this the hard way in freezing rain. Why build a platform when it is never used?
* The fact that the MBTA still specs their buses with hard seats (the AN460LF's and C40LF's excepted, I don't know about the new DE60LFR's) and hasn't gone back to pull cords vs. push tape is a bit of a time warp too. That's one front where WMATA kick's MBTA's butt.
* The fare collection on the surface portions of the Green Line is a bit spotty. It almost varies from operator to operator: one will have all passes enter on the 2 other doors, some will make all passes use the front door, fare inspectors may or may not appear. And I thought the driver who made me pay an extra dime for pass + difference on the B30 because she thought Smartrip fare = base fare was bad.
* When I visited in 2005, I got my day pass on a CharlieTicket (this before many stations and all buses were made compatible). This lead to much confusion when I tried to take buses because they hadn't been fully informed of the change.
* I'm going up to Boston this weekend. I'm due to go to a Red Sox game on Sunday. I'm dreading taking the Green Line back because of the fact that it's double the crowd with a fraction of the capacity. My girlfriend has threatened to walk to Ruggles and get the Orange Line back if it looks that bad.
* I think their food policy is sensible and that one of WMATA's downsides is that the no-food-and-drink policy is hamstringing itself from plenty of revenue opportunities, especially since they're too afraid to enforce the policies and enforcing them would give them more bad PR.
* Let's not even get into such things as "forward funding" (though I think both Annapolis and Richmond should look at the general concept, not just for WMATA but for all agencies), the non-connection of Red and Blue, Arborway, the failure of the Neoplan AN440LF's, etc. etc. Said friend found it to be a farce that it was cheaper for me to buy a weekly pass ($15) for 56ish hours in town versus 3 day passes ($9 x 3 = $27).

I think MBTA gets a big pass for their sucking because a lot of the infrastructure is old and prices for rides in general have always been on the low end and riders get great deals. It's much easier to tolerate 100+ year old stations, packed streetcars, and such when you're paying very little to ride them. The younger, more elaborate, more complex, and a lot more expensive WMATA doesn't have these advantages.

[WMATAGMOAGH]

I haven't been to Heath Street, but it isn't supposed to be the end of the line.  That might explain why you were in the "wrong" place.

Last time I rode the Green Line was before they changed all the fares and were using CharlieCard (I was chauffeuring an elderly relative around when I was in Boston last August for a wedding, had a rental car to do the driving in, and therefore never rode the T over the course of the weekend), but the show and go or whatever they call it was only in effect at certain stations, and only where there were inspectors to monitor boarding.  If there weren't inspectors for any reason, everyone was supposed to board up front.

[Scrabbleship]

I haven't been to Heath Street, but it isn't supposed to be the end of the line.  That might explain why you were in the "wrong" place.

I have it on good authority that that platform was built after it became the "temporary" end of the line and that the non-usage of it is more out of operator choice. Seeing how MBTA cars can open on both sides simultaneously, that might be a good compromise.

Last time I rode the Green Line was before they changed all the fares and were using CharlieCard (I was chauffeuring an elderly relative around when I was in Boston last August for a wedding, had a rental car to do the driving in, and therefore never rode the T over the course of the weekend), but the show and go or whatever they call it was only in effect at certain stations, and only where there were inspectors to monitor boarding.  If there weren't inspectors for any reason, everyone was supposed to board up front.

I've noticed that said policy lingers a lot more on the C and E branches than it does on the B and D branches. On the B branch, it's sheer logistics due to the heavy volume of passengers, on the D branch they have validation stations at all stops.

[Tritransit Area]

Hmm...I wonder if they would ever extend the E back to Forest Hills Station.  The 39 actually boards where the old trolley line used to board, and you can see the "platforms" where the trolley used to pick up platforms.  Of course, the bus travels in the opposite direction in the loop and doesn't make use of these areas, so you have to "cross the track" to board the bus.

Of course, after spending a considerable amount of time at both bus loops at the station before finally finding the 39's boarding area (signage could be much better there) I was just happy to find the bus back to Back Bay.

Bringing this back on topic, people complain so much because they rightfully hold WMATA to a very high standard.  After all, it was built to be super state of the art and to be a high quality system.  Unfortunately, even the great DC Metro can have its issues, and that's what everyone in the world is learning now.

[Antozilla]

NEVER

And the T is beloved to me also

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Bringing this back on topic, people complain so much because they rightfully hold WMATA to a very high standard.  After all, it was built to be super state of the art and to be a high quality system.  Unfortunately, even the great DC Metro can have its issues, and that's what everyone in the world is learning now.

Do you think this is because WMATA is held to a high standard, or because its leadership is an easy target and it is easier to see your money being spent from the Metro?  I bet most of these twitters and bloggers couldn't name the head of VDOT, and wouldn't be calling for their head after it takes an hour to drive up 95/395 during rush hour. 

[Scrabbleship]

Bringing this back on topic, people complain so much because they rightfully hold WMATA to a very high standard.  After all, it was built to be super state of the art and to be a high quality system.  Unfortunately, even the great DC Metro can have its issues, and that's what everyone in the world is learning now.

Do you think this is because WMATA is held to a high standard, or because its leadership is an easy target and it is easier to see your money being spent from the Metro?  I bet most of these twitters and bloggers couldn't name the head of VDOT, and wouldn't be calling for their head after it takes an hour to drive up 95/395 during rush hour. 

I think it might be a combination of both. It is easier to point the finger when there is a person to take the fall and Metro's recent difficulties have made it much easier to point the finger for those on Metro. Also consider that those who are calling Metro out online are largely in DC/Arlington/southern Montgomery County and are people who voluntarily don't drive considering the headaches it can be to drive in DC.

As for Metrorail's high standard, here's something to contrast. Last Tuesday I got a car without working AC on the Red Line in Boston. Next to nobody complained since they understood it was a heat wave and locals know that the Red Line had cars without AC as recently as 1994. Meanwhile, in DC we have one critical blog making lists of "hot cars" and Dr. Gridlock doing columns on "hot cars". It's much easier to grin and bear it when your system wasn't built with fanfare and you're paying much less to ride it.

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Again, I think you miss the point.  I have no idea what the weather is in DC at the moment (after two days in Rio, I~ll take the Brazilian winter over the DC winter, and possibly the DC summer anytime, though I hear summer here can be brutally hot).  However, I took a few Metrorail rides during the heatwave and all the trains I rode were adequately cool in my opinion.  Some were cooler than others, but none were unbearable.  I have no complaints. 

You got one hot car out of however many you rode in Boston.  My guess is (aside from Dr. Gridlock, who purposely went to find hot cars and has not said, from what I've read, that WMATA's air conditioning has not performed to an acceptable standard; rather he is trying to help others be able to detect a hot car and move elsewhere) that most of the people bitching about hot cars probably had fine temperatures on board most trains they rode in the heatwave.  They just had one bad experience and went online, blow things out of proportion, and have what they said repeated ad nauseum on the Internet because that is how these things work.  In light of the fact most of the 4000s are sidelined, I get the impression did quite well on July 4th and during the subsequent heat wave.

Now, if you want something to complain about and be justified in doing so, what about those escalators at Dupont Circle?  The south side escalators were totally replaced in 1997 or soand are due to be replaced again as part of the Red Line rehab.  Having once used that station on a daily basis for 2 years, the north side escalators are often out.  This is a chronic issue that has now persisted for at least FIFTEEN YEARS.  In hindsight, building long escalators without parallel staircases exposed to the elements was probably a mistake.  However, something needs to be done because if a rider wants to point to something as being poorly done at Metro, consistently, over time, with no apparent results despite supposed efforts, those escalators (along with the ones at Foggy Bottom) would be a great one. 

Less than stellar A/C during a July heatwave in Washington?  Try again and better luck next time...

[Tritransit Area]

I do question the wisdom of building such long escalators without "landings".  When the escalators are down, it's a long way to climb up from deep stations like Dupont Circle.  If someone trips and falls, it's a LONG way down.

Do you think this is because WMATA is held to a high standard, or because its leadership is an easy target and it is easier to see your money being spent from the Metro?  I bet most of these twitters and bloggers couldn't name the head of VDOT, and wouldn't be calling for their head after it takes an hour to drive up 95/395 during rush hour. 

Like Scrabbleship said, it's a bit of both.  WMATA made itself out to be more than just an American Urban Subway, but also paying money to ride the system each day makes you think more about how the money is spent than having taxes taken from the paycheck as you commute home on pothole ridden roadways.

[Scrabbleship]

I do question the wisdom of building such long escalators without "landings".  When the escalators are down, it's a long way to climb up from deep stations like Dupont Circle.  If someone trips and falls, it's a LONG way down.

Wasn't Metrorail the first system to extensively use escalators? I think the poor setup on Metro was more a litmus test and that other agencies learned lessons from them (e.g.: Roosevelt Island in NYC, Porter Square in Boston) by having several shorter escalators and landings. In fact, Porter has series of staircases totaling 200 steps as well.

Given when Metrorail was planned, I sometimes wonder what Weese and company were on when they made some of their design decisions. They're hamstringing Metro to this day to the point that fliers are being handed out by the escalator workers union on how Metro can save $11 million/year outsourcing the work.

WMATA made itself out to be more than just an American Urban Subway, but also paying money to ride the system each day makes you think more about how the money is spent than having taxes taken from the paycheck as you commute home on pothole ridden roadways.

Also consider that compared to peer systems, a lot more WMATA riders pay for each ride versus having a pass option. As I said earlier, it's a lot easier to tolerate a system not living up to expectations when you're paying a lot less and/or the system itself is a lot older and can be granted those excuses. Funny that BART and MARTA have no plans for rehab work and they're of similar vintage.

I also think it's the fact that WMATA has no one group that can keep it in line. People in New York can whine about Albany not doing enough. People in Boston can pressure MassDOT. Chicago people can get on Springfield's case. WMATA has no such accountability organization which has allowed it to run amok in the first place. DDOT has its own priorities, VDOT only cares about roads, and Maryland cares about nothing outside I-695.

[WayneNYC]

I always thought it was a bit odd that so many WMATA escalators are exposed to the elements and why not build canopys over the portions of those that are exposed.  Guess I was used to the NYCTA and CTA way of providing escalators.  Of course we don't need that many of them, but my home station (until I was 9 y/o) was E. Tremont Ave/West Farms Sq had an escalator from the street up to the booth.  The difference is that the escalator was enclosed so it was not exposed to the weather.  I do remember it was rare for this escalator to not be working. 

[Scrabbleship]

I always thought it was a bit odd that so many WMATA escalators are exposed to the elements and why not build canopys over the portions of those that are exposed.

I'll delegate why it took nearly 30 years for WMATA to build canopies over their escalators to John for historical perspective. I think I've reached my quota on cracks on Harry Weese's Metro planning for the week .

Outside of Dupont Circle North and Capital South (both situations where the "turtle shell" canopies could aesthetically clash with the surroundings), are there any unexposed escalators left in the system?

[SchuminWeb]

For Dupont Circle's Q Street entrance, would it even be practical to build a "turtle shell" canopy over that large, round opening?  I have a feeling that the size and shape of that one precluded building a canopy over it.

[WayneNYC]

For Dupont Circle's Q Street entrance, would it even be practical to build a "turtle shell" canopy over that large, round opening?  I have a feeling that the size and shape of that one precluded building a canopy over it.

This one always come to mind for me as I use it on occasion when I take Metrorail to work.  Also, one day when it was raining I saw someone slip and fall as they stepped on to the escalator to enter the station.  Not saying that this can't happen on a dry escalator steps, but I'd bet them being wet was likely a factor.  The person was about 6 feet in front of me and I was immediately hoping that this person didn't tumble too far down the escalator.  Thankfully, two guys in front of the falling person was able to quickly grab him.

I was also reminding my wife to be careful on the exposed escalator she uses at Judiciary Square.

[Sand Box John]

WayneNYC
I always thought it was a bit odd that so many WMATA escalators are exposed to the elements and why not build canopys over the portions of those that are exposed.

Scrabbleship
I'll delegate why it took nearly 30 years for WMATA to build canopies over their escalators to John for historical perspective. I think I've reached my quota on cracks on Harry Weese's Metro planning for the week .

Harry Weese's had nothing to do with the fact that surface entrances were built without protection from the elements. That mistake can be placed in the lap of the Fine Arts Commission. The Fine Arts Commission didn't like the idea of having roofs over the surface entrances that might clash with the the surrounding architecture. It was only recently that the Fine Arts Commission allowed WMATA to built canopies over the escalators. The entrance pylon with the back lite M was also a compromise that was made with the Fine Arts Commission.