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Attention Massachusetts Gubernatorial Candidates!

Want to sweep to victory in November, dear pols? Here's a simple proposal worth at 30,00 votes for you. Put an end to the sentence Boston sports fans dread most.

"The MBTA reminds you the last train leaves Kenmore Square/North Station at 12:35 a/m."

Last night's rag arm fiesta between the Yankees and Red Sox ended at 12:52 a.m. The T spends millions of dollars a year urging citizens to take mass transit to large public events, then shuts it down just when needed most. Anyone wishing to see the last pitch, and many must've just to be sure the damn game actually COULD end, was out of luck if they'd taken the trolley to Fenway Park. Cabbies gotta eat, too, but to any fans who parked at Alewife, Quincy Adams, or Riverside, a $30 or so surcharge added to the substantial cost of a ticket made sure none of them ever again will use the T at any time. Who can blame 'em? It's double taxation. First, a fan pays big money to watch stumblebum relievers walk their way into endless big innings. Then, he must pay even more money to get away from the stiffs.

The T shuts down early to save money and preserve our town's historic if false reputation as a nowhere burg for those who don't go to bed at sundown. Fair enough. The costs of overtime to keep the system running in case of special events like Mike Timlin's meltdown, however, have to be far less than the revenue lost from fans who could use T service, but don't because they can't trust it to be there for them.

Presumably the T has radio service to all stations and trains. When faced with a situation where large crowds obviously will be needing transport after 12:35 p.m, like when a game's in the top of the sixth at 11 p.m. at Fenway, or a Bruins playoff game hits the second overtime, how hard would it be to alert all hands that the system would run service from the crowd's destination to all points for, oh, 30 minutes after the game's conclusion? So people get overtime. Big deal. The idea is to acquire more customers for the region's slightly dilapidated but reasonably efficient transit system.

I call this idea the Scott Procter/Rudy Seanez Public Transportation Bill. Candidates, the choice is yours. Embrace this plan and you can starting looking at drapes for the Corner Office.

posted by Michael Gee @ 8:19 AM