Millennial Citizen Transit Critics Disrupting Boston’s Transit System

Transit Matters’ Marc Ebuña (left) and Ari Ofsevit (right)
Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico

– News covered by Quincy Quarry News with commentary added.

 

Millennial Citizen Transit Critics disrupting Boston’s transit system with pithy reviews and creative analysis.

 

Armed with data and outside-the-box ideas, TransitMatters is redefining citizen engagement as regards public transit.

 

A group of self-proclaimed transit nerds and train aficionados have upended various operations of and planning by the MBTA by actually collecting and then pondering actual data so as to develop innovative proposals to improve the T.

 

A well-known train nerd
A Chuck Lorre Productions/Warner Brothers image

Granted, the T makes for easy pickings.  Wicked easy pickings. 

 

In turn, Transit Matters has caused significant improvements to actually happen.

 

For example, it looked at the inefficient scheduling and staging protocol for the last run of the night for subway service and then come up with a plan that greatly reduced train hold times to facilitate transfers to the last runs on connecting lines which both speed up service for passengers as well save the T hundreds of thousand of dollars a year.

 

Late night ride
Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico Magazine image

Needless to say, the T was originally resistant to Transit Matters’ thesis, but eventually it actually considered it, found it to be sound and eventually even implemented it.

 

Transit Matters has also shown the importance of providing an earlier start in the morning for service given that the T does not operated overnight as do many other major city transit system.

 

(Note: in fairness, the MBTA is one of the smaller major city transit systems and not all of the smaller systems operate around the clock). 

 

Pre-Dawn Patrol
Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico Magazine image

Key to Transit Matters argument was demonstrating the importance of public transit to lower-paid and typically hospitality, hospital and college employees who work at food service, custodial and housekeeping jobs as well as that the number of such people was considerable enough to justify adding earlier starts to key transit service lines.

 

More recently, Transit Matter has moved onto bigger and bolder analyses. 

 

Examples include the importance of hastening the development of a major transit hub adjacent to Harvard University’s impending huge expansion into and redevelopment in Allston, the viability of finally building the long ongoing dream of connecting North and South Stations as well as extending the Blue Line to connect with the MGH Red Line station.

 

First, we must see the trains run and then shoot for running sorta/kinda on time …
A file photo

While solid work, there is where Quincy Quarry has some concerns. 

 

First off, the Quarry finds favor with Governor Charlie Baker’s argument that the T should first focus on fixing its myriad of current shortcomings before undertaking such considerable nine and ten figure paradigm shifting projects. 

 

In extension, Transit Matters appears to be a bit weak on appreciating financing constraints and is thus perhaps optimistic in its assessments of the savings to be derived from its mega project proposals. 

 

Roof holders and strap hangers
Image from indosurflife.com

That and believing that the T is currently ready and able to at least move towards taking on bold projects so as to make the leap from a mediocre at best mid-twentieth century transit system to a cutting edge twenty-first century operation as well as can also concurrently secure sufficient favor from passengers in the face of a fast-growing shift to ride-sharing services by the general public.                         

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Source: ‘They’re Bold and Fresh’: The Millennials Disrupting Boston’s Transit System