What can solve the MBTA? (Boston, Beverly: how much, job openings, school)

[mdovell]

Technically this goes beyond Boston but I'll say it. I don't think things are going to be fixed for a long while.

Years ago I went to hear Beverly Scott speak. I thought she'd take some hard left argument but she didn't. She basically told it like it is. You have a inflexible unionized workforce, a procurement process that takes forever and has limited competition, a planning process that takes forever etc.

If you read the general mass board you might know I tend to be a booster for springfield and western mass. Well I think something is a bit odd about CRRC MA.

https://www.wcvb.com/article/mbtas-n...ation/36384930

I've noticed that there appears to be some consistency of job openings at CRRC MA. I talked to a former employee about a job I was interested in and frankly he said the pay was great but the management was awful (not union I'm talking actual administration)

So now it's being said that the controls have to tighten the more these are used? Ok so what has to be fixed or replaced this time. The cars or the track? If it's the cars that should have been anticipated by the test track they have in springfield. If the problem is the track then we have a much bigger problem as that might mean shutting down entire lines.

How can anything of this be solved in another four months? Academia is giving the green light for students to come back if vaccinated. I'm not going to get into the debate of which one(s) but I can't imagine it would be that hard at this point. If we want more people to go "back to the office" at the same time there's no way everyone can drive. 128 is going to be a red ring of death again if the MBTA issues aren't solved. It can take months just to make one rail car.

Heck forget about traffic for the moment. If employers aren't validating parking and everyone goes back where will people park and who pays for it? If people moved out of Boston for more space then the longer drive back will be a factor on top of this as well.

[msRB311]

It seems like there is no plan to improve the MBTA another reason many are enjoying WFH. Some people literally have no option to drive if they have no car and some companies provide no parking, there are no spots on the street and/or the parking they do have is full.

[BosYuppie]

CRRC MA is not the MBTA. It is a corporation that sells trains to the MBTA.

Also you don't really specify what problem exactly it is that you want to see solved.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by BosYuppie

CRRC MA is not the MBTA. It is a corporation that sells trains to the MBTA.

Also you don't really specify what problem exactly it is that you want to see solved.

What I would like to see solved-less delays, trains that don't break down every other day, less crowding, more trains, faster trains.

[mdovell]

Originally Posted by BosYuppie

CRRC MA is not the MBTA. It is a corporation that sells trains to the MBTA.

Also you don't really specify what problem exactly it is that you want to see solved.

Right and I get that but the procurement process for rail can easily take months to award and years to build out. We're not talking about auto parts here. There aren't that many rail companies out there in the country, let alone world and then subtract the cargo vs passenger cars.

Delays, lack of updates, cancelled trains. I used to take the train all the time. 1998-2000. I think I had one delay on the subway of a half hour on the redline between braintree and quincy. Years of taking it with one delay. Commuter rail was fine. But then there's more delays,

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/...ailures-2010s/

If Boston wants to be a world class city and take things seriously (remember the 2024 Olympic bid?) it can't have a rail system with such low quality. I can understand rail cars being a bit old. FTA says they are supposed to last 25 years. But we're going 40-50 years on these things. My car is 11 years old I'll keep it awhile but there's no way I'd be driving a 40 year old car! My grandmothers '77 Impala lasted 24 years..

I'm not blaming the workers trying to fix the trains but there's only so much bs. If a school building was ran the way the MBTA was the superintendent would have been fired by now.

You have to admit the contrast. If boston argues they have high six figure salaries, tall office buildings and all this "high tech" talent but in order to get around you get on something that could have a scene out of the French Connection and runs "sometimes" it just doesn't make sense to go back to the office.

[yellowstatus]

Yes, I think these are great arguments in support of more infrastructure spending. Infrastructure like roads and rail does not pay for itself through direct revenue collection, but creates massive value for the American public. When the US Treasure cost to borrow is under 3% for projects with substantially higher return than that, the choice is clear. Western Europe, China, and APAC in general provides many models that the USA can look towards. Investing well is a consideration, but a bigger one is simply the level of spending (not enough currently).

[bugelrex]

Start a company and tell every employee they cannot be fired... see how much productivity is produced.

[id77]

Originally Posted by mdovell

Technically this goes beyond Boston but I'll say it. I don't think things are going to be fixed for a long while.

Years ago I went to hear Beverly Scott speak. I thought she'd take some hard left argument but she didn't. She basically told it like it is. You have a inflexible unionized workforce, a procurement process that takes forever and has limited competition, a planning process that takes forever etc.

If you read the general mass board you might know I tend to be a booster for springfield and western mass. Well I think something is a bit odd about CRRC MA.

https://www.wcvb.com/article/mbtas-n...ation/36384930

I've noticed that there appears to be some consistency of job openings at CRRC MA. I talked to a former employee about a job I was interested in and frankly he said the pay was great but the management was awful (not union I'm talking actual administration)

So now it's being said that the controls have to tighten the more these are used? Ok so what has to be fixed or replaced this time. The cars or the track? If it's the cars that should have been anticipated by the test track they have in springfield. If the problem is the track then we have a much bigger problem as that might mean shutting down entire lines.

How can anything of this be solved in another four months? Academia is giving the green light for students to come back if vaccinated. I'm not going to get into the debate of which one(s) but I can't imagine it would be that hard at this point. If we want more people to go "back to the office" at the same time there's no way everyone can drive. 128 is going to be a red ring of death again if the MBTA issues aren't solved. It can take months just to make one rail car.

Heck forget about traffic for the moment. If employers aren't validating parking and everyone goes back where will people park and who pays for it? If people moved out of Boston for more space then the longer drive back will be a factor on top of this as well.

The problems with the MBTA have been called out by Scott. The procurement process is what it is, but the planning process could be reduced and the unions, as much as I hate to say it, need to knock off their stubbornness or else I'll be happy to ignore their picketing and use the system with strikebreakers and scabs.

I think expanding the commuter rail is going to give diminishing returns compared to expanding the core T lines. Expanding the Green, Orange, Red, and Blue lines are going to pay bigger dividends as I see them able to run more frequently and service more people than pushing commuter rail stations out to central and western MA where the population density is much lower. If the D line ran to Needham, would people there still take the CR? I think you could shed some of the load and thus some of the frustation by moving load off the CR and on to the T lines. It'll require a lot of infrastructure spend, but it's worth it in the long run.

For employees, I don't understand the concern. If employers don't provide parking, employees who want to drive foot their own bill unless it's in their contract. If people moved out of Boston for more space and now have a longer commute, that's on them. They knew the risks when they moved.

[msRB311]

I get the feeling a lot of people thought they wouldn't have to go back ever or very seldom. I also know people who moved out of state and got permission to keep their job. If someone is going in once or twice a week then a long commute isn't so bad.

This has been discussed as nauseum here. It seems like there will be less ridership on the trains for a while anyways which is all the more reason for the mbta not to fix anything.

[msRB311]

On that note:

https://www.boston.com/news/local-ne...KMoKivj7ICKGDY