In 2008, Boston’s transit authority sued to stop MIT hackers from presenting at the Defcon hacker conference on how to get free subway rides. Today, four teens picked up where they left off.
The worst part is that Boston is ranked like #3 for public transportation in the US (yes, even including the fires). The average commute time on a route is like 30 minutes faster than the national average for public transportation, and somewhere around 50% of Boston's workers use the T to commute every day.
I don't think it's gotten better since. I visited Boston back in late 2019, and it was gnarly. See I'm used to the Stockholm tubes, bright, colourful, artwork everywhere, clean-ish floors, elevators that smell of piss.
Boston by comparison was dark and grimy. The carts were super old, and the speaker probably hasn't worked well since the 70s or so. Couldn't make out a word of what the announcer said.
People were nice though! I almost fell over on someone, and they were pretty good natured about it!
But you need to watch the video of tbe Boston bombing, 3 seconds after the explosions it was like doctors were climbing out of windows and just swarming to take care of people.
That's how it is, grumbly till you need something, then the best people in the world.
I'd moved away a few months earlier, the whole thing was like a stab in the heart, kid was found in a boat down the road from where I lived.
But the way the town united was incredible, never seen anything like it, made me remember why I loved it so much.
Bombs barely stopped echoing, every hand was helping someone, nobody was even confused they just jumped into action like it was a drill they'd practiced for 100 times.