Thursday, July 17, 2008

Something new: half AC

This was a new one on me: coach #704 on the Franklin #715 train tonight (Thursday, 7/17/2008) didn't have air conditioning on one half. It was the half closer to the engine (and to Franklin, for that matter).

What's particularly unusual about that is that coach #704 is one of the new double-decker coaches. It was the first time I've seen any AC problem on one of those.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Notes: AC and announcements

On Thursday, July 10, the air conditioning was broken on coach #611, on the #917 Stoughton train. It was a hot day. Fortunately I wasn't going to Stoughton...but I pity those who were.


Yesterday, on Monday July 14, the schedule was definitely messed up. An outbound train pulled up to Ruggles at 4:19; everyone got on. One passenger asked what train it was, and discovered that it wasn't the Franklin train after all; it was the Needham train, running very late. We all started shouting and warning people, and there was a mass exodus of Franklin passengers.

The conductors never announced the damn train. You'd think that since it was arriving at the exact time and on the same track as the Franklin train, they might have made an announcement...but I guess they have delicate lungs.

The Franklin train showed up about eight minutes later.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Another gouge at the public from the MBTA

Some time in the last few weeks the MBTA did it again. Just as they quietly took away the option of bringing a free guest on the T on Sundays, they've now taken away free parking on weekends and holidays:



I wonder how many people will fail to see that sign and end up having to pay the 75¢ penalty surcharge?

Maybe none, if you believe that sign. On the other hand, who believes the MBTA these days?



Just one more little gouge at passengers pocketbooks, courtesy of the MBTA. Oddly enough, they don't seem to have announced the change, and as far as I can tell it hasn't been in the news at all. A search of mbta.com hasn't turned up anything about the change either.

I'm reminded of an old Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movie. Moriarty strapped him to a hospital bed, stuck a needle in his arm, and proceeded to slowly bleed him to death, one drop at a time. Unfortunately we in the public don't have a Doctor Watson to rescue us at the last minute!