The MBTA is a miracle most of the time. Just the other day I was telling friends who used to live here how much better it’s gotten under general manager Phil Eng. Then there was today.
I had no trouble getting to BU for a conference. But when I left a few minutes after 6, the fun began. The Green Line car I was on stopped moving almost immediately. We were told there had been some sort of emergency, and that we needed to to get out and take a shuttle bus. We walked to the bus stop, and no one could tell us whether a shuttle was showing up or not. A Boston police officer who was there saw someone in a T maintenance truck. He ran over to the guy (in 93-degree heat), came back, and told us the shuttles were leaving from Kenmore Square.
So I walked to Kenmore, broiling the whole way. At this point a large crowd had gathered to take the shuttle. The T workers who were there weren’t sure what was going on. Finally, we were told that we should get back on the Green Line to Arlington Station and pick up the shuttle there.
I got off at Copley and walked to the Orange Line, which proved to be a smart move. I got to North Station in time to take the commuter rail home. A trip that should have taken an hour or less had taken two hours, but it could have been worse.
Things happen. What upset me was the lack of communication and no accommodations for riders who had already paid. Everything should have just been opened, as it sometimes is in such circumstances. Instead, we all paid over and over whenever we switched lines.
Very poor performance today.
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