Lies the T told me.

[saxikath]

"There's another train right behind this one that's empty. Virtually empty."

Apparently the definition of "virtually empty" is "just as crowded as this one."

Grumpy way to start the morning and the week.

Comments

Oif

[jayfurr.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've gotten that a time or two. That's almost as much fun as the "we're cancelling this flight, but there's lots of room on the flight that leaves 90 minutes from now."

[jadelennox]

A friend who works for the MBTA (and who has a lj name but will remain nameless in case it is not anonymous and saying the following will get her into trouble) says that there is no way for subway drivers to know whether or not there is another train behind them. When they say "there's another train right behind me" they might know the schedule and know well enough to know whether or not there is LIKELY to be another train behind him, but they are always prevaricating. And if they specifically say there is an empty train behind him they are specifically lying.

[saxikath]

I never believe the "there's a train right behind me" (though in this case, the train actually wasn't too far behind it). It was the "empty" part that bugged me.

[dcltdw]

hee! That reminds me of a friend of my brother who worked as an usher at the Hollywood Bowl (Los Angeles open-air ampitheatre -- essentially the Tanglewood equivalent). Patrons are funneled in from the side in a few rows, so there are these mad insane totally bonkers crushing chokepoints where patrons are asking ushers where section C or D or Q or whatever are.

"Three rows down" is their universal answer. Even if it's patently false, it's 1, a very fast answer that 2, diffuses the crowd. So what if they have to backtrack? They'll go up or down, and essentially you're modelling red blood cells in capillaries.

I treat anything the conductors say as equivalent to "Jesus is on the next train", which at least leaves me amused, if not going any faster. :)

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

When I was going through Harvard this morning, there was a periodic announcement about "significant delays" due to a switching problem at Ashmont. This was likely the cause of the crowding (my train was a bit more crowded than usual, but I still snagged a seat).

[magickcat.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I hate when that happens.

[rubrick.livejournal.com]

What he said was true. Note the difference between "virtually" and "actually". In a virtual world, all trains can be empty. And smell faintly of lavender.

[fizzixrat.livejournal.com]

By virtually empty, maybe this person only meant that it was devoid of zero point energy and the associated virtual particles. ;)

[crossword-fiend.livejournal.com]

The train's not literally empty. Just virtually.

[elainetyger.livejournal.com]

Did you have someone within six feet of you in that crowded train SCREAMING AND I DO MEAN SCREAMING about Jesus for anywhere from one express stop (5 minutes) to until you get off the train yourself three express stops later? No? Well that was my treat both yesterday going home and this morning going to work. When Jesus talks to someone, why can't he tell them to sit home quietly and pray there? I swear to God I have to get a police whistle so I can blow it in their ears while they're screaming in mine.