A marathon of a different sort
Commuter teams to ride T buses for as long as it takes to run marathon
By christina wallace / metro boston
April 17, 2006
MBTA riders are conducting a marathon of their own tomorrow.
Teams of commuters will be riding buses from Chelsea and Roxbury to see how many miles they can travel in the two hours it usually takes professional athletes to finish a 26-mile marathon.
The point of the publicity event is to prove the unreliability of the bus system, according to Lee Matsueda, an organizer of the marathon.
“It’s a challenge to the MBTA to see if they can get their schedules on time,” said Matsueda, a member of Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), an advocacy group sponsoring the marathon, along with the T Riders’ Union.
For years, ACE members have claimed the MBTA has underserved certain urban areas by investing in bus service instead of rail service. They claim the T’s track record is to provide bus service in low-income and communities of color and rail and subway service to wealthier, more suburban communities.
“The disparities between rail and buses are ridiculous,” Matsueda said.
According to Matsueda, test runs have already proven that bus riders travel a shorter distance in two hours than marathon runners.
The group, which will hold a rally at noon at the State House, is also calling on the gubernatorial candidates to take a stand and fight for equal service in urban communities, according to Khalida Smalls, a member of the T Riders' Union.
T officials called the bus marathon a “silly exercise” that makes no sense.
“How many marathoners must make frequent stops to pick up and drop off passengers? How many marathoners must share the road with cars, SUVs, trucks and buses? How many marathoners must stop at red lights?” asked T spokesman Joe Pesaturo. “If MBTA buses did not have to make passenger stops and were given police escorts on roads blocked off to all traffic, then a comparison to the Boston Marathon could be made.”
According to Pesaturo, on a typical weekday, MBTA buses make 15,300 trips on 190 different routes.
“It's an enormous task, and we do it well,” he said, adding that the T has hired 12 more bus operators who will begin work May 1 to further improve the system.
Everyday riders are encouraged to clock their bus trips that day also and report any inconveniences to the group.
DON'T MISS IT:
The bus marathon will culminate at a rally at the State
House at noon tomorrow. Riders will call on legislators and gubernatorial candidates to make transit a priority and step up before a proposed fare increase is passed next year.