(Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com)
These Orange Line passengers look cool and comfortable enough to brag about it.
By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent
[View the story "MBTA riders, keep on bragging" on Storify]MBTA riders, keep on braggingStorified by Jeremy C. Fox · Fri, Jun 29 2012 13:37:48This could be the braggiest week in MBTA history. That may come as a surprise, given that the fare increases and service cuts commuters have dreaded since the beginning of the year are just days away from taking effect, but the past seven days saw more tweeters using the #MBTAbrag hashtag than ever before.Maybe the transportation authority is paying close attention to what riders are tweeting about, because it seems to have gone out of its way to please them. Or maybe those riders are just feeling more appreciative of the T's efforts. Either way, there was a bumper crop of positive tweets this week using #MBTAbrag. This woman couldn't stop using it:No one else is on this bus! The bus is now my limo! #MBTAbragsnowgrayRed line is icy with the AC! :D #MBTAbragsnowgrayThis bus driver is exceptionally attractive. #MBTAbrag That's the third #MBTAbrag from me today!snowgrayAnd here's another few tweeters with only good things to say. 30 bus driver on 2043 stopped for a moment to let folks waiting in front of old SSecurity know office had moved - nice! My first #MBTAbragJack FreemanAnother great morning on the Red Line...coffee, great view of the water and a good book. What more can ya ask for? #mbtabragJackieOMG the 19 is on time, and judging by the inside of it, Hell has frozen over. #mbta #mbtabragBurple YakHonestly, the #MBTA Woodland Station looks like something out of Pleasantville. So cute. #primerealestate #mbtabrag #citygirltalkVanessa Marie GatlinThere was even some unsolicited appreciation for those who toil in obscurity on the system. I feel like more of us could say thanks to the #mbta workers. They truly do work so hard. #MBTAbragJess IndeedAnd some love for the buskers who seek to entertain riders while possibly filling a hat with a little cash. Eleanor Rigby harmonica solo at state street stop. #MBTAbragMichelle S CarpenterStill, skepticism about the #MBTAbrag hashtag will, like the poor, always be with us. Wonder how many brags you'll get MT @YourSouthBoston Tell us about ur commute on the T. Tweet #MBTAannoy if frustrating & #MBTAbrag if greatKristen StantonAnd several tweeters expressed their ambivalence about the blend of positive and negative experiences that the T so often brings. Green line has been great without the students #mbtabrag But front doors only policy in the fall will be awful #mbtaAnnoyDan@YTDowntown It's a quick 2 stops on the Blue Line ( #MBTAbrag ) but almost everyday a fare evader follows me through the gate ( #MBTAannoy )Joseph D. CutrufoDon't know if this is an #MBTABrag or an #MBTAannoy but I just beat the #1 bus walking form Hynes to Tremont StreetNick DowningI've never been so thankful for delays on the mbta. I can catch up on Fifty Shades of Grey. #mbtabragLukas AkerleyUmmmmm ... Lukas? Caitlin would like you to stop now. Can I just say how awkward/gross it is to sit next to someone on the T while they read 50 shades of sex? #MBTA @mbtaGM #mbtaAnnoyCaitlinAs riders prepare for the service cuts that take place July 1, at least one was feeling a bit nostalgic. Taking my last ride ever on the JP loop #RIPJPLOOP #RIP48 #MBTAannoy #MBTAThe NandraOthers, however, weren't going to be looking back on their experiences this week with any fondness. While several tweeters above mentioned that their trains were comfortably cooled, not every train was so well air-conditioned, and some stations were even worse. Again this week heat-related complaints constituted an ample portion of the #MBTAannoy tweets. No AC on this orange line train. The man to my right is sticking to me. #mbtaannoyMelinda CPacked redline train. Turn on the ac! #mbta #mbtaannoyEric EvensenWhoo! It's not even a hot day and this train is sweltering! #Boston #MBTAannoyDerek #mbtaannoy RT @BeingBostonian I have no doubt that a Red Line T car without air conditioning is exactly what you take to Hell when you die.Andy MallonPretty positive that Downtown Crossing is the epicenter of all the heat in the world #MBTA #MBTAannoySarah PerkinsTied w/ Park St ;) RT @sarahkperkins: Pretty positive that Downtown Crossing is the epicenter of all the heat in the world #MBTA #MBTAannoyJennNot so much #MBTAannoy as #MBTAboil... it's a balmy million degrees down here in DTX.JulianaIf the heat doesn't make you crazy, it seems the bad manners of other passengers will. Lady can you control your kids? They shouldn't be crawling all over the rest of us #MBTAannoyrev8056When someone listens to music on the T without any headphones http://gifhuboftheuniverse.tumblr.com/post/25850194951/when-someone-listens-to-music-on-the-t-without-any #boston #mbta #mbtaannoyHub o' the UniverseGuy next to me fails at sitting. How hard is it to face forward? #mbta #mbtaannoyBurple YakI get extra mad when women my age don't follow the bus rules. Stop making us look bad! Slide over! #MBTAannoysnowgrayPlease don't let your hair touch me again. #MBTA #MBTAannoySarah PerkinsThese next two tweets show the dangers of trying too little and trying too hard to smell nice.Hey fellow MBTA passengers, would it kill you to slap on some deodorant in the morning? Because it’s killing me that you didn’t. #mbtaannoyMelinda CCannot breathe with the amount of cologne happening on the T right now #MBTA #MBTAannoySarah PerkinsAnd this pair demonstrates the strange propensity of some riders to load up the train like some modern-day Conestoga wagon.Is this for real? There's a UHaul for that. #MBTA #MBTAannoy http://pic.twitter.com/52MicUTWSarah PerkinsAre you srsly bringing 2 ginormous suitcases + 2 huge packs on the #mbta 71@ rush hour? And blocking the door? #mbtaannoy SRSLY?Burple YakAnd this, frankly, is just disgusting. Releasing gas in a Subway cart on a stiff, hot, crowded day is NOT ok. #MBTAannoymorgan eBad manners aren't just for passengers, either. #MBTAannoy #mbta 93 bus just drives by 4 people waiting for it. Wasn't full either.Marco FalconeSometimes the problem isn't so much the quality of one's fellow passengers as the quantity. And as anyone who has ever lived on the Green Line knows, there's one reliable source of excessive crowding:I shouldn't have to memorize the Red Sox schedule just to catch a train. #mbtaAnnoyHPOn the T, as in many love affairs, sometimes the timing is just off. This next passel of tweets shows all the many ways trains and buses can be delayed.@mbtaGM SL4 leaving just as the SL1 gets to South Station? #Coordinate #MBTAannoyJ. NicoleOmg! How is the orange line delayed because of the president!?! Is he riding his own train or something? #mbtaannoyMelinda CWaited for the 3rd orange line train. So many ppl! Then everyone was forced off at the next stop! had to wait for 2 more trains! #mbtaannoyJesse PurvisGovt Center is a central stop but waiting for a D Line, we've got 2 C's, a B & 2 E's to "admire" 1st. #MBTAannoy Should run alphabetically.Coach Kev @SupahFansNo Red Line driver there isn't another Braintree train "right behind" this one it is 15 min behind #MBTA #MBTAannoyrev8056Number of empty route 4 buses that have gone by: 2, number of empty route 7 buses that have gone by: 0. Simple math #mbtaannoyBreanne Diorio#MBTAannoy my train breaks down one day a week and is delayed twice a week.Mr. InternationalFun (n)- waiting 25mins for #mbta leaving for slow line, train pulls in, running for it, conductor shuts door in face w/ smile. #mbtaannoySachaMade it onto a train 45 minutes later... Love me the #mbta. Starts your day off right. #mbtaannoySachaSL4 and SL5 have to be the worst bus ever I could walk to downtown faster #MBTAannoy TyLove the spacing on Red Line: 4 trains in a row then a long wait followed by 3 in a row #MBTAannoy #MBTArev8056And sometimes every possible element of a trip comes together to create an experience that just makes a rider want to throw up her hands and give up. #orangeline delays, a packed train and a fellow passenger flicks sweat onto me. It’s like all my Christmases have come at once. #MBTAannoyMelinda CWhen things like that happen to you, remember what this tweeter wrote.Only thing you can do when stuck in the middle of an #MBTA #commuter line train is be stuck in the middle...and tweet about it #mbtaannoyVanessa Marie GatlinThat's right! Share your #MBTA horror stories using #MBTAannoy, and don't forget #MBTAbrag for those times the bus is on time, the train is cool inside, or the driver is just plain adorable.
Storified by Jeremy C. Fox · Fri, Jun 29 2012 13:37:48
Email Jeremy C. Fox at jeremycfox@gmail.com. Follow Jeremy C. Fox on Twitter: @jeremycfox. Follow Downtown on Twitter: @YTDowntown.
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