Once again another such subject, dear to my heart: Firstly, let's stop calling these people customers. They are passengers or riders. They are not buying anything except the right (a MetroCard) to ride. They are paying a fare. This is the reason why this agency is the hometown laughing-stock. In the old days, the c/r did not go through this stupidity. It is shame how these men and women are just put through these uneeded paces. On the R10-38's, drum switches established position. On the R40's and beyond, door control buttons and the master key did the same. Then, an alleged defective chip changed the whole thing of operating position. The defective chip caused doors on the R62's to either open when the train was in motion or when the key was turned in the door control panel. When the chip was changed, along with the key, we got this useless added task. If I had a say in things, I would revert to the older simpler practices, where the conductor would be allowed to use his/her own better judgement. This current practice is stupid. I agree: let the next conductor set up his/her own position. There has to be a better way to operate than this. Also, in the old days, there were no cameras on the platforms. Everyone did the best that they could. Also, solo operation: Either, have a conductor or let the motorman use best judgement.Life could be easy.
TRAINMASTER5: In the old days, there were real men who would not put up with this garbage and they would slow things down until management got the message. It was called a "rule book slowdown."
HBLR: I agree. I used to go from Brooklyn to Manhattan 30 minutes in the 60's and 70's. Since all the social tinkering and then the accident on the Williamsburg Bridge, which has slowed things even more, I must now leave my home 90-120 minutes earlier.
Robert Paniagua: So I see Boston has followed our rotten path. I rode the Red and Orange Lines in 2009 and I was shocked to see the condition of the equipment. This is the not the MBTA that I once knew.
Head-end View: The TA overdoes safety like a burned chicken. Passengers do not take any responsibility for their dangerous, stupid and imprudent actions. Just like society, Transit caters to them like a social service agency. The old South Ferry station served quite well. It should have been place on the Historical Register. As for delays in opening doors, here is why: Since 1990, announcements take precedence over EVERYTHING ELSE. Mr. Diekmann did not care about operation safety, meaning doors opening on the palatform side, not the "off" side. This is the reason why there were so many such incidents of the latter. Plus, Mr. Forde went to Japan and saw conductors pointing to the indicator board and he thought it to be a novel idea. So, that adds to the further diminishment of time and always, do not forget those clear, crisp announcements of station stops, transfers available and above all what train it is and where it is going.