Hiatus

While I consider my job as the Transport Avenger to be quite important, it doesn't exactly pay the bills.
I will begin a new job in the new year, and unfortunately that job location is not on any public transport lines, so this blog will be on a semi-permanent hiatus for awhile.
However, while I am away, my trusty companions eLo and Mr. Mac will regale me with tales of T employee incompetence, shoddy service, and fellow riders who are annoying, and of course, I shall pass those tales along to you.
Stay well, my children, I shall return!

You Get What You Pay For

Usually.

But dontcha think that half a million dollars is quite enough for a website?

The T released a new version of mbta.com last Friday, and it was nice, real nice.
Nice layout, navigation, features, color palette, fonts, etc.
Real, real nice.

That is, when it could be accessed.

Almost immediately the site was down, supposedly because it was overwhelmed with visitors.
I can see that happening, but when you drop $466,000 on a project that included all new web servers, according to the Boston Globe, wouldn't you expect it to work?

A Slight Departure...

...from my normal raging.
It seems that this CharlieCard thing is actually good.
I know, I can't believe it either.
While the CharlieTicket makes sense vs. tokens and cash, it's still incredibly slow to use since it has to be fed into the fare gate.
Oddly, London Underground uses a similar ticket system, but they engineered it so the the ticket screams out of the machine and the gates open immediately.
So I went into South Station, walked up to the window, asked for one of the new (semi, i.e.; 3-5 year lifespan) permanent CharlieCards, got it (free, which I'm sure is temporary), put cash on it, and went on my way.
It's great to just tap the card on the sensor. Getting on a bus takes a second, and the gates on the subway open with no delay.

Now don't fuck it up, MBTA.