Council Tries To Remedy Delays on T

For the second time, the Cambridge City Council last night scheduled a public hearing to discuss the state of service on the MBTA's RedLine with transit officials, and for the second time in a row the transit officials failed to show up.

Concern in the city's legislative body about the delays in T service caused by the construction on the station in the Square began in September, when Councilor David A. Wylie introduced a resolution calling for the council to establish a bureau of standards to regulate service on the train.

The general manager of the MBTA, James F O'Leary, failed to appear at the first hearing scheduled earlier this month.

Wylie said service on the Red Line "has hit a rock bottom low" in delays and in comfort, and that "the entire MBTA, including administrators and employees, ought to be held accountable."

He added that establishing a bureau of standards would be a "drastic remedy," but said "anything short of drastic action won't move the MBTA in the least."

"Even though MBTA officials were not at last night's hearing, local residents spoke about problems with the Red Line and possible solutions.

"The total problem involves more than Cambridge alone," said Ray G. Goodman, a citizen of Cambridge, "We need to form a coalition with other communities on the Red Line, such as Quincy, to get something done."

And Peter Sheinfeld, vice-chairman of the Cambridge Transportation Forum, said the solution to the delays was a "simple, mundane procedure"--all the MBTA has to do, he said, is to turn the trains around correctly.

"Everything they need is there at the Quincy crossover," Sheinfeld explained. "If they didn't delay in turning the trains around, they wouldn't get the bunching up of trains that causes backups."