[bscb-l] funding for the T

[alice dampman humel]

Hi, Sharon,
    My experience on the Worcester commuter rail is usually that 
the announcements are not being played at all in some cars, 
probably because something is broken...or do you mean that the 
announcements are playing, but you can't hear or decipher them?
    In fact, it is the Worcester line where I've noticed the 
worst delay in those door closing announcements...is that still 
going on? Not only is it annoying and disconcerting, for someone 
wh relies on those announcements to really inform them could 
easily step off the train or try to after the train has started 
moving, but the announcement hasn't played yet, because indeed, 
sometimes the doors are still open, and, as in some parts of Back 
Bay, where steps are used, the steps have been put up, but the 
door is still open. We all have to be so careful, and those of us 
who use the T a lot are aware of all this stuff...but a tourist, 
a new resident, a first-time T rider, a person with a new dog who 
might be uncertain or charge ahead, or someone who doesn't read 
his/her dog properly, or a cane user...
Alice
Alice
alicedh at verizon.net
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sharon Strzalkowski" <strzal at charter.net>
To: "Bay state (Massachusetts) discussion list" <bscb-l at acb.org>
Sent: Friday, August 12, 2011 7:35 AM
Subject: Re: [bscb-l] funding for the T


Hi all,
I have been noticing on the Worcester commuter rail line that the 
automated
announcements have been more consistent, though sometimes you 
can't hear
them well in a particular car.  A couple of times, though, I have 
had to
tell the conductor that I could not hear them.  He has assured me 
that he
won't forget to tell me my stop, which makes me queasy.  Anyway, 
it does
seem to be getting better.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jerry Berrier" <jerry.berrier at comcast.net>
To: "'Bay state (Massachusetts) discussion list'" 
<bscb-l at acb.org>
Sent: Friday, August 12, 2011 3:52 AM
Subject: Re: [bscb-l] funding for the T


> It's hard to force people to do things they don't like doing.
> In Pittsburgh, I participated in a wonderful training exercise 
> put on by
> the
> port authority for us blind folks.  Our driver was very 
> friendly and
> seemed
> very committed to his job.  We took a nice little bus ride, and 
> he called
> out all of the stops.  He had a distinct voice, and I remember 
> thinking I
> wish all bus drivers were like him.
> Well, the following Monday morning, I happened to get him as my 
> driver,
> and
> he never called out one single damned stop.  Smiles.  He liked 
> the
> Saturday
> overtime work and was willing to comply with the requirements 
> for that,
> but
> he didn't like calling out the stops on his weekday route.
>
> Bottom line:  I'm a big fan of automated stop announcements. 
> (Sorry, I
> didn't mean to use the word fan).  I'm a big fan, but not a 
> noisy one.
>
>
> Jerry Berrier, Access Technology Consultant
> 18 Trunfio Ln
> Everett, MA 02149
> (508) 735-4420
> jerry at birdblind.org
> http://www.birdblind.org
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bscb-l-bounces at acb.org [mailto:bscb-l-bounces at acb.org] On 
> Behalf Of
> Alison
> Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 8:16 PM
> To: Bay state (Massachusetts) discussion list
> Subject: Re: [bscb-l] funding for the T
>
> "I mean, really now...how hard is it for a bus driver or subway 
> motorman
> to
> announce the stops? It's done that way all over the world, both 
> in the
> past
> and now. If a man or woman is entrusted with the responsibility 
> of driving
> a
> mass transit vehicle and with the lives of the passengers on 
> that vehicle,
> surely he/she has got
> the smarts to read off a list of stopos, particularly on a 
> familiar route,
> but also even on a new one."
>
> Alice, since you have literally never driven a city bus in your 
> life, I
> don't understand how you know what a driver should and should 
> not be
> capable
> of?  Stop assuming the worst about everyone at the MBTA.  They 
> don't hate
> you, they're not out to get you--they work hard to keep your
> transportation
> system running under often difficult circumstances.  You should 
> also note
> that the new automated stop announcement system also displays 
> the stop
> visually so it is much more accessible for hearing impaired 
> passengers
> than
> the old system.
>
> The situation at Park Street and other stations with excessive 
> fan noise
> could be solved by better acoustics (very expensive) or new 
> ventilation
> systems in the stations and on the trains themselves (also very
> expensive).
> Where will the money come from?  Saying "I don't care" is just
> mean-spirited
> and unhelpful in the extreme.  Let's find a way to promote 
> public
> awareness
> of the value of the MBTA to everyone--like the comment in the 
> interview
> you
> referenced, that says people who never take the T still benefit 
> because it
> reduces traffic congestion if some people are riding mass 
> transit instead.
> Let's work with groups like the American Association for Public
> Transportation on an issue that benefits blind people and 
> sighted people
> alike--not to mention the environment and lots of other social 
> benefits as
> well.  Let's stop hating and start working with the MBTA to 
> improve public
> support for it and thereby get the funds to increase service 
> for everyone.
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: alice dampman humel <alicedh at verizon.net>
> To: Bay state (Massachusetts) discussion list <bscb-l at acb.org>
> Sent: Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:57:35 -0000 (UTC)
> Subject: Re: [bscb-l] funding for the T
>
> We don't? That's news to me. Maybe you should talk to other
> people and listen more...
>    and why are you bringing all these things into what started
> out at least to be a question and discussion about excessive
> noise from all sorts of fans and motors, among other things, on
> the T, a discussion indeed about problems with the MBTA that
> affect us, all riders?
>    If you'd like to discuss MCB or the Carroll Center or the
> Braille And Talking Book Library or for that matter the Greek
> economic crisis, the riots in London, the price of peaches in
> China or the debt ceiling, fine. Start that topic, and I'm sure
> many people will find all kinds of things to say, yea and nay.
> But we're talking about the MBTA here and trying to examine and
> perhaps find a solution for a problem that, I repeat, has 
> nothing
> whatsoever to do with whether or not blind people pay that 10
> cents or 25 cents or whatever it is that people with other
> disabilities pay or full fare for that matter, but that does
> indeed compromise the safety of passengers, blind and sighted
> alike. If the T decides to make blind people pay, fine. We'll
> pay. But they obviously don't see a relatively few blind people
> riding the T more or less frequently as a major source of
> revenue. If they did, they'd be on us like white on rice.
>    Coincidentally, there was a very interesting interview with
> and report about Davey, the former head of the MBTA who has now
> been appointed as the head of MDOT. Here's the link.
> http://radioboston.wbur.org/2011/08/11/davey-transportation-secretary
> Davey made many interesting points. He mentioned that a fare 
> hike
> had not been implemented in the last 5 years but was coming 
> soon.
> He mentioned that the gasoline tax, also a source of revenue 
> for
> the T, was among the lowest in the nation, right down there 
> with
> Louisiana, not up there with other states with a good mass
> transit system like New York. He mentioned that the T got
> something like 160 million dollars (I may have that number 
> wrong,
> but it was a big number <grin>) last year from the increase in
> the sales tax. He said that sometimes, motorists complain that
> their gas tax or toll or other money goes to support the T when
> they don't ride it, and Davey answered that all those people
> stuck in the daily gridlock parking lot otherwise known as 128
> should be extremely happy if people could be lured to mass
> transit, thus leaving fewer cars on the road.
>    Anyhow, he apparently is not looking at the relatively few
> blind people as the next source of major revenue for the T. He
> sees things in better proportion than that.
>    I also forgot to mention in my last message that expensive
> (and often unreliable) automated stop announcement technology 
> is
> another one of those unnecessary expenses. I mean, really
> now...how hard is it for a bus driver or subway motorman to
> announce the stops? It's done that way all over the world, both
> in the past and now. If a man or woman is entrusted with the
> responsibility of driving a mass transit vehicle and with the
> lives of the passengers on that vehicle, surely he/she has got
> the smarts to read off a list of stopos, particularly on a
> familiar route, but also even on a new one. IMO, that money 
> would
> be better spent to improve service, not increase the bells and
> whistles, hmmm, quite literally!
> Alice
>
> alicedh at verizon.net
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Alison" <alison2911 at comcast.net>
> To: "Bay state (Massachusetts) discussion list" 
> <bscb-l at acb.org>
> Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 11:57 AM
> Subject: Re: [bscb-l] funding for the T
>
>
> ...but we never criticize how the Mass Commission for the Blind
> uses its money, and we rarely even bother to criticize the fact
> that the NLS Braille libraries have a policy of sending written
> communications to patrons in PRINT (not braille) most of the
> time.  A lot of people could tell "war stories" about 
> unfairness
> and mismanagement and mistreatment at MCB and the Carroll 
> Center
> and Perkins (both schools make a lot of money from MCB 
> contracts,
> so our lobbying for funding directly benefits them), just as 
> much
> as we can tell bad stories about the MBTA.  But for some 
> reason,
> in spite of all the problems with these "blindness
> organizations," BSCB just obediently asks the State House for
> whatever our MCB friends have told us to ask for.  Why don't we
> stop advocating for MCB every year if we should not advocate 
> for
> funding for any organziation that does not use funds 100% 
> wisely?
> Apparently we think we need MCB so much, we're willing to
> overlook its many shortcomings.  For some r
> eason, the MBTA does not get this benefit of a doubt from us,
> even though many of us get a lot more benefit from the MBTA on 
> a
> daily basis than we do from the Commission or the Carroll 
> Center.
> But for some strange reason, people in BSCB have decided to 
> treat
> the MBTA as though they are the enemy?  This double-standard
> helps nobody and in fact it hurts those of us who use the MBTA
> because BSCB could be doing more to help the situation.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: alice dampman humel <alicedh at verizon.net>
> To: bscb-l at acb.org
> Sent: Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:30:49 -0000 (UTC)
> Subject: [bscb-l] funding for the T
>
> Alison,
>    Advocating for better/more funding for the T at the state
> house as we do for funding for the Talking Book Library and 
> other
> similar things is not a bad idea at all.
>    However, and that is the however of "additionally," not
> contradiction, there's a flip side to that coin. If the T is 
> not
> using the funds it already has wisely and well and for
> improvements that benefit the ridership, not their CEO's 
> pockets,
> then no matter how much money is thrown at them and the T's
> problems and shortcomings, the path of that money will always 
> be
> the same. I think the T should get its own current financial
> house in order, and use the funds they have, however meager (or
> not) they may currently be, more wisely, judiciously, and
> effectively. I still believe from all I read, hear, and
> experience that there is enormous waste from the point of view 
> of
> allegedly the most important segment of this equation, the
> ridership, disabled and non-disabled alike, in the way the T is
> run.
>    As in other political and social arenas, just because I
> criticize the T and insist on holding its managers accountable
> for how they use the resources they have, with the intent of
> working toward improvement, does not mean I do not appreciate 
> the
> T and the service and opportunities it provides as much as the
> rest of us. I think that should go without saying, but
> apparently, there are those in our ranks that equate pointing 
> out
> problems and deficiencies as at least one step in fixing or
> improving them, with some kind of gross disloyalty.
>    And for all those who indignantly insist it's better than
> nothing or better than the proverbial poke in the eye, fine. Go
> ahead and settle for better than nothing. Those of us who have
> experienced better than that know how possible really efficient
> and attractive mass transit can very easily be. But if you're
> willing to settle, well, you deserve nothing better than 
> "better
> than nothing" or even nothing at all.
> Take your pick.
> Alice
> alicedh at verizon.net
>
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