When Deval Patrick was Governor we had shuttle buses to address severe service interruptions. Where are they now? I spent 30 min at Andrew waiting for a southbound train while the announcements came over the intercom every 5 telling me there was a shuttle bus from JFK/Umass to Braintree. Great, but how do I get to the buses when I can’t get to JFK/UMass? The final answer? I gave up and walked.
As recently as November, there was a red line failure due to completely unexpected circumstances (a woman committing suicide by train). The busses were running within 90 minutes. It’s been over 15 hours since I was there (meaning even longer in total), and still no fix. Cold weather and snow were foreseeable, and were in fact foreseen.
The MBTA was not prepared this time. State government was not prepared. The Baker administration failed to handle a basic duty of governance. This is Baker’s Chicago snowstorm of 1979 (look it up).
joeltpatterson says
Back when the Big Dig costs were going crazy? And those costs got pushed onto the T, which prevented the T from doing the maintenance it should have done?
Charlie said he’d listen to city voters and represent them, but they are out in the cold now.
merrimackguy says
As a result of 1979 the Mayor lost the election, not the governor.
Also note Boston (even metro Boston) is not the whole state.
seamusromney says
Nope, still a state agency.
merrimackguy says
nt
TheBestDefense says
that is facing the biggest failures and the city/mayor has zero control over this.
merrimackguy says
right?
TheBestDefense says
Did you notice that the MBTA problems are in many communities? Do you think Marty is responsible there too?
TheBestDefense says
across the state are beyond the responsibility of the Mayor also.
merrimackguy says
as much as you would like it to be
merrimackguy says
Like developing a snow plan? Probably no.
SomervilleTom says
The “snow plan” is shut it down.
Remember last year (maybe two years ago) when the MBTA announced, as a matter of policy, that it would suspend service in “weather emergencies”?
That seems to be the snow plan.
merrimackguy says
I can barely get around my town, and for sure it’s significantly less safe than normal. Looks like their snow plan is to wait for most of it to melt.
SomervilleTom says
Certainly not me!
petr says
… A whole bunch of people who aren’t IN Boston are trying to get TO Boston…
…Still with me?
Once they get to Boston they’ll busily produce goods and services until they tire and then they will reverse the process and, en masse, try to get OUT of the city.
See how that works? It’s call trans-por-tation. Now you say it…
merrimackguy says
so don’t waste them on me
TheBestDefense says
was one of Baker’s best picks when he tapped her to be Secy of Transportation. She was a longtime advocate of mass transit when she was at the Conservation Law Foundation and then at the Dukakis Center at Northeastern University. But I cannot understand why she took the job with someone who has so little commitment to mass transit as Baker.
Her performance during this mess is underwhelming. She must have had input into Baker’s decision to keep state offices open on Monday and I don’t see any leadership by anyone in the Baker administration around the continuing transportation fiasco, including her. It is sad when really really smart and accomplished people take jobs where they think they can change the thinking of someone like Baker.
merrimackguy says
Always a possibility.
TheBestDefense says
and know what she is capable of. You have not.
merrimackguy says
then what
TheBestDefense says
nt
merrimackguy says
where are you going with this?
chris-rich says
The weight and gravitas of this ponderous non belief would surely discourage the mightiest of mighty.
merrimackguy says
Nt
David says
Unlikely that a transportation secretary could overrule Chief of Staff’s office and others on whether to keep state offices open. She may well have advocated for closing; we’ll never know.
Mark L. Bail says
all state offices were closed. Some of my friends who work for the state out here in the West enjoyed the day off, though they didn’t need it for travel purposes. This was either a new policy or lack of a policy.
(Point of info, not an editorial comment).
TheBestDefense says
was made by Baker, not his chief of staff nor Pollack. My point was and is that she may have hoped that Baker/Pollack was going to be a replay of Romney/Foy and it is not likely to be so. Doug Foy had more history, stature, connections and charisma than Stephanie. And remember that Romney created the super-Secretariat for Doug, something not replicated in this administration.
merrimackguy says
that no one is really that interested in.
chris-rich says
Boldly going forth where no other will bother with omniscient claims on behalf of an imaginary no one.
jconway says
But this thread clearly fell off the rails.