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climberskier t1_j6nf7cv wrote

Could we add more frequency? Then more people may actually take the service.

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Victor_Korchnoi t1_j6nylbs wrote

We absolutely need more frequency. But the fare issue is a major issue. From Roslindale (in Boston), you can take a bus to Forest Hills (in a bus lane) that comes 20+ times an hour and transfer to the Orange Line for $2.40. Or you can take the commuter rail for $6.50 one way, plus you might need to pay to transfer.

The vast majority of people opt to save $8.20 on their round trip and just take the bus to the subway. That’s why there are about 20,000 rides on the Washington St buses and only ~1,000 rides on the Needham line.

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DarkPurpleHibiscus t1_j6o1kwh wrote

It also doesn't help that the Needham Line leaves South Station at 3:55, 4:55 and 5:55... if you have to work until 4 PM or 5 PM you're going to have to wait a long time to catch the train home, so I would assume a lot of people like myself opt just to take the orange line. Which is ridiculous because I live literally a 4 minute walk from the Bellevue stop.

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NEU_Throwaway1 t1_j6og46f wrote

The Fitchburg line right now too. Morning inbound trains are scheduled to arrive at 8:06 and 9:04 AM at North Station. This means there really is only one train the entire morning that gets you into the city in time for working hours.

Outbound trains depart North Station at 4:30 PM and 5:30 PM. Makes more sense if you work near North Station, but good luck making those departure times if you have a subway connection especially with the current reduced service and T shenanigans.

And I work in Watertown, so if the 70 is stuck in traffic and I miss the train at Waltham, I have to wait an hour in the cold.

The pre-covid schedule was a train approximately every half hour. Even if you missed a train, you wouldn't have to wait way too long. I've been driving in 99% of the time now and only taking the train when I'm way too tired or lazy to drive in rush hour traffic. I'd go back to taking the train immediately if they brought back one additional train during rush hour, or the express train.

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trekiegirl12 t1_j6p79dv wrote

100% agree. I live in Haverhill and have taken the commuter rail a couple times in the last two weeks due to the weather. It was actually nice not to drive. I have no metric to compare the $11 one-way fair to, but as a trade off to gas, parking, and a link pass, it’s only a little more expensive without the variable of traffic. The issue is the times really mess up my work schedule as it either gets me in too early or too late. I also missed the 5:40pm train last Monday and had to wait for the next one at 6:40pm. Can’t see myself doing a 5:45am to 8:15pm work day regularly. My 3-4 hours daily commute is bad enough.

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johnniewelker t1_j6oyivn wrote

You need more tracks… I’ll never understand why we don’t have more tracks. It doesn’t take that much space compared to highways

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georgethethirteenth t1_j6pfltm wrote

Ugh, I understand the reason we don't get it but this was the number one reason I switched from CR to driving.

In my case, it wasn't so much frequency as the first train not being able to get me to the office in time for a daily 6:00AM. I'd grab the first train of the morning, hit Porter at 5:47 and have no shot at getting to my desk in Kendall by 6:00 (thank you multi-team collaboration and time zones).

Before I had this meeting hit my calendar on the daily I had taken the CR every morning/afternoon. It had the occasional issue, but I didn't find the fare overly excessive, it was less stressful than sitting in traffic, and I got my yearly book count to unprecedented levels - I actually enjoyed the CR.

Of course then there was Covid, a move, and a job change so I wouldn't use it anymore...but an improvement in both frequency and hours would have been most appreciated by me a few years ago.

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