Are there any transit systems worse than the T?

I think SEPTA has to be the worst major transit system in the country and I think Portland's TriMet is the best in the country -> rail system not too extensive but service is top notch with real-time satalite arrivals for all buses/trains available by phone/internet/pda, no budget crisises, rail lines open months early and tens of millions under budget. Clean and well funded system. Huge Fareless Square downtown. Customer Service people help people buy tickets and answer questions at the airport and at major public events like sports, parades etc. Plus transit in Portland including bus has a great image and despite the Portland region being the 29th largest metro in the US, it has the 12th largest system in terms of ridership. Attractive downtown bus mall.

octr202 wrote:Cost is the driving factor in closing lines during construction. However, this has, in most cases, had very negative effects on ridership. It often takes years to build ridership back up to previous level, and it generates ill-will from the riding public. It took SEPTA several years to get its ridership back up after Railworks. The CTA decided that the Green Line closure in Chicago decimated ridership to the point where they kept the Douglas Branch of the Blue Line open during reconstruction.

Precident now determines whether to keep the line(s) running or not. However take into account the Blue Line in Boston which while losing some riders returned to nearly the same levels that were riding before. In fact, if the projects are done right the inconvenience is offset by the gains in ridership on the line.

Now, figuring out just what all made the Big Dig so expensive is beyond the scope of this forum, but a lot of it had to do with little or no oversight of private contractors.

Overruns do not add up to the cost of keeping the Central Artery open during construction, not according to Mr. Salvucci(sp?)- the father of the Big Dig. He specificially stated in the PBS documentary about the project.

As much as I dislike having the North Station-Lechmere part of the Green Line shut down, it's very hard to see how they could have done it any other way. There's lots of parallel Big Dig and Green Line construction there, all wedged into a very tight area.

pdxstreetcar wrote:I think SEPTA has to be the worst major transit system in the country and I think Portland's TriMet is the best in the country -> rail system not too extensive but service is top notch with real-time satalite arrivals for all buses/trains available by phone/internet/pda, no budget crisises, rail lines open months early and tens of millions under budget. Clean and well funded system. Huge Fareless Square downtown. Customer Service people help people buy tickets and answer questions at the airport and at major public events like sports, parades etc. Plus transit in Portland including bus has a great image and despite the Portland region being the 29th largest metro in the US, it has the 12th largest system in terms of ridership. Attractive downtown bus mall.

Well, Portland has one of the most progressive governments in the country, and the public attitude and commitment to improving the quality of life for all of its citizens. Meanwhile Philadelphia has the most corrupt and incompetent governments, and this has been the norm since its founding. This malfeasence contributes to the rotten attitude the public has towards anything ran by the government. Also thanks to the very antiquated system of government, where every little burg no matter how big or small has its own mayor, council ,etc decisions are based on "Where's mine?" and "who's ox will get gored?" Add to that, the provincialism that permeates in the Philly area and the complications of class, race, ethnicity, etc. and you have the mess that is SEPTA, plus all of the other institutions in this area.