MBTA follow-up

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

I got a call yesterday in response to the call I put in on Monday to the MBTA. A message was left for me on my answering machine (which I requested in the event that I could not answer the call) saying that the service providers had been made aware of the problem of adherence to the schedule and they were working on it, but he did not know how long it would take for any resolution. I called back today and told the woman answering the phone about the situation and that I wanted to be notified when some conclusion was reached about how this would be prevented in the future. She thought I meant that I wanted the 89 to run more than hourly, which, though it would be nice, was not exactly what I was asking for; what I was asking for was for this kind of situation to be resolved in the future by taking a bus that runs far more frequently in the event of another 89 mechanical issue, particularly in the midst of a snowstorm (did I mention seeing 4 87s in the time I was waiting?). (Also--the 89 is often 20 or 30 minutes late, or more, particularly on weekends. Is it *always* mechanical failure?) I was told that mechanical failures can not be avoided, and that it would have taken another hour to get another bus leaving from Charlestown (nonsense, the bus ride from Sullivan to Davis is something like half an hour *with* *stops*). I asked why a different bus could not be diverted, and she said there were not buses laying in wait (which was not an answer) and that they just didn't have the resources. I told her nonsense, there were many resources, folks just had to prioritize what to use them for, and keeping *many* people waiting an *extra* hour on top of the usual wait for an hourly bus, in the midst of a snowstorm, wasted *many* hours collectively and was simply not acceptable. She told me she would relay my message. I asked her if anyone was going to take this seriously, or would the answer still be, when (if) it winds up making its way back to me, that they don't have the resources. She said she thought so. I credit her for honesty, but I am still rather irritated.

On a related note, someone struck up a conversation with me about the 86 that was late some Thursday evening a few weeks back while we were waiting for it (ok, it was more like a monologue, but not an uninteresting one) and all he went through to try to get that addressed. He mentioned a bus driver, btw, who said "this is for people like you" as he showed him his tattoo on his arm with his bus driver number when the person talking to me asked for it. When he complained, he was told action would be taken, but he was never told what action *was* taken). Have others been threatened or intimidated this way by bus drivers? He also told me bus drivers make $80,000 a year. I am wondering how I would verify that. Anyone hear that, too? Know how to find out? I'm kind of curious now. If it is true, I guess I am kind of confused about how the excuse of "there are not enough resources for us to do our jobs" can fly. Is it possible that they can be paid per successful ride? (And by successful, I mean on time or close to it, not an our late, not even 15 minutes late.) Any thoughts welcome.

Comments

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Wow. What an impressively strange thing to say. No, it's not my personal car service; if it were, I assure you I would not be waiting two or even one hour for it. If you read carefully, you might have noted that I spoke of the collective number of hours wasted waiting, not just my own.

Speaking of shit happening, have you perchance noticed that the environmental is going to hell in a hand bag and that automobiles are one of the reasons? I expect if there were reliable public transit, we could make a serious dent in that problem, no? Perhaps a few other problems as well?

How do I know it's true? I don't, though I don't know why this man would lie to me. I suppose, if I see him again, I can ask him if he still has the driver's number and I could see for myself, but I am not sure why I would except to satisfy your curiosity. Is this something you would like? You can check it out yourself if it pleases you.

Why mention it? Because I was mentioning some other problems with the T and I was curious if anyone else reading this had experienced this sort of thing in order to help me get a better grip on the situation. Is this a crime?

Quite demanding satisfaction? Ah, I see, I'm feeding a troll, Bon appetit, dear.

[smammy]

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Thank you for that:) (lol:)

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

I am not sure how sincere you were about wanting to know if the tattoo story was true (or perhaps you didn't care? Confused there), but I suggest taking a look at Miraclaire's comment above. Does this change your mind, or do you relate more like Turil? Or do you feel differently in a way that has little in common with either?