I don't depend on the Silver Line, but I like it. I don't depend on the MBTA as a whole, and I like all the lines. It's probably because I don't rely on it that I enjoy it as much as I do, I admit.
To me it is an adventure, a diversion, a different way to get around in a pinch, a convenience, proof that I live in a big city. The Red Line runs through my back yard (it's rattling my dishes as I write this) and I live a block from a station. Except in winter, I don't take the train too often even though I purchase an unlimited pass to do so every month. I should get a thank you card from Dan Grabauskas; I pay for service I rarely use. That's the kind of customer that keeps a business in the red, ask any gym.
I usually travel by motorcycle, bicycle or shoe leather in order of technological advances.
Granted, it is quicker for me to drive to the airport than to take the Silver Line, but the Silver Line, despite its many marvelous hassles, is a marvelous construction of electricity and diesel and I rather like idling while the bus makes the switch from one power source to another at a stop in the middle of nowhere. I'm always amazed when people are waiting to get on at Silver Line Avenue. How did they get there? From where? I have to go to the airport next Thursday and I'll be taking the Red to the Silver and then back again. It will take twice the time but it's a Boston experience.
The Silver Line from Downtown Crossing to Dudley is another matter. It's a long bus. It is a convenient one though. It runs more frequently than a regular bus and the view out the window is better than tunnel walls. It's not quick but it's faster than walking. I've chosen to take it from one point to another and I've found it convenient. Again, I don't rely on it, but the trips I've taken have been as pleasant as public transportation can be, which I know is faint praise.
To me, extending the Silver Line from Dudley to Mattapan is better than the 28 bus. 28X, as this new line is called at the moment, will be an upgrade in service. The plans are to run 28X (whether the 'X' stands for 'extra' or just an unknown quality requiring aspirin hasn't been revealed) like a train, every ten minutes or so, and to upgrade the shelters into real stations and, thus, provide some real shelter. If, like along Washington Street, the stations on Blue Hill Avenue will have signs reporting when the next bus will arrive, I see a benefit over the existing Route 28 catch-as-catch-can schedule.
The Dorchester Reporter is providing its usual informative coverage of this issue. There is some community opposition because the community wasn't consulted. I admit I am a mostly disinterested party. I will take the 28X as much as I take the Mattapan High-Speed: occasionally. When I don't, I'll take my bicycle when I have business along its route which will be quicker and more entertaining and healthy. A Silver Line extension to Mattapan will never be as good as an Indigo Line, but the Indigo isn't proposed to serve the same purpose from what I understand. The 28X will make a continuous MBTA loop of service more reliable than a regular bus. It will be the only loop in the whole system.
Is the scheme perfect? No, but no scheme ever is. I'm in favor of 28X. It's better than what is now available. Who would argue that it's better to have the status quo? Opponents can close down the scheme and hope for a subway that may never get built. Better 'Carpe Fortuna' seize the chance. Take what you can get and then build on that. Reliable service, even if it's not on train tracks is nothing to sneeze at. Blue Hill Avenue was once served by trolleys but a Green Line extension seems unlikely. A Silver Line down the middle of Blue Hill Avenue is an idea that deserves to be built and tested. It isn't a perfect idea but it's a worthwhile one.
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