Carpool to Newton

[msjay.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering if anyone on here drives to Newton (specifically the Needham St area). To make a long story short: On Tuesday night I was carving a pumpkin, cut my pinky deep enough to hit the tendon and am now having surgery on it today. My dilema is that I will have what has been described to me as a boxing glove of dressing covers my entire hand and partial arm... leaving me unable to drive in a safe manner. I would consider the T, but I would have to make at least 3 bus transfers, or a bus to lechmere and switch to D line later, or walk 20 mins to Davis and get on redline and switch at Park st. All the travel would require me to get up VERY early, which makes me sad.

I've been told my arm will also be in a plastic sling that does not keep my arm close to my body but actually in the air and away from it (extended arms like a zombie looking for brains type of situation) for about 6 weeks. hopefully after that my other fingers would be free so I could then drive myself after that point.

Also I must be at work from 8:30 - 5:30, but if you leave before 5:30, and can not wait, I could take the 59 bus to Watertown and have my parents drive me home. My main concern is actually getting to my job.

Comments

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

You might want to look at the bus system in more detail. I'd be very surprised if you couldn't catch a bus to Davis, first of all. If I need to go to Allston, for example, I take the Red line to Harvard and then the 66 bus. The 66 intersects all four lines of the Green Line in that area.

Granted, it doesn't solve the "waking up" early thing, but it seems doable from the maps.

[ron_newman]

I wouldn't wish such a multiple-bus trip on anyone, though.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Eh. Bring a good book, it goes by quickly enough.

[dearsweetbriar.livejournal.com]

I guess you won't be signing up for the good Samaritan award this year. Why do people post if they're not going to be helpful? Maybe you weren't trying to be rude, but honestly: not helping.

(I don't have a car, but I hope you do find someone who you can carpool with. I would also hate to wish a multiple bus ride on someone. Especially someone with an injury.)

[ron_newman]

And I have to agree, that reply wasn't helpful. (Then again, neither is the one I'm posting right now.)

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

My comment was made to offer her options in case she couldn't find a carpooler. Now let's discuss your comment, as I feel it deserves some discussion.


First point: what would you encourage somebody in an arm cast to do, walk twenty minutes or ride the bus?

Second point: The Green Line tracks are pretty close together in the area I suggested, geographically speaking. There's maybe a mile of distance or so between each of the tracks. Basically, let's say it's five minutes on the bus to Davis, ten minutes to get to Harvard, a half hour on the 66 (once I get on the bus, I'm usually at my destination at the B line in 15 minutes and Coolidge Corner in 20 so an extra ten for the D seems fair) and she's at the Brookline Village stop on the D line, instead of spending forty minutes just to get to Park Street, where she will have to wait for a D train and deal with getting between Park and Kenmore.

Before you make some comment: yes, I am well aware there are wait times. On the other hand, during peak times such as rush hour the buses tend to be more consistent to their schedules, and I say this as a person who not only rides the bus fairly regularly, but as a year-long rider of the notorious 70 line (ask a resident of Waltham.)

More relevantly, I don't know if you're aware of how long it takes to get from Park to Newton, but we're talking forty minutes at least, possibly more. As I haven't ridden the Green Line out to Newton extensively, I can't call the time it'll take her from the Brookline Village stop to Newton. But I'd lay down money it's quicker.

Please note I didn't say it was a perfect solution, but if the OP is stranded without a carpooler, she now at least has an option that doesn't involve trundling all the way to Park from Newton, or vice versa.


To be quite frank, I find your comment to be insulting and offensive in the extreme. "Maybe" I wasn't rude? I defy you to find anything rude in the suggestion. In fact, I bothered to go to mbta.com and make absolutely certain said solution would be workable. Insofar as I can tell, the only reason my solution "isn't helpful" and "rude" is that it involves riding the bus. It is not within my bounds to demand an apology, but I certainly feel I am owed one, especially since I have offered the OP options and you, while referring to my post as "unhelpful", have offered nothing.

[dearsweetbriar.livejournal.com]

I didn't read your whole post, so maybe I shouldn't respond because maybe there was some sort of explanation as to why your panties are in a twist, but as far as an apology, you can keep on demanding guy. You won't find one here.

I didn't offer a suggestion because by the time I read, all the public transportation options had been covered, I don't have a car, and most of the other posters didn't feel compelled to be dicks and suggest he "bring a book." As far as your first comment, it was helpful (congratulations. golf clap), but now that's not the one I replied to, is it?

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

It was a personal opinion expressed in response to a comment from ron_newman and not aimed at the OP.

But clearly I'm wasting my time. Let's just close with my saying your intelligence is only matched by your charm.

goloco?

[ssachs.livejournal.com]

wow, that really sucks. sorry to hear it!

you may want to give goloco (http://www.goloco.org/, they also have a Facebook app you can use) a shot - they help people find carpooling type arrangements, though i'm not sure how easy it'll be to find a ride out there. good luck!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

I wouldn't rely on one bus ride to get me somewhere critical on time, like a job. Factor in a bus transfer (or two or three) and an arm held high in a plastic sling, and I think it would be a miserable experience that consumes your whole day.

Does this injury as a temporary disability? If so, does your insurance cover transportation (taxi cab) or are you eligible for The Ride? Otherwise, I hope you find a carpool.

As for me, when they say something won't permit you to drive in a safe manner, I always respond that no one else around here drives in a safe manner anyways.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Ouch. Best I can do is West Newton, morning leg only (quite early), 2 days out of every 6 (I teach half-time on a weird schedule). But if you can't find anything better, I could get you to the general area W and Th of next week if you were ready to go by, like, 7 (and 2 days out of every 6 thereafter).

[hr-macgirl.livejournal.com]

depending on how long you will be out of commission, driving wise, it might be simpler to ask a coworker about carpooling or rely on taxis. The latter, while expensive, are more reliable than a door-to-door MBTA journey. You needn't taxi the whole way, perhaps just the last mile or so. For example, T to Harvard, 66 to Brookline, taxi from there.