Boston

I wrote this sitting on the 1pm Peter Pan bus from New York back to Boston:

I’m noticed some pretty disturbing things:

1. The bus driver has been on the phone for a good portion of the drive.
2. Greyhound / Peter Pan doesn’t post a “How’s my driving?” phone number inside the cabin.
3. Even if they did, I’d be uncomfortable making that call in earshot of the driver. If I had the temerity to do that, I’d just tell the driver to his face.

Solution? Well the bus operators themselves ought to provide an SMS number for us to silently report bad driver behavior for immediate followup. But I don’t trust voluntary participation. This is one realm where the FTA should step in.

With Greyhound’s own BoltBus funneling off the crazy bargain shoppers, Greyhound’s Boston-New York discount fare (the one you have to click “Can I get a lower price?” to get) is now up to $45. But in a victory for transparency, they’ve also dropped the “convenience fee” of $3. So, compared with a month ago, the price is now UP $2, but at least there’s no bait-and-switch pricing going on any more.

(BoltBus runs fewer trips than Greyhound — I needed something around 8pm and BoltBus only runs until 5pm. And once again I needed to be Midtown, West Side).

So, hoping to get to Long Island in time for Passover, I was shopping for tix that would put me somewhere near Penn Station, so the Chinatown buses were out. Amtrak’s still too expensive, so the old gray mare, Greyhound, was my next option. Turns out the standard price for Boston-New York is $32… but if you click on the “Can I get a cheaper ticket?” button, the answer is “Yes” — a $20 ticket. Nice, right? Well, after going through that whole process, I find that Greyhound’s picked up some tricks from its airline cousins:

Yup, a $3 “convenience fee” — for ME printing out THEIR ticket and avoiding THEIR line and horrible service. Nice bait-and-switch. Let’s see you do that trick again NEXT TIME I DON’T TAKE GREYHOUND.

I’ve frequently traveled between Boston and New York for the last 15 years, and I’ve tried every mode of transit from car to bus to train to plane. Recently I’ve been choosing travel options based purely on convenience from/to my end/start point, so when I’m off the West Side, I take the Greyhound or Amtrak; otherwise I take the Chinatown bus. I had a disastrous experience last month with Vamoose, the Hasidic NY-DC bus, which seems to have suspended service between New York and Cambridge. Turns out the licensing issues that sunk an HLS classmate’s efforts to set up a similar service in 2000 sunk what could have been an innovative alternative. (C’mon, Cambridge, it’s time to get with the program: world-class cities need a direct connection to New York!).

My last trip to NYC put me at the exact departure point for LimoLiner service to Boston, the NYC Hilton at 53rd and 6th, so I decided to give it a spin. I found out that good, courteous service is still alive somewhere in the transportation sector.

LimoLiner emulates air travel back when air travel was something to look forward to. The interior is laid out like a plane, with half the number of seats as a normal Greyhound and a large service area in the middle like on a 737. Seats are laid out in two rows, one with double and one with single seats. They are large and presumably comfy, though smaller folks like myself often find larger seats misproportioned for our shapes. The comfort of the seat itself is high, though — nothing like the 1″ thin “cushions” that I’ve noticed recently on many, many flights.

The main feature of LimoLiner is the dedicated attendant, who brings drinks, a light meal, and anything else you need. I’m not one who normally likes having a servant do stuff for me, but the particular individual on this trip was so graceful that I didn’t feel quite so embarrassed as I usually do handing him my trash. Certainly the free drinks were a nice touch; I was so used to the usual trip that I ran over to a hot dog stand to get a Coke before getting on board, only to find that it was totally unnecessary.

For business travelers the two onboard wireless routers might very well be decisive: service was decent through most of the journey, though after a while I gave up on work and started watching the movie and a movie I had on my laptop. Probably any real road warrior would already have the same EV-DO access that the bus taps into, but for those who don’t spring for that kind of service (I’m sitting on the fence for now), it might be worth the price of admission.

On the negative side, the overhead lights on my entire row of seats were broken. Also, as on some planes, the electrical outlets are car adapter types, not the two-prong plug you’ll find on Amtrak (both regional and Acela). (The 4.5 hour trip is probably just within your laptop’s battery life, though).

LimoLiner is priced to match Amtrak almost exactly: $89 each way. Compare Greyhound at $20 to $30 (depending on how you buy the ticket) and Fung Wah or Lucky Star at $15. With TSA the way it is, and poor transit linking to La Guardia, I no longer consider airline shuttles viable unless I’m heading out to Long Island (in which case, actually, I’d rather drive and have a car. One day I will test taking the bus to NYC and picking up a Zipcar for the duration). The dropoff at the Back Bay Sheraton worked fine for me — I took the 1 bus (about 3 blocks away — only a tad farther than the subway from the horribly laid-out South Station bus terminal) home rather than the Red Line — but being out of the main hub might be an inconvenience for those heading somewhere off the Green Line.

All else being equal, I would probably opt for Amtrak next time myself, as a bus is still a bus, no matter how well appointed, and I got off with the same tired feeling with which I debark the Fung Wah, except $74 poorer. However, anyone who values service will probably find their money well-spent, as I suspect did the older lady in front of me who needed help with her luggage. LimoLiner is, I believe, truly luxury for those who seek it, but IMHO, a gilded cabbage is still a cabbage.

For three years running now, we’ve had a crazy January thaw here in New England. I’m looking out the window, and it’s 67 degrees outside. It was funny the first time (two years ago), but this is downright freaky. I’ve been in Boston since 1993, and this is not normal weather for this area. Maybe it’s El Niño… or maybe it’s the end of the world.

Being, perhaps, not the most patriotic citizens of Red Sox Nation (I grew up, after all, in the shadow of Shea Stadium), Rachel and I were out running on the Esplanade when the World Series kicked off tonight. At least, I assumed that explained why five F-15s flew directly overhead towards Fenway tonight.

Halted by the noise, I looked up to see their five metallic white flames against the night sky. In the dark and alone in an abandoned park, we covered our ears and witnessed the sheer awe and terror of our nation’s warplanes.

I have been in my office at 99 Chauncy St for less than a year, and in that time have come to hate the gloomy air shaft my wondow overlooks. I’m on the 5th floor of an 11-story building, so not only is the “air” in this shaft is of rather dubious quality, but the window itself barely hints at the existence of an outdoors.
The AC wasn’t working well this morning so I was sitting out in the office library. When I returned to my office a few minutes ago, I was greeted with cheery, bright, direct sunlight! I checked my watch — sure enough, it’s noon. As I write this, I can already see the light fading away from my window, but on this day, the longest of the year, my office window was in cosmic alignment.

A week ago I attended a Mass Highway presentation on restoration of the Longfellow Bridge, which I attended representing the Metro-Boston chapter of MassBike.
The Longfellow Bridge is a vital connector in Greater Boston’s bicycle
infrastructure: back in July we had done a petition drive on the
Boston-bound side of the bridge during the morning rushhour and
collected 81 signatures in 90 minutes for infrastructure improvements
on the bridge for cyclists (we counted double that number pedaling in
from the Cambridge side of the bridge, many from farther away than
Cambridge or Somerville).

At
the presentation, bicycle advocates were, I daresay, strongly
represented in the audience. Many who were commenting on behalf of
other interests, including environmental and artistic causes, also
threw in a good word for bicycles. (The other main interest group in
attendance were comprised of Beacon Hill / Back Bay abutters who were
primarily interested in boosting their land value). At one point I had
asked a question of the chief engineer of the project, who made an
unequivocally strong statement in support of planning for bicycles on
the Longfellow Bridge.

I suddenly realized that I should have brought my iRiver, which
based on my research seemed to be the best balance between price and
recording quality (particularly for podcasting).
I had used it the week before to record part of a training session
using just the built-in speaker, which was acceptable in quality but
not great, so the next day I immediately bought this lapel microphone, with the thought that although a more professional journalist’s mike
might be better in quality, I would never bother to haul it around. I
don’t plan on switching to podcast format (heck, it’s hard enough to
remember to blog more than once monthly!) but I’ve been thinking more
about podcasting as a tool for activists. (Not a new idea, I know!)

Pedaling
home from work yesterday, I came upon this fairground ride set up in
the middle of Boston Common. According to the City of Boston’s official
press release, “The AeroBalloon will give Boston’s residents and
visitors a bird’s-eye
view of the city while our partnership will help support the programs
offered through the Fund for Parks and Recreation.”

and kerryandmitt come
running from health care and
taxes and it’s
summer

when the world is hazy-hot-humidful

the queer
marriage activists protest
far         and         wee

For years now I have been trying to acclimate Rachel to the
pleasures of bitter melon. Well, perhaps “pleasures” is not quite the
word. In any event, I am now finally vindicated with the kickoff of Bitter Melon Week,
a combination food festival - performance art event taking place in
Boston’s South End. Asian and Gringo restaurants alike are encouraged
to incorporate bitter melon, which is grown in community gardens in the
neighborhood, into their menus.
Even dogs will have their own bitter melon dish.

The event is actually the culminating event in a year-long
community-exploration effort intended to bring the South End together.
As the official website proclaims, “Unity through bitterness!” But whether the event develops real roots or ends up being a one-off half-joke remains to be seen. Personally, I’m looking for who’s selling the bitter melon ice cream.