tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post2408529369926181096..comments2024-03-27T20:04:53.585-06:00Comments on Illinois Transportation Issues: Transportation Lessons from Massachusetts: Integration and Accountability v. Diffusion and ChaosTom Bamontehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257129333713108323noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-30404268131472812962013-03-14T13:08:55.481-06:002013-03-14T13:08:55.481-06:00Thank you for thе good writеup.
It in fact was onс...Thank you for thе good writеup.<br />It in fact was onсe a leiѕure аccount it.<br /><br />Lοok advanced to far dеliveгed agreeable from <br />you! Βу the way, how coulԁ ωe keеp up a correspondеnсе?<br /><br /><br />My blog <a href="http://dogownersclub.co.uk/VMYStanle" rel="nofollow">hcg-injections.com</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-78400965592894113142007-10-16T07:57:00.000-06:002007-10-16T07:57:00.000-06:00Please don't idolize the MBTA! My time in Boston h...<I>Please</I> don't idolize the MBTA! My time in Boston having been broken up by a stint in Chicago, I can say that except for the scuzziness of the CTA's underground stations, the El is far better than the T. (Still, how could the City of Broad Shoulders tolerate those narrow train doors?) As for Chicago's bus system, again, no comparison. The busses were clean, on time, and spread out along their routes like they're supposed to be, instead of running in packs. I'll take Chicago's multitude of tranist agencies of the MBTA any day.Fliphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959911782862620176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-53792454404423344552007-10-16T04:56:00.000-06:002007-10-16T04:56:00.000-06:00I'd hardly say that the MBTA's transition to the C...I'd hardly say that the MBTA's transition to the Charlie Card system went without a hitch. They, for reasons that boggle the mind, decided that they would convert the stations one by one over a period of months. The result was that for many people (myself included) you had to actually keep track of which stations had the new Charlie Card gates, and which had the old token turnstiles, and make sure that you had whatever you'd need for both stations often meaning that you needed to carry both your Charlie Card (well, technically at that time we didn't have Charlie Cards yet, we had Charlie Tickets—which we still have but they cost more) and tokens. This went on, literally, for <I>months</I>.<BR/><BR/>And that's not even taking the buses into account! The buses didn't get their Charlie Card readers for longer still meaning that not only did you need to carry your Charlie Ticket and your tokens for the subway, but you also needed to be sure you had exact change (90¢ back then) for the bus! For people who regularly rode the bus to the T, or vice versa, this was a phenomenal pain in the ass that could have been easily solved with a little forward thinking (why not leave a few token turnstiles in all the stations until every station has at least one Charlie gate and then transition fully over so that the system moves seamlessly from tokens to Charlie Cards without any confusion or needing to keep track of which station has which?).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-85501400675317420862007-10-15T18:31:00.000-06:002007-10-15T18:31:00.000-06:00The MBTA has at least been able to relatively bala...The MBTA has at least been able to relatively balance the needs of core and suburban areas fairly effectively, quite unlike other superagencies that cover entire metro areas (SEPTA and LACMTA come to mind). (Speaking of LACMTA, it also runs heavy rail, light rail, BRT, buses, HOV lanes, and participates in commuter rail operation. Similarly, the Bay Area has a similar modal mix, but spread across dozens of agencies, and technically Miami also has heavy and commuter rail.)<BR/><BR/>The CA/T debt offloaded onto MBTA undeniably complicates the picture, but it's still surprising that MBTA receives what amounts to a 1% statewide sales tax -- and still finds itself in the same financial straits as RTA, which has far less taxing authority.<BR/><BR/>On the toll linkage front, Bob Moses famously set up MTA so that bridge tolls could pay for transit, and Pennsylvania's transit bailout package this year relied pretty heavily on tolls.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09283122571671344629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-73294090559608073442007-10-15T12:40:00.000-06:002007-10-15T12:40:00.000-06:00The idea of one central transportation authority i...The idea of one central transportation authority is tempting, but how would such a board solve the problems of competing regional interests? The problem in IL is that most of the money goes to auto infrastructure. What would stop a unified board of patronage appointees from continuing or worsening the imbalance?<BR/><BR/>An opposite system might be at least as workable: take all taxes out of the hands of the state and hand them to the counties based on population and contribution. Support the state by "bailouts" from each county.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-28019526257428731872007-10-15T11:50:00.000-06:002007-10-15T11:50:00.000-06:00That's true, but only because people in Boston hav...That's true, but only because people in Boston haven't ridden the CTA. <BR/><BR/>All my Chicago friends here think the MBTA is great by comparison: there are no slow zones anywhere (I have never had a train stop on the tracks; I had a Blue Line train do this *three* in one trip from O'Hare to the Loop); the train cars and buses are cleaner; there are electronic monitors and intercom announcements about approaching trains at every station, which are well-lighted and often decorated with art work; and the system-wide shift last year to "Charlie Cards" proceeded without a hitch. <BR/><BR/>Boston residents who complain about the MBTA are like Chicagoans who complain about our economy without ever having visited Detroit or St. Louis.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-50741900308217799052007-10-15T09:28:00.000-06:002007-10-15T09:28:00.000-06:00Everything you say makes sense--yet Bostonites hav...Everything you say makes sense--yet Bostonites have little good to say about the performance of the MBTA!Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11276619955553290726noreply@blogger.com