Inverse Logic?

Let's say that it's 1943. You are lead general of the allied powers fighting against Germany. The world depends on you to take down the evil dictator and restore peace to Europe. OK, so its time to plan a strategy. After all, it won't be easy to topple this dastardly dynamo. In the War Room, your chief advisor asks you, "Sir, where should we place our troops for the attack on Berlin?

You decide to station them on the island of Tazmania off the southern coast of Australia.

If this had actually happened during World War II, people around the world would have been furious at your choice. For, why would you put all your troops in a location that's thousands of miles away from where the enemy is? Many would say that you used inverse logic.

Reading that scenario, you probably asked yourself, "What the hell is this psycho talking about?" and closed your internet browser window. Some of you, however, thought to yourself "Why would anyone do such a stupid thing?"

Unfortunately, such "inverse logic" is still being used today in the city of Boston. As of 2004 here are the rider statistics for daily boarding on the T are:

Blue Line: 55,000 passengers
Orange: 160,000 passengers
Red: 214,000 passengers
Green: 225,000 passengers

This statistic, as seen published in the "Not For Tourist's Guide to Boston", was recently revealed to me by a reader of this blog. I was dumbfounded and appalled. Why would the MBTA place such little emphasis on the line that, per day, has the most passengers?

The Red Line and Blue Line are sights of beauty. Their trains, seemingly infinite in length, are efficient, fast, and clean. The Orange Line is just long. But, see if you can follow me here...

The Green Line is quite the opposite. It's one-car cabooses chug along the tracks like Thomas the Tank Engine after chugging a bottle of quaaludes. Unlike Thomas, though, I've never seen a Green Line trolley with a smile on it's face or a word of educational inspiration to youngsters. Moreover, the green line is inefficient, unpredictable, prone to breakdowns and delays, crowded, and in my opinion has the ubiquitous smell of B.O and Limburger Cheese.

The state of the Green Line today might be suitable for a small suburban town of about 40,000 people. Heck, it might even be suitable for Worcester. But, by no means is the Green Line suitable for a city the size of Boston and its outlying burroughs. There is no logical reason why the MBTA shouldn't be placing a higher emphasis on improving the green line over the other lines. In my reasoning it is simple: the best line should be the one that most people ride. It's not rocket science people.

Now, I know some "Red Liners" will tell me that they despise their line as well. They won't understand how I could say that their line is best. But to these people I offer one final challenge: live on the green line for a year. Then we'll talk.