700 Million Dollars
Today I was reminded that throwing money at a problem does not create a solution. I was reminded because I was standing in the cold for an extra 20 minutes waiting for my train to arrive. When it did arrive, the train in front of us broke down, we attempted a hitch, our train lost power, then finally we got running and were able to push the other train through the rest of its stops. I made it to my station somewhere close to an hour behind schedule.
The company behind many similar disasters and poor quality of service also just renewed their contract for 700 million dollars for a three year extension. A great article from The Boston Globe on the subject can be read here: MBTA extends rail contract
If you don’t want to go there though, I think just the first paragraph is telling enough.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board voted unanimously yesterday - with one abstention and little debate - to pay a private contractor about $700 million to continue running its troubled commuter rail service for another three years.
Thank you for all your hard work in bringing us more of the same by hoping that the first $1.07 billion was a gift, and that this $700 million will be the straw that magically rights the camel.
