The T is the one common denominator that unites Bostonians and so is hating on it. That’s why a new website called “How F—ed is the T” collected more than 32,000 unique visits since launching Monday.
“It’s just totally insane, my inbox is filed with e-mails from strangers,” said Joey Brunelle, 25, who uses real-time data provided by the T to give a live assessment of how, well, effed up your T line is.
“It’s based on wait times between trains at stations and the number of cars running on the line,” he said. “It updates every 15 seconds so it judges how good a line is based on the last 40 minutes.”
The former Bostonian now living in San Francisco modeled it after a site rating San Francisco’s transit system. He also made Howsthet.com so riders can view the site at work.
“I made it to poke fun at the T a little bit but also to be useful,” Brunelle said. “If anyone is offended by it, they can go to the profanity-free version.”
The site says the Green Line is “always f—ed” since the T is still working on releasing its real-time data.
“Tracking a … system that travels both above and below ground is complicated and it is likely to be a few years before Green Line customers see [real-time apps,]”a T spokesman Joe Pesaturo said.
A younger demographic
The T recently started posting its own online monthly performance scorecard but Brunelle said his site helps younger riders less inclined to visit MBTA.com.
“I’m 25 so I was aiming it for the 21 to 34 demographic,” he said, lauding the T for releasing the data.
“If you notice, my site never says the T is that messed up. Most of the time it runs fairly well.”
