BOSTON — Baby, it’s cold outside. And that makes the accuracy of the new scrolling LED commuter rail updates more crucial than silk underwear for those of you still wearing those ”I am in complete denial that it’s almost winter” skirts and slacks while waiting for a ride to work, according to an editorial in the Boston Globe.
We here at Starts & Stops have heard few recent complaints about these signs.
We have, however, heard a lot from the folks on the ever-faltering Worcester-Framingham line, where MBTA officials admit that the signs have been giving them problems.
The last straw for some regular riders occurred during a recent series of horrible morning commutes in which inbound trains kept breaking down.
Each time, the LED signs failed to reflect the commuting disasters (i.e. ”All trains are on or near schedule”) and travelers said they had to call T operators for the latest scheduling updates.
New LED signs have recently been installed at the stations between Natick and Newton, replacing some of the older message boards in the system.
The new signs, however, are not yet operational and the T has received complaints aplenty about this. Their answer is: Make sure you’re looking at the old signs, which are still working, and not the new.
”If you’re looking at the new signs, then you’re not going to get the information you need,” said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.
But what of the other signs? A total of 69 interactive and scrolling LED signs were erected at various commuter rail stations at the start of the year to better inform passengers about tardy trains or major delays.
The undertaking cost about $5.8 million.
When we asked about this situation, we learned that all is not well.
The signs at the stations in Westborough, Southborough, and Ashland are dispensing incorrect information or no information at all.
Pesaturo blamed that on the ”newness” of the stations, all three of which opened last summer.
Later in the conversation, however, Pesaturo mentioned there were also sign problems in Framingham and Grafton, which have been hampered by glitches in phone lines or circuitry.
Pesaturo assured us that, as of last week, all signs along the Framingham line were working properly, except those in Southborough, which needed a part from the manufacturer.
The commuter line is further hampered by the chain of command on this particular route.
Because the tracks are owned by CSX and operated by CSX freight dispatchers, the MBTA conductor aboard a troubled train needs to tell the engineer of delays, who then calls CSX dispatchers, who then call Amtrak dispatchers at South Station, who then change the LED signs.
”So there is that gap that you don’t have on those other commuter rail lines,” Pesaturo said.
”The bulk of complaints [about the signs] are coming from that line.”
Subway puzzler
From the ne.transportation newsgroup, an interesting and perplexing observation – strangely worded stickers attached to all doors on some Red Line trains reading: ”These doors do not recycle.”
”If I, a mildly obsessed transit geek, haven’t the foggiest clue what this is supposed to mean, I doubt very many Red Line riders who don’t actually work for the MBTA will,” wrote Chip, who posted the original message.
The follow-up posts were chock-full of theories.
”They will open only once per station?” wrote one contributor. ”Beats me…”
The next post figured it out. And we confirmed it with Pesaturo, who also had a tough time deciphering the stickers.
”What it means is that, unlike the doors on the other subway cars that are sensitive to touch and will open if something is touching them, the doors on the 20 oldest cars on the Red Line do not have doors that are sensitive to touch,” he said. Meaning the doors won’t re-open if your foot/head/child gets caught between them.
The use of the word ”recycle” is transit jargon. Replacement stickers, we’re told, are on the way.
They will read: ”Watch for closing doors.”
Lost in the crowd The MBTA board of director’s meeting last week was full of news, topped by a new T police chief and commuter rail operator, both of whom we’re eager to meet and observe.
But a subtle piece of news that affects how the T delivers its services got lost in the shuffle. Starts & Stops is here to dig it up.
In 1996, the T developed what is called its Service Delivery Policy, a list of scenarios that would determine how the T operates its bus, subway, and rail operations.
At last week’s meeting, three changes were made to that policy that could have a direct impact on how comfortably you get around. All dealt with ”vehicle load” or how crowded a vehicle can get before it’s considered ”noncompliant.”
A noncompliant vehicle is said to be, on average, filled at 140 percent of seat capacity.
The first change adopted last week focused on crowded buses, which will now be noncompliant if the average load violates the bus’s maximum load for 30 minutes during peak hours or 60 minutes off-peak.
The second change said all express bus routes should abide by the same loading guidelines as regular buses. The change would allow 16 standees on average during 30 minutes of peak travel.
The current standard allows no one to be standing.
Finally, the board adopted a guideline for commuter rail that allows the trains to be at 110 percent of seated capacity. This changes the T’s current guideline, which calls for no one to be standing (a rule we have never seen enforced).
”The level of standees is not expected to interfere with onboard fare collection, nor is it expected to reduce demand for commuter rail service,” the proposal said.
Inspectors and drivers are mostly responsible for checking these guidelines, but passengers can do it, too – though counting passengers is never easy on a crowded bus or train.
Still, if you think your route is too crowded, it might be worth taking a tally. If a bus or train is deemed noncompliant, new buses or trains could be added to the route, which may result in you finally getting a seat.