Suspicious Package Defused at Sullivan Square

A suspicious package discovered during the morning rush was safely detonated by the bomb squad a few hours later.

According to The Boston Globe the suspicious package was discovered at approximately 8 am, hanging 10-15 feet above the Sullivan Square bus depot by a passenger who notified the authorities. The police shut down the Sullivan Square T stop on the Orange line, as well as I-93 North as a precaution.

The MBTA provided shuttle buses between North Station and the Wellington T stop in Medford.

The package was safely detonated at approximately 10 am and turned out not to be a bomb. I-93 Northbound reopened shortly thereafter, and Orange Line service is running normally again.

MBTA ROC Recap

Last night the MBTA Rider Oversight Committee (ROC) held a meeting at MBTA Headquarters in Downtown Boston.

A T offical reported to the committee that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is petitioning the Federal Environmental Protection Agency to remove two key projects that the state was ordered to complete to mitigate the environmental effects of the Big Dig.

One of the projects that the state hopes to remove was the proposed restoration of the E-line between Heath St. and Arborway. However, the T is still obligated to provide an environmentally friendly subsitute in accordance with a settlement reached with the Conservation Law Foundation. Ultimately the restoration of the E-line may have to occur.

The other project slated for removal is the proposed connection between the Red and Blue Lines. Currently passengers traveling on the Blue Line must transfer to the Green Line at Government Center and ride one stop to Park St to switch to the Red Line. This places unnecessary strain on the Green Line and the Government Center station. The proposed connection would occur at the Charles/MGH station, but the state is seeking to remove it from this agreement so that it can be constructed at a later time when more funds are available.

One project that is moving forward is the extension of the Green Line from Lechemere through Medford, although an agreement has yet to be reached on the exact route once the line exits Somerville. There will also be a spur to Union Square in Somerville.

CSX Rail Lines For Sale

An Editorial in the Boston Globe yesterday indicates that the The CSX railroad corporation wants to sell its rail lines west to Worcester, south to Fall River and New Bedford, and north to Somerville.

The MBTA currently uses CSX rails to provide commuter rail service to places like Worcester. Acquiring ownership of the line between South Station and Worcester would not only free the MBTA of relying on CSX to maintain the line (which they do a poor job of), but would also mean that the the MBTA would acquire the Allston rail yard. The yard could be used for a commuter rail station on the Worcester line, which will probably be necessary with the impending Harvard University expansion into Allston.

The purchase of the line to New Bedford and Fall River would enable the MBTA to better run the planned Fall River commuter rail line that is currently so desperately needed. The Commonwealth should seriously consider purchasing these rail lines from CSX.

Credit Card Payment Coming to the T?

Tom Long wries in today’s Northwest Starts and Stops Column that MBTA officials may study allowing people with RFID enabled credit and debit cards, such as Mastercard Paypass to wave their card at the target where we currently wave our CharlieCards (which also utilize RFID technology) and have the fare deducted directly from our accounts.

 The New York City MTA , which currently does not have an RFID enabled automated fare collection system recently ended a trial with Mastercard to allow RFID enabled credit and debit card holders to pay their fare directly from their account at selected subway stations. The hope is to eventually allow people to pay this way throughout the entire system, which would make using New York City’s mass transit system easier for tourists in the future.

Boston is already a step ahead of New York City by enabling RFID payment throughout the subway and bus system, as long as you have a CharlieCard. Opening up the system to RFID credit cards would make the system less confusing for tourists.

Fare Mishaps on The Green Line

Today while riding inbound during the evening rush on the B-line, one rather frustrated operator had to cope with a malfunctioning farebox.

The cash fare on the Green Line is $2. The farebox was taking dollar bills, well at least the first one anyway. So when a woman boarded the train at Blandford St, and successfuly inserted her first bill, she automatically assumed the farebox would process her second bill as well.

But the farebox didn’t process her second bill. In fact it spit it out long after she had made her way to the back of the car to get a seat (a true rarity on the Green Line). For reasons I can’t figure out, the operator decided he couldn’t try inserting the bill again himself. Instead he turns around and starts yelling for the woman to come back to the front of the train to pay. Meanwhile, the operator never bothered taking his foot off the gas, so the train was being driven blindly. The woman complied, and after 3 attempts at reinserting that second dollar bill, he waved her through.

Understandably the operator was frustrated that the farebox wasn’t working smoothly, but the actions he took seemed a little questionable.

MBTA Police To The Rescue

Mac Daniel of The Boston Globe reports that an MBTA Police Officer saved a man from being killed by an oncoming Red Line train at the Davis Square station in Somerville last night.

According to the Globe, the man was apparently threatening to kill himself by touching the electrified third rail in the station. The police officer apparently radioed ahead to have trains halted, but his transmission failed. When the train approached the officer began waving his flashlight to signal that the operator should stop and lunged forward to pull the man off the tracks. They were both unharmed and the man was taken to Somerville Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

It’s good that this ended without injury to everyone, but kind of frightening that the transmission to halt the trains failed.

Free Ride For Cash Payers

We’ve heard a lot about the CharlieCard and Charlieticket recently, but despite those two forms of payment for rides on the MBTA, bus and Green Line riders are still allowed to pay with cash onboard, albeit with a surcharge.

On occasion, a Green Line or bus vehicle will leave the depot with a malfunctioning farebox. The malfunction can be as simple as the farebox not accepting dollar bills, or as serious as not functioning at all.

When the farebox is totally non-functioning, MBTA policy apparently dictates that everyone rides for free.

On a recent cold morning, several MBTA fareboxes froze up entirely giving everyone who boarded a free ride.

However, if the farebox is simply unable to read dollar bills, the operator will usually let cash payers ride for free, while forcing CharlieCard/Charlieticket holders to pay their fare.  Fareboxes not accepting dollar bills happens much more often than fareboxes not working at all.

Whether intentional or not, it seems as though MBTA policy penalizes people who bought into the automated fare collection system while rewarding those who continue to pay in cash, which often slows down boarding times considerably when the fareboxes are fully functional.

Some BU Students Still Refuse To Pay Outbound Fare

Prior to January 1st, 2007, for reasons even the MBTA said they couldn’t explain, Green Line riders didn’t pay a fare when heading outbound and boarding at a surface stop.

One of the major beneficiaries of this fare structure were the students at Boston University, whose campus has 7 stops serving it on the B-line, all of which are located on the surface. It was not an uncommon site to see BU students board at BU East and hop off at BU Central, a distance of roughly two blocks. After all, it was free.

Well on January 1st, when the MBTA raised fares, they also began collecting the outbound fare as well. According to an article in January 22’s Metro, some BU students are attempting to evade the outbound fare, because they find it unfair to suddenly have to pay.

Keith Gregory, 19, a freshman at Boston University, said many students will opt to sneak on the train instead of paying the fare if they can get away with it.

“All we’re trying to do is go across campus. We’re not trying to hurt anyone,” Gregory said.

Well stealing hurts the law abiding people who pay. And besides, these students are used to paying to go Inbound, so there is no valid reason why they’re trying to avoid paying Outbound.

The MBTA is warning that fines will be handed out to fare evaders if the situation persists. Students at other colleges in the Boston area are accustomed to paying a fare in both directions. BU students should stop complaining and start paying.

Fare Vending Machine Confusion

In the January 14th edition of The Boston Globe’s Starts and Stops Column Mac Daniel writes that out of town visitors have been confused when using the MBTA’s Fare Vending Machines (FVMs) to buy stored value Charlietickets to use during their stay in Boston.

The FVMs sell more than just Charlietickets, they sell commuter rail tickets as well, and this is apparently leading to many out of towners equating commuter rail with the subway. Daniels suggested revamping the software interface to eliminate the confusion between commuter rail and the subway. He indicated the MBTA was considering his suggestion.

Well at the Kendall/MIT station on the Red Line, the customer service agents took matters into their own hands. Every FVM now has a handwritten sign placed on the machine indicating that “stored value” is the type of ticket to buy for the subway. Hopefully that software upgrade will occur shortly.

It’s too bad the agents at Kendall didn’t mention on their signs that people would save 30 cents on each subway ride by asking for a free CharlieCard instead of buying a stored value Charlieticket.

Metro: T Must Cut Costs

The Metro, a free newspaper that can often be picked up at various subway stops around Boston, had an exclusive article today citing a report to be released next month which indicates the MBTA must cut costs to avoid repeated fare increases and mounting debt.

“The T is not in danger of collapsing, but I think if something major isn’t done over the next several years the T gets deeper and deeper into the hole, in that they’re having to raise fares or they sacrifice maintenance of their present system — which drives down ridership,” said Michael Widmer, a member of the commission and president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “The danger here is that it becomes a death spiral.”

According to the Metro, part of the debt is attributed to the MBTA paying full health care benefits for retirees. In the article, MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas said even a restructuring of the union contracts won’t completely eliminate the $363 Million in debt the MBTA acquires each year. The MBTA is currently $5 Billion in Debt.