Waving the White Flag

Anyone who believes in the inherent good in people hasn’t taken MBTA service on their morning commute. No one is at their best at 6am when waiting in single digit temperatures for a train that has been promised and is a blatant no-show. I can't tell you how many times I've been shoved and cut in line this winter. Yesterday I saw a woman use her kid as ammo to push her way to the front of the line for an overcrowded bus. Someone in the crowd (me) applauded "mother of the year!" Just kidding, I would never yell in a lynch mob scenario like that, but I wish someone had put that woman in her place.

Every city has their own right to bitch about shoddy train service, but it’s safe to say Boston currently holds the crown. This isn’t something to brag about; it’s a mere fact. The seemingly never ending storm of snow this winter has caused Boston’s mass transit line to be depleted down to a bare bones operation most of us know simply as our daily commute. Seriously, MBTA, get your shit together.

Waiting more than ten minutes for a train at peak rush hour times is annoying, but it’s so often a fact of life that I never leave the house w/out a good book. I’d recommend never leaving w/out a fully charged cell phone, but I don’t take my own advice and am usually down to 10% or below when I’m trying to navigate pulling up the next bus and which station I should get off at to secure the shortest wait time #firstworldproblems

Regarding all the snow we’ve received this winter, I’m making the executive decision on behalf of this fine city to wave the white flag. Mother Nature, you win. Now please, please, please, ease up a little on the hub. I really and truly can’t deal w/ all this severe delay and long estimated wait time business. And don’t even get me started on all the shuttle buses. 

Yesterday it took me nearly two hours to get home. When the Google Map shows that this isn’t even a six mile excursion, I don’t know whether to cry or bust out a beer. The latter seems like my best bet, seeing as tears do little to get these trains going. Yesterday our train conductor was in a foul mood, calling people out over the intercom and shouting at everyone to clear the damn doors. This is the customer service the T prides itself on?

They must have heard my bitching prayers because they cancelled all rail service today. A snow day when it’s not even snowing is the best kind of snow day. Now there’s no reason for the liquor store to be closed. This should help me stock up for all the future times I’ll get home after a wicked commute. Since the T is notorious for running slow when it’s cold out, we’ve only got, oh, four more months of this. By then, it’ll be June and –fingers crossed- not still snowing.