Downtown Crossing is the busiest T station?

This afternoon I stumbled across the last published system wide MBTA ridership numbers (2009)


Ridership and Service Statistics Twelfth  Edition  2009

Included is a table that shows the number of average weekday boardings at each station in the system and I was a little surprised by the numbers.If you click on the above link and then go to page 18 you can access the full table.

The station in FY 2008 with the most boardings was Downtown Crossing with 22,695, followed by South Station with 22,157 and Harvard third with 20,373.

Now Downtown Crossing is a transfer point but since one doesn't tap their Charlie Card to transfer I have to assume these numbers are actual riders entering the system. Coming in dead last lime a broken down horse is Suffolk Downs with 803.

Some of the other numbers also make me scratch my head but since this table was created after the Charley Card system was introduced systemwide in 1997 I have to assume they are accurate. For example Shawmut recorded more boardings than Savin Hill - 1979 to 1,747 which given that Savin Hill is adjacent to Dorchester Ave. is a mild surprise and it has also has more boardings than Riverside which averaged 1,924.

The Bus ridership is also fascinating to read. The Silver Line between Dudley and Downtown is the busiest route with 14,709 boardings on an average weekday, followed by the #39 with 14,405 and the #1 with 12,325.

On the Commuter Rail I never would have guessed the suburban station with the most boardings each weekday would be Mansfield with 3,763. Way behind in the #2 position is Rte. 128 with 2,572 followed by Salem with 2,504.

It really is a fascinating document to look at and it tells you everything you could ever want to know about the MBTA.

I hope the T publishes a more recent version soon.

Memo to MBTA GM Rich Davey - Please re-open Bowdoin Station FULL TIME

Bowdoin Station info on MBTA.com

Bowdoin Station overview - Wikipedia

Bowdoin Station is the forgotten orphan of the Boston subway system. It is the downtown terminus of the Blue Line and some 30 years ago the station became a Monday-Friday station and closes at 6:30 PM. The reason given at the time was the T said it could no longer afford a token seller there at night due to budget cutbacks but it would reopen the station in a few months.

They also said the A Line (Watertown) would only be temporarly suspended in 1969.

About 5 years ago the T said Bowdoin would close forever when Government Center was remodeled and that would occur in 2009. Well as we all know not much has changed at Government Center and given how long the State Street remodel on the Orange and Blue line has taken we can assume it may be awhile. I am willing to wager we will see Green Line service to Somerville and Medford before Government Center is renovated. My hunch is the T is waiting to see what may or may not happen to Boston City Hall before breaking ground.

I am asking in the meantime reopen the station for fulltime service. With the Charlie Card/Ticket system it would be pretty much like Symphony and Prudential on the Green Line. The trains have to go through the station anyways to turn around.

Since the station was shuttered, nearby Massachusetts General Hospital has expanded, and there is more foot traffic on Cambridge Street itself.

All I am asking is try it for six months and see if there is a demand now that wasn't there 30 years ago.

An Open Letter to T GM Richard Davey

I have been riding the T since it was known as the MTA of Charlie fame.

Lately I have not been driving as much and riding the T more and I have some observations of where the MBTA is today.

SUBWAY

When I first started riding what is now known as the Red Line it ran only from Harvard to Ashmont. Four car trains were seen in rush-hour but otherwise they often ran TWO car trains and the equipment dated back to 1912. Those cars were not replaced until 1963 with the so called blue birds.

The Orange Line was the elevated and they replaced the older cars around 1958 (some 1920's trains made it to the late 70's) but it also ran two-car trains in non peak times.

The Blue Line also had trains dating back to the 1920's and many trains ended at Orient Heights.

It is amazing to see what the system has become.

The Green Line was always the workhorse and until 1969 also had the WATERTOWN line ( today the 57 bus) But it was never as crowded as it is today at almost all hours.

I do believe one flaw in the way the Green Line has changed is that the lines have never been adjusted for changes in passenger load.

Today the B Line ends at Government Center and that only happened because the LRV's could no longer turn around at Park St. Still the B should be extended to Lechmere as between the North Shore bus terminal at Haymarket, Commuter Rail at North Station and the huge increase of passenger traffic to Lechmere that end of the Green Line is under-served.

The Lechmere of my youth was simply the end of the line for people to catch buses to Somerville, Arlington and Medford with the occasional person going to the old Lechmere Sales store on First St. However today you now have the Cambridgeside Galleria which beings in shopers from the Back Bay, South End, Dorchester and Roxbury as it is the only full blown mall close to downtown. A few years ago when North Station was being rebuilt the T DID have 2 of the Green Lines terminate at Lechmere and it worked well.

Simply put there is no good reason to end the B at Government Center except "Well that is how we have always done it."

SILVER LINE

I now use the Silver Line to go to Logan from Cambridge and the service is very good. If anything the line is becoming a victim of it's own success as when there is a convention in the Seaport area the Silver Line can not handle both the airport and convention goers. Somehow headway needs to be increased which I assume is one of the reasons SL3 was discontinued to add bused to SL1 and SL2.

The most recent figures I can find for MBTA ridership by line and station are from 2008-9.

Ridership

and

Service

Statistics

The Silver Line figures appear to be from 2006 and are very low in the report. It seems like the line has become very popular with travelers leaving Logan.

Something to consider here : The Silver Line is now becoming a 'first impression' of people visiting Boston and it shows off how the Seaport area has exploded.

BUS SERVICE

I use the #1 Harvard-Dudley bus daily and it has its good days and bad days. If ever a line screamed for 60 foot buses it it this one ( and the #66 ) as most buses are packed from 7 AM to 9 PM. I have found the new bus tracking system useful.

Other than those two lines I have no real complaint with the bus service. I do understand Boston is not a traffic friendly city.

COMMUTER RAIL

I wish we could use the plastic Charlie Card on the train. How hard can it be to do this?

My only other complaint is minor but it would seem that somehow the #94 bus which services West Medford station could be adjusted someone so connections between the two lines would be better.

I do hope we will see arrival times of the subway trains on the electronic signs at each train station. A cell phone application at most stations is useless for lack of a signal. I am assuming that all that is needed for the signs to display the time is software?

Overall I think you have done a fine job since taking over the T.



HARVARD STATION 1976

PLEASE 60 FOOT BUSES on the 1 and 66???

T Next Bus tracker is now SYSTEM WIDE

Great news for everyone who rides the buses in Boston as the MBTA
has turned on the Next Bus tracker on every bus route on the T.


I have found this to be very reliable on the test routes with the
exception that occasionally a bus may have the GPS turned off but
that only means a bus may arrive earlier than indicated. However if
the readout says 5 minutes, there will be a bus there at that time.


The link for your phone or PDA is


http://www.nextbus.com/wireless/miniRoute.shtml?a=mbta

Also at www.mbta.com

Now if only we can get the subway signs to tell us when the next
train arrives.