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Originally uploaded by mikehillwig
Every once in the while, the MBTA will get things right. More often than not, they get things wrong. This time, it’s not just wrong, it’s very wrong.
In an effort to satisfy some problem or another, the MBTA is “piloting” a new boarding method on the Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line during off-peak hours. Most commuters deal with peak travel times. I have the misfortune of being one of the people who frequently ride during off-peak times.
The idea here is that during off-peak inbound trips, passengers will be herded into one or two cars instead of keeping several cars open. In theory, this is a great idea, and it’s nothing new. They’ve been doing this on outbound trains for years. In theory, conductors will have fewer cars to walk through and will be able to collect all of the tickets in a timely manner. There will also be fewer cars to manage, meaning fewer doors to open and close. Again, this all sounds great in theory.
If the conductors collected tickets at the door before passengers even sat down, this would work brilliantly. Instead, conductors still have to walk through the train to collect tickets. Here is where it fails: No conductor walked through my car, meaning I got yet another free ride on the commuter rail. I’m happy to pay for my trip, provided the conductors actually collect tickets.
The worst part of this whole thing is that these are pretty small signs, and there is only one of them at Salem Station. It’s halfway down the platform. So as the train pulled into the station, all of the people scattered along the platform looking for an open door for boarding had to run to the high-level platform in order to board the train. By the time we got to North Station, my train was running about ten minutes late because every station stop took longer.
When you live in the metro Boston area, you do end up loving to hate the MBTA.