The Green Line

If you work or play in Boston, you've undoubtedly taken the Green Line, the subway line that cuts through the center of the city.

You can hit many of the main attractions on the Green Line, including Fenway Park, Boston Garden and the Museum of Fine Arts.

During rush hour, the trains can get crowded.

Here's my rant: Instead of strategically figure out how to handle the overflow, the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) just throws more cars at the problem. They're pounding their chests this morning, touting the 10 new cars they'll be adding over the next few months.

This is not the answer.

As it is, there are too many Green Line cars in service. More often than not, the Green Line cars practically stack up upon one another, creating rush-hour gridlock beneath the ground. It would be one thing if the cars were full, but they're not.

A better answer is to strategically space out the cars based on destination (there are B, C, D and E cars with specific routes) and ensure that outbound cars have a good mix of final destinations (Government Center, North Station and Lechmere).

The Green Line is going to be crowded. Volume is a reality, like vehicle traffic going in and out of the city. But the MBTA should focus on refining the mix rather than adding cars.

Maybe if someone calling the shots at the MBTA sat in Green Line gridlock on a half-empty car or waited 20 minutes for an outbound Lechmere car at Park Street while five half-empty Government Center cars in a row pass through they would understand.

Comments

[Sandy]

I agree that the MBTA hasn't figured it out, but IMHO, they don't have enough cars, at least on the B Line. There's a lot of waiting and the cars are crowded.

[dashford]

Part of the problem with getting an outbound Lechmere trolley is that only one of the 4 branches (the E branch) goes all the way out to Lechmere. There used to be two branches that made the full route, back before Lechmere was closed for renovations. Having the Green Line's trolleys make longer runs would be part of the solution.

[Christine]

Ah, the haunted mine ride of the T. I believe it's the only line that people still drive. Sorry you have to deal with it daily, Dan.

[Scott]

If you want to feel better about your situation in Boston, take a look at Seattle's light-rail debacle of recent years. Government ineptitude is a many-splendored thing...