T-Radio: REAL crap for REAL people

You heard it here first, folks, and I wish you hadn't, but it's official, and here's the press release: MBTA Launches T - Radio Pilot Program.

The test is starting in North Station, South Station, and Airport. Let's see what the press release says and, I warn you, I have a very low tolerance for glossed-over PR language full of words and euphemisms and signifying nothing. ( Let's hope nothing like that is given to us today! )

Frankly, here's what the T saw: Riders reading free Metro and BostonNOW newspapers. Riders listening to their own music on their iPods or listening to the buskers who truly create "creative audio entertainment." But most importantly, they saw paying riders standing idly about when they could be listening to ads. Well! they thought. Why not take over the whole shebang? We gets the money, and buskers get the shaft, and mainstream media was on its way out anyway and everybody was making fun of the Metro to begin with, so no big loss. Suddenly the lottery lady's "cha-ching! cha-ching!" catchphrase takes on a whole new meaning. Thankfully, there's hope, however potentially falsely given, at the end of the press release:

...customers will soon be able to leave feedback directly via MBTA.com. Customer feedback will determine whether T-Radio is kept at the three stations and the possibility of it being expanded throughout the system.

Here's the link to provide feedback. While I hope there's enough public outcry to make them reconsider, honestly it's going to take a lot of outcry for them to drop this potential cash cow that they've already sunk a lot of money into.

Still, they can't consider it if they don't get enough yelling. Time to yell (well, at least, time to yell politely, I mean.)