Keller @ Large: The T's Horrific Future

BOSTON (CBS) - Richard Davey, the general manager of the MBTA, is a very calm, genial person, who seems to take everything in stride.

Lucky thing.

Davey is, by choice but through no fault of his own, the captain of the Titanic, overseeing an overburdened, underfunded transit system that is having one of the worst winters in its often-checkered history as one of the nation's busiest public transportation networks.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

This bitterly cold day is likely to do yet another number on the rapidly-dwindling patience of T commuters. People want to love the T...or at least like it...OK, they wish it were tolerable.

At this time of absurdly crowded roadways - thanks for nothing, Big Dig - and soaring gas prices, the T is, or rather, should be, a no-brainer alternative to the nightmare costs and delays of commuting by car.

But all you need are a few weeks of being late for work every day - after being left to freeze half to death waiting without a word of pertinent information about trains or trolleys or buses that can't keep on schedule - for commuting by car to start looking good again.

When I interviewed Davey a few days ago, he was highly apologetic about the terrible performance of the T and commuter rail this winter, as well he might be.

He correctly identified the failure to communicate crucial information about delays or cancellations to riders as the thing that angers us most of all.

But Davey's candor and conciliatory charm can't change the horrific facts about the T -- the crushing debt burden, the ballooning deficits, the improvements it can't afford to make and the expectations it apparently can't ever meet.

Sooner or later, something is going have to give, probably in the form of a new funding system that will almost surely result in soaring fares and a huge drain on the state treasury.

Knowing Massachusetts, it'll probably be later, too late to do much good. You know. Just like your train.

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.