Why Hasn’t CleverCommute Taken Off in Boston?
Have we all just resigned ourselves to accepting poor MBTA/MBCR ontime service?
Back in December 2007 a service called CleverCommute was launched in Boston (see this and this). The service is essentially a peer-to-peer announcement list where commuters of a given line can send messages to all subscribers alerting them about delays. etc. The idea is that people actually experiencing the problems will probably be a better source of information than the MBTA itself.
I’ve been a subscriber since January of this year to the Worcester line service and I’ve received exactly 0 e-mails. I’ve sent 4 (the start and end of two incidents). Why has this service not caught on?
Is it lack of awareness?
Have we all just resigned ourselves to poor service, so we don’t care why or if something is late?
Or are there just a bunch of lurkers waiting for messages, but no one contributing?
I, for one, would like any information I can get about how things are going. Hell, even if I’m on the affected train, some conductors are more forthcoming with information than others, so getting a message from someone in a different car might actually give me more information.
So if you’re reading this and are an MBTA commuter — sign up and tell others what’s happening.
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I'm old enough to have been around the internet since the beginning -- starting with private BBS systems which I accessed via a Hayes 300 baud modem and then moving on to a genuine CompuServe account! I have a degree in Environmental Science and have had a varied career starting in a laboratory, followed by 10 years in Service & Operations for a large networking equipment manufacturer, and now in a Product Management role for an innovative healthcare organization. I started making web pages on Angelfire and other free services, and can remember when NetZero actually provided Internet access for free (hence the zero in the name). Among other things, I build my own PCs and run my own Linux servers at home for fun.
Thank you for the post.
As the founder of Clever Commute…I, too, sometimes wonder why the Boston-area community is not as large or as vibrant as NY/NJ/CT…or Chicago.
Part of the answer lies with us. We failed to recognize, reward and motivate the “post-ers”. We failed to show them that they are valued.
Why? Back when the news blitz happened…I was happily employed on Wall Street…and Clever Commute was a side project. That changed in 11/2008…and now CC is my full-time gig.
I could go on and on here…but the bottom line is that I am TOTALLY committed to re-energizing MBTA. Rob – maybe we can continue this thread 1:1?
We can continue … I will reach out to you.