<div dir="ltr"><div>Important: Somerville saferide.<br><br></div>Yashovardhan<br><div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Christopher David Smith</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:cdsmith@mit.edu">cdsmith@mit.edu</a>></span><br>
Date: Mon, Dec 2, 2013 at 8:32 AM<br>Subject: Q&A on the Somerville Saferide<br>To: "<a href="mailto:grad-dorm-officers@mit.edu">grad-dorm-officers@mit.edu</a>" <<a href="mailto:grad-dorm-officers@mit.edu">grad-dorm-officers@mit.edu</a>><br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dear Dorm Officers –
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Please forward the following notice about the Somerville SafeRide to your residents as appropriate.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Thanks,<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chris Smith<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">GSC Secretary<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">----------<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"><a href="http://gsc.mit.edu/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue;text-decoration:none"><img src="cid:image001.jpg@01CEEF39.0D157F10" alt="http://gsc.mit.edu/uploads/Logos/GSC-Logo-Main-White.png" border="0" height="73" width="500"></span></a><u></u><u></u></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14.5pt">As the weather gets colder and makes the commute to MIT more difficult, we would like to remind everyone of the new shuttle line that the GSC and MIT Transportation are pilot testing through the Fall term. The new
<a href="http://web.mit.edu/facilities/transportation/shuttles/schedules/Saferide_Somerville2013.pdf" target="_blank">
Somerville Saferide</a> runs seven days a week from 6 PM to 2:30 AM Sunday through Wednesday and from 6 PM to 3:30 AM Thursday through Saturday. It hits stops like Inman and Union Squares within 15 minutes of departure from campus.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14.5pt">Because the shuttle is new, we are still working out a couple of early kinks, and we will benefit greatly from your feedback as you ride the line. Our commitment to you is to pass along every/any issue you may find
directly to the folks who make things happen in the Transportation Office. That said, we want to offer you a brief Q&A guide to the most common notes we’ve received:<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p style="text-align:center" align="center"><b><span style="font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:white">SOMERVILLE SAFERIDE Q&A<u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Q:</span></b><b>
</b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Where is the shuttle line on the MIT App? It would be much better if the live tracking were there!</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">A:</span></b><b>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">We agree completely! The reason the new shuttle line is not yet on the app is because the amount of time and cost it would take to import the new line doesn’t make sense
until the line is approved for continuance. Don’t worry though! For now, you can find the live tracking at the
<a href="http://www.nextbus.com/predictor/prediction.shtml?a=mit&r=saferidesomerville&d=frcamp&s=mass84_d" target="_blank">
NextBus website</a> and on the NextBus App.</span></i> <span style="font-size:12.0pt">
<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Q:</span></b><b>
</b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">I noticed the bus doesn’t always show up on time. What’s the deal?</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">A:</span></b><b>
</b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">The current NextBus predictions are accurate about 95% of the time, however the prediction algorithms get better as more data points are collected over time. If the line
is approved for the long-term the quality of predictions will be the same as all the other buses at MIT.</span></i>
<span style="font-size:12.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Q:</span></b><b>
</b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">How did you plan the route and direction? Can you make changes?</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">A:</span></b><b>
</b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Sure! We can provide regular input to MIT Transportation to make changes and improvements as the line is trialed, so please let us know what you think. That said, we do
want you to know that the line's route and stops were chosen using an algorithm that attempted to maximize the number of students within walking distance of the line and minimize the total time spent walking by students to pick-up locations.</span></i>
<span style="font-size:12.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Q:</span></b><b>
</b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">You’ve mentioned a couple of times about the line being "continued." How does this work?</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">A:</span></b><b>
</b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">If we attain sufficient ridership numbers through the Fall term MIT will consider making the line permanent and cover the cost of service. In other words, if you like
the new shuttle line, please ride it. If you don’t please let us know what’s wrong so we can improve it before the final decision.</span></i>
<span style="font-size:12.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size:14.5pt">You can reach the GSC Transportation Subcommittee at
<a href="mailto:%20gsc-hca-transportation@mit.edu" target="_blank">gsc-hca-transportation@mit.edu</a>. We are a group of MIT graduate students from four different departments volunteering to try and make transportation better. We will compile the responses from all graduate
students and use them to propose improvements in the service and support the importance of the line. Please let us know ways we can improve our pilot!<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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