Has the T Improved? (Boston, Orange: credit, home, live)

[bostongymjunkie]

https://www.boston.com/community/rea...r-at-the-mbta/

A majority of a small sample of Boston.com readers have given Phillip Eng a grade of "A" for his first year as MBTA GM. I have to wonder how many of them actually use the T.

I don't feel like I have enough information to offer an assessment of his performance or whether it's even fair to judge him yet. I use the T often but not daily, and have not observed noticeable improvements. But that doesn't necessarily mean there haven't been any. I use several subway lines, the trolley, and some bus routes. Some bus and subway routes seem to have improved in terms of headway. The weekend shutdowns on the Red and Orange lines are a hassle, but I get they need to happen in order to make improvements. I'm wondering how the commuter lines are faring?

Interested in hearing the experiences of others who use the various lines of the MBTA and how you would grade Mr. Eng on his performance. It would be helpful if those voting explained why they gave their particular grade.

[GeePee]

As an Orange line rider, I am going to say YES.
It has improved. Transparency on closures and the new cars are a great change. The slow zones are annoying, but not terrible.
I think the Red line riders will have a different tune.

[lrfox]

The Commuter Rail seems a good deal better than I remember. The schedules have been adjusted to better suit the post-pandemic workforce, the cars are clean, there appear to be more of the newer double decker cars in use, and the on-time performance appears improved. I'm no longer a daily subway rider, but the Orange Line seems improved (new trains and time to work out the bugs will do that) while the Red and, more recently, the Blue Line seem to be having issues (I still haven't turned off my ProximiT alerts).

I'm not ready to credit Eng for the positives, and I'm not going to ding him for the things that aren't working. The timeframe is just too small and most positives (the new OL train deliveries and CR improvements) and negatives (the vast amount of deteriorating infrastructure) were in motion long before he arrived. So a letter grade seems silly at this point. That said, I do think he's got a no nonsense approach to communicating about issues that I appreciate. I don't feel that issues are being glossed over or sugarcoated when they're identified (the CRC contract changes are a good example). And while the shut downs, shuttles, etc. are frustrating, I prefer a "rip-the-bandaid" approach to fixing problems rather than dragging them out. Maybe we can do letter grades in a few years.

[msRB311]

The experience is better because more people are driving now.

[massnative71]

Most of my experience is with the Red Line, which has absolutely NOT improved. If anything, it's worse than a year ago. Even after endless shutdowns over the past year and weekend shuttle bus replacements to "fix" things, it seems like it's even slower than it was last winter! For each slow zone eliminated, it's like there's two new ones now! It's too soon to judge Eng, but it's still an absolute joke of a system.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by lrfox

The Commuter Rail seems a good deal better than I remember.

As if on cue, my train broke down at Back Bay this AM. On the other hand, the unplanned OL trip was fine. The new trains are night and day (literally, so much lighter) compared to the old ones.

[simplexsimon]

Originally Posted by lrfox

As if on cue, my train broke down at Back Bay this AM. On the other hand, the unplanned OL trip was fine. The new trains are night and day (literally, so much lighter) compared to the old ones.

We must have been on the same train. I opted to stay on to get to South Station. Ended up being 20 minutes delayed.

I thought of this thread. The train runs well almost all of the time for me so I would give them an A for my particular route, but I voted "don't know" as I have no recent experience with any other line.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by lrfox

As if on cue, my train broke down at Back Bay this AM. On the other hand, the unplanned OL trip was fine. The new trains are night and day (literally, so much lighter) compared to the old ones.

So is that vote change?

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

We must have been on the same train. I opted to stay on to get to South Station. Ended up being 20 minutes delayed.

I thought of this thread. The train runs well almost all of the time for me so I would give them an A for my particular route, but I voted "don't know" as I have no recent experience with any other line.

Good to know it wasn't stuck too long. I got off as soon as the conductor said "we're not getting power, I'm going to open the doors for anyone who wants to get off." My office isn't far from the OL and I usually switch between walking from S. Station and OL from Back Bay depending on the weather (plan was to walk today) since the time difference is negligible. But I will be taking Amtrak home today instead of the CR.

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

So is that vote change?

No change for me. I can't pin an issue with an old locomotive on Eng. But I don't feel quite as confident about the CR as I did yesterday.

[MrDee12345]

As an outside observer, it seems like the commuter rail is doing pretty well. There's a lot of frequency and trains that go well into the night.

And now the Blue Line no longer has slow zones.

It seems better, but is it?

It seems like Eng has been the best CEO the MBTA has had in recent memory. Am I wrong? Is this more on Maura Healy?