Another great commute on the MBTA
Today I am fortunate enough to work at our satellite office in Needham, which is usually nice and quiet, and the commute is actually enjoyable.. usually. This lovely 5 degree morning, I checked MBTA.com at 7am before leaving my house, like always, to see if there were any delay advisories, and although pretty much all the other routes on the purple line were delayed, the trusty old Needham line was just fine. So I get to the station at 7:10 to get my 7:16 train, all the usual commuters are there, a couple of people in scrubs, some CM kids going to school. Most people live in the ‘burbs and commute into the city, not the reverse, so those of us who commute out of the city in the morning get to know each other, at least by face if nothing more, thus I knew I had not missed my train. At about 7:25 I sensed something was awry, so I checked the website on my Blackberry, still no advisories for the Needham line, so I continued waited. When I checked the time again, it was 7:46! Now I am getting angry, and loosing feeling in my feet, so I call the wonderful folks at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Here’s as close to a verbatim recreation of our phone call as possible:
“Thank you for calling the MBTA, this is [name], how can I help you?”
“Hi [name], I’ve been waiting here at Forrest Hills for the Needham line for about half an hour, so I was wondering if there are any unposted delays or problems. I checked the website just now and it looks like every line except Needham is delayed, but there should’ve been a train here at 7:16, and another at 7:36 and neither have arrived.”
“OK, let me check to see if there’s anything up now”
“There isn’t, I checked literally 45 seconds ago”
[mouse clicking]
“Hmmm, funny it looks like all the lines are delayed except Needham”
“I know what the site says, but I’ve been here for thirty minutes now and am telling you otherwise. I’m not the only one here, there is the same crowd that is always here”
“OK, something seems wrong, let me make a call.” (roughly 2 minutes elapse) “Sir, it seems that there is a 20 minute delay on the 7:36 train, so it will be getting there at 7:56”
“Well that’s a great way to start my day, any idea what happened to the 7:16 train?”
“I think you just missed that one, sir”
“Me and everyone else who has been here since ten past, huh?”
“I… I guess, sir, I don’t know what to tell you”
“OK well, when will this 7:56 train get me to Needham?”
“Add twenty minutes to the normal arrival time, so you should be there at 8:40”
“Well, glad I got here at 7:10 for a 7:56 train. Sorry for being cranky, but I think I’m getting hypothermia. Anyway, thanks for the info, stay warm.”
The train arrived at 8:05. When I got to Needham and was walking down the street to work, I saw the 59 depart Needham Junction. The driver went down Chestnut Street, hit the second and third stops, and then pulled over. Pulled over in front of McDonald’s. I thought, must just be a coincidence. Nope, hazards came on, driver got off and went in to get coffee and or food. There were at least five passengers on the bus when I walked by. I want the make it very clear that this bus’ route begins at Needham Junction, it was ON IT’S ROUTE. Classic MBTA bullshit, and I am sure the kind of completely ridiculous and unacceptable reason that my train was delayed. When I got to work I checked MBTA.com. There is now one advisory for the Needham line, from 7:48 this morning, when I called, stating that the 7:25 train (which gets to Forrest Hills at 7:36) is experiencing a 20 minute delay, it can be seen here. My own private piece of internet fame.
UPDATE: My advisory was taken down around 10:00am. I left the link up so you can see where it says “MBTA Services are constantly updated through our operations center. Please check here regularly for up-to-the-minute updates on every transit service as well as elevators and escalators”. Up-to-the-minute is apparently closer to every couple of hours.
