bobquasit | A letter to Romney

So I wrote a letter to Bob Stoetzel, the person in charge of the commuter rail at the T. But he's ignored the problem routinely over the years, so this time I CCed the letter to Mitt Romney.

Does it take a lot of chutzpah to write to Romney after I recently slammed him in the Globe? Not really. He's a public servant. It's his JOB to take care of this stuff. Just because he's not DOING his job properly doesn't mean that it's not his responsibility.

Governor Romney:

I and many other riders I have spoken with have written numerous letters of complaint to Mr. Stoetzel over the past several years. Still no action has been taken to remedy the uncomfortable and downright dangerous conditions on the 715 Franklin train. Below is a copy of my most recent letter.

Sir:

The Franklin 715 (departing South Station at 4:10 PM) train has become an ongoing topic of outrage among riders on that line. I have spoken to dozens of people who have written in to complain - many of them having written more than once - about the service on that train. So far, all anyone has received in return has been a standard response letter, but no action.

In the years that I have been riding the line, there have never been enough cars on that run. Six single-level cars are provided, and EVERY car has ten or more people who are forced to stand in the aisle, making fare collection difficult and conditions extremely unsafe. At multiple times every year year the train has been so crowded that people are jammed even into the spaces between the cars, which is extremely unsafe.

I regularly have to stand for half an hour or more each day. Fortunately I'm healthy and can manage; I have seen elderly people and pregnant women who've also had to stand for just as long. This is not acceptable.

And yet the Needham train just before the 715 has more than ample seating - often, nearly half the seats are completely empty. The Needham train always has at least three double-level cars on that run, and I have never seen it more than 75% full.

The most recent incident was particularly unpleasant: July 27th was one of the hottest days of the year. The temperature was in the mid-90s. So why did three out of the six cars of train 715 have no air conditioning? Passengers were jammed so tightly into the remaining three cars that entry was impossible. Meanwhile, in the cars without AC, temperatures soared to well over 100 degrees. It's a miracle that no one suffered heat stroke or a heart attack.

What will it take to get this problem addressed?

--
Peter Maranci

I'll post any replies I get from either recipient here.