An MBTA Business Day
November 8, 2011 7:27 AM   Subscribe

What does a day's worth of activity look like for Boston's transportation system? Via bostonography, which has been featured previously.
posted by Eideteker (26 comments total) 16 users marked this as a favorite
 
Wow, that is very cool. Thanks!
posted by DiscourseMarker at 7:35 AM on November 8, 2011


I expected to see more red than there is, though. I don’t often ride the bus, but the experiences burned in my mind are things like watching pedestrians cross the Mass Ave bridge more quickly than my #1.

That's because the graph has drawn distance but you were experiencing duration. Obviously a distance at a low speed is going to be short compared to its duration. That's what "slow" means.
posted by DU at 7:37 AM on November 8, 2011


...the weekend Red Line closures have begun...

whoa whoa whoa what?
posted by DU at 7:39 AM on November 8, 2011


This is a good start for planning where improvements to public transportation should go. Perhaps they can start by limiting some of the busier routes to cars (via something akin to congestion charges) so the buses can travel faster and more frequently.
posted by Rarebit Fiend at 7:42 AM on November 8, 2011


They're shutting down the northern part of the red line (stop at harvard, busses to alewife) every weekend from last weekend through some time this spring.
posted by rmd1023 at 7:42 AM on November 8, 2011


whoa whoa whoa what?

Oh yeah, you'll love this, DU:

http://articles.boston.com/2011-10-22/news/30310977_1_red-line-harvard-square-weekend-service

Alternative title: theredpen doesn't go into the city until next summer.
posted by theredpen at 7:43 AM on November 8, 2011


I miss living in Boston sometimes, but I sure don't miss riding the #66.
posted by modernserf at 7:44 AM on November 8, 2011 [3 favorites]


Red Line closures are going to be super fun!!! when the weather gets worse. Taking a bus to Harvard, with the detour running on Mass Ave, in the snow. Hooray!

Also, selfishly, it means all the Tufts students are more likely to hang out in Davis all weekend. Damn kids, get off my lawn. Etc etc.
posted by lydhre at 7:48 AM on November 8, 2011


Oh jeepers, I'm glad I heard about shutting down Alewife. That's exactly how I get into Boston! And I was thinking about going this weekend!
posted by DU at 7:49 AM on November 8, 2011


The most frustrating thing to my mind is how it was publicized - not a peep until about two weeks before (the article theredpen linked), and no signs in the subway announcing it. I've taken the shuttles in a few times, but honestly with the scrum that develops in the Harvard bus station, it's just as fast for me to walk home (near Porter.) I predict I'll change my mind about that once the cold hits...

And back to the links, this is just bus data, right? I'm really curious about average ground speeds for the different subway lines...
posted by heyforfour at 7:57 AM on November 8, 2011


Real-time bus location data? I'm sure that my city's transit system will get that sometime this century. Maybe. Sigh.
posted by octothorpe at 7:57 AM on November 8, 2011




If only. It baffles me why *anybody* would want to drive into Harvard Square, like, ever.

posted by DiscourseMarker at 8:05 AM on November 8, 2011 [5 favorites]


That's because the graph has drawn distance but you were experiencing duration. Obviously a distance at a low speed is going to be short compared to its duration. That's what "slow" means.

Right. But if busses were going slow -- like the aforementioned #1 stuck on the Mass Ave bridge -- they'd be red.

(And who would have thought Vassar Street west of Mass Ave would be unusually fast? I guess there's really not much there...)
posted by madcaptenor at 8:07 AM on November 8, 2011


If only. It baffles me why *anybody* would want to drive into Harvard Square, like, ever.

Because if you know where you're going and which side roads to take and you're trying to get from Observatory Hill (where I live) to Savenor's in Inman (mmm, tasty meat) and back, it's by far the quickest thing to do.

Of course, that's an awfully big "if" I'm stipulating. The practical implication of what I'm saying is that driving through Harvard Square successfully must not involve driving on Mass Ave.
posted by atbash at 8:16 AM on November 8, 2011


I met Andy Woodruff at a cartography conference last month. Very cool guy.
posted by desjardins at 8:27 AM on November 8, 2011


And back to the links, this is just bus data, right? I'm really curious about average ground speeds for the different subway lines...

And no love for the commuter rail, either...
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:30 AM on November 8, 2011


Perhaps they can start by limiting some of the busier routes to cars (via something akin to congestion charges) so the buses can travel faster and more frequently.

They already do this on, for example, MA-16/Alewife Brook Parkway. No commercial vehicles are allowed.
posted by atbash at 8:35 AM on November 8, 2011


If only. It baffles me why *anybody* would want to drive into Harvard Square, like, ever.

As horrible as it may be, it's the fastest way I have of getting to I-90, by a lot.

Fuck I wish the 695 proposal had gone through. Fucking Fahkin' Boston.
posted by Ryvar at 9:28 AM on November 8, 2011


I've seen signs for "community meetings" about the weekend Red Line closures in Somerville and I'm tempted to go to one just to see what they're about, since I don't see what the point is, as the work has already started and the time for meaningful public input has passed, since they announced this when it was essentially already imminent... and while by all accounts it's necessary work, they chose the worst period of the year to be doing it. The only saving grace is that it doesn't affect the weekday commute. I'm a little surprised that the Alewife extension is in such grave shape considering it was only built in the 80s.

Bostonography, however, is great, and my only wish for them is that they would post more. I particularly enjoyed the photographic colors post along with the 'Locals and Tourists' photo sets they link to.
posted by Kosh at 10:18 AM on November 8, 2011


Perhaps they can start by limiting some of the busier routes to cars (via something akin to congestion charges) so the buses can travel faster and more frequently.

They already do this on, for example, MA-16/Alewife Brook Parkway. No commercial vehicles are allowed.


Commercial vehicles aren't really the problem and the only reason they're kept off Alewife Brook Parkway is because they're too big for the bridges. I'm talking about limiting access to cars, preventing the crush of single-occupancy vehicles that cause so much of the congestion that prevent buses from being able to keep anything remotely close to a schedule. I'm talking about Boston having congestion charges where motorists have to purchase a permit for say $15/day to drive in the parts of the city with the city's busiest bus routes.
posted by Rarebit Fiend at 10:27 AM on November 8, 2011


Perhaps they can start by limiting some of the busier routes to cars

The language here was what made me misunderstand you - you mean limiting cars' access, whereas I read it as limiting access to only cars and assumed you were implying an exemption for buses.
posted by atbash at 10:39 AM on November 8, 2011


I'm talking about Boston having congestion charges where motorists have to purchase a permit for say $15/day to drive in the parts of the city with the city's busiest bus routes.

So, the hardest bit about this plan is that the "Boston" MSA is so many different municipalities, and they usually can't agree on anything.
posted by atbash at 10:40 AM on November 8, 2011


(And who would have thought Vassar Street west of Mass Ave would be unusually fast? I guess there's really not much there...)

I think that's exclusively used by the CT2 and every time I've taken it most people get on at Kendall Sq. However, there are giant speed bumps along there and a few pedestrian crossings so I'm not sure how a bus would speed through there.

I saw my bus route on there....looks so pretty as a line but they should really include something about frequency on there. Then the 51 wouldn't look so pretty. F*ck you 51.
posted by LunaticFringe at 12:27 PM on November 8, 2011


Of the many fake bands that I've been a member of, Number One Bus is still my favorite.
posted by nev at 5:49 PM on November 8, 2011


This is cool!

It needs an 'infrastructure' tag ...
posted by carter at 6:01 PM on November 8, 2011


I think that's exclusively used by the CT2 and every time I've taken it most people get on at Kendall Sq. However, there are giant speed bumps along there and a few pedestrian crossings so I'm not sure how a bus would speed through there.

That's correct. I've ridden that route a fair bit and it is indeed fast. There's not much traffic and there's only one light (at Mass Ave). The real reason it's fast, though, is because as an express it doesn't have to stop every few blocks. The other two CT routes are also expresses but they mostly overlap with other routes, so if they were any faster it would be hard to see.
posted by komilnefopa at 8:26 PM on November 8, 2011


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