Category Archives: Transportation

What Happened to MBTA?

Posted on November 15, 2023 by mikethemadbiologist

When I lived in Boston, the MBTA, including the trains (the “T”) was pretty good. Not perfect, but it worked well, especially in comparison to D.C.’s Metro, which, shortly after I returned, had years of ‘Back to Good’ repairs that … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, DC, Transportation | 2 Comments

More Frequent, Not Cheaper Bus Service

Posted on August 1, 2023 by mikethemadbiologist

A while ago, the D.C. Council was toying with making Metro buses free on D.C. routes. Leaving aside the impulse to treat public services as charity for poor people (as opposed to services that should be functional and for everyone), … Continue reading →

Posted in DC, Transportation | 4 Comments

One Critical Element for Improving Mass Transit: A Local Press Corps That Uses It

Posted on January 3, 2023 by mikethemadbiologist

This isn’t a particularly devastating article about the trials of Boston’s mass transit system, the MBTA (aka ‘the T’). It’s well-written, but what I find notable is the subject matter: it’s about service delays. When I lived in Boston, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Transportation | Comments Off on One Critical Element for Improving Mass Transit: A Local Press Corps That Uses It

Centrists Misunderstand the Moment: The Sick Leave Edition

Posted on November 30, 2022 by mikethemadbiologist

Between the Washington Post editorial board calling for sending federal workers back to the office so D.C. (not Wor-Shing-Tun) can have more tax revenue* and the Biden Administration choosing to side with capital over labor because railroad workers want seven … Continue reading →

Posted in Democrats, Fucking Morons, Public Health, Transportation, Unions | 1 Comment

Mass Transit: It’s the Contractors, Stupid

Posted on November 7, 2022 by mikethemadbiologist

And the subcontractors. And the sub-subcontractors. One thing that bedevils mass transit in the U.S. is how much it costs to build. Occasionally, we can have nice things, but it’s so expensive we don’t get very much of them. While … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, Transportation | 1 Comment

WMATA’s New GM Gets It. The Board Though…

Posted on August 3, 2022 by mikethemadbiologist

While WMATA’s problems are deep and can’t be solved by one person, it’s good to hear this from the new GM (boldface mine): Unlike his predecessor, Clarke said, the public will not hear him stressing safety as publicly as Wiedefeld … Continue reading →

Posted in DC, Transportation | 1 Comment

It’s Time to Shut Down the Capital Beltway

Posted on July 12, 2022 by mikethemadbiologist

Or at least limit it to one lane each way, with a top speed limit of 25 mph. I’ve proposed this before, but here’s a less snarky version (boldface mine): Reactive measures usually include some combination of grounding or pulling … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, DC, Transportation | Comments Off on It’s Time to Shut Down the Capital Beltway

Endorse

Posted on November 14, 2021 by mikethemadbiologist

Observed on S Street NW, between 17th and Vermont, Dupont Circle, D.C.:

Posted in DC, Transportation | 1 Comment

We Can’t Really Restart the Economy Until We Restart Transit

Posted on May 26, 2021 by mikethemadbiologist

There has been a lot of caterwauling by some business owners about dastardly employees who are getting uppity want to get paid more. But what that complaint doesn’t consider is that their employees also have higher travel expenses (boldface mine): … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, DC, Transportation | 1 Comment

Infrastructure Discourse Follies

Posted on April 7, 2021 by mikethemadbiologist

I like to think of myself as a reasonably good ‘conservative moment anticipator’, in that I usually have a pretty good understanding of what they’ll do next and why. But I’ll admit I didn’t even imagine the Republican attack strategy … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Democrats, News Media, Transportation | 4 Comments