Thursday, January 07, 2010

Vaya Con Dios MBTA


It only took me 3 months but I have had it with commuting on the T. I kept repeating to myself over and over about how I'm saving so much on gas and how great it is to decompress from work on the subway. But you know what? Those are absolute lies that I tell myself. I work under 8 miles from where I live and I'm actually paying $42 per week to take the T. I am even more stressed taking the subway than I would be sitting in traffic. It turns out that for a parking pass at work, I'll actually just pay $30 per week. I can only switch to driving starting in February so if I can get through January without screaming bloody murder in the subway car, I'll be all good.

What pushed me over from denial to utter disgust and contempt? These last two days. The fun of people watching and enjoying the quirks of others turned into realizing that I am surrounded by utter assholes. Like this kid who kept sneezing on this poor lady next to him without covering his mouth this morning. The poor woman looked horrified. Or the iPod zombie kid who crashed into me and stepped on my foot yesterday making me tumble pretty badly on a stairway. Finally, it was the red line conductor who closed the train doors in my face on my commute home tonight. He was leaning out the window and I was right next to him and there was no way he didn't see me.

This past week, my back has been a complete wreck. I was in so much pain this evening, when the T door slammed in my face and the train pulled away, I wound up crying on the Downtown Crossing platform. I just wanted to get home, pop some advil, and lie on a heating pad. Guess what? If I drove to work, I would have been home by that time.

So here's to saving $12 per week and flipping the bird in the corrupt mismanaged MBTA's face!

6 comments:

robin said...

ack. how does it cost $42/week??

Anonymous said...

I made the same decision recently after 9 years of commuting on the T. I've watched the whole system fall apart under mismanagement and (seeming) misanthropy.

So I bought a cheap used car and now I'm happy.

AnnaB said...

I pay $7 per week through my job for a T pass. Also parking at my MBTA stop is $7 per day. So (7 x 5)+7 = $42.

robin said...

ah that makes sense. what a bummer, though. hope your back feels better and that you can survive January! Personally, I'm beginning to think us T riders need to use the "takes a village" approach to reprimanding people who do not understand how to sneeze properly, or how to let a pregnant lady have your seat, etc.

Anonymous said...

What MBTA stop parking costs $7 a day? I thought the most is $5 a day.

AnnaB said...

Red line Quincy center costs $7