Is it time for Bostonians to finally admit that the first public transit system in the nation is now the worst public transit system in the nation?

Boston Globe report:

Once again, delays leave MBTA riders out in cold

A day after equipment failures left thousands of people shivering on platforms in subzero weather, the MBTA stationed extra mechanics and supervisors throughout the system, ran trolleys and subways overnight, and idled commuter rail locomotives, so that they would all be ready to start in the freezing cold yesterday morning. But thousands of commuters were again left waiting.

That’s just this week’s tally . . .  so far.

(MBTA Guide to WinterTime Travel on the T here, for all the good it will do you.)

The truth is, day in and day out the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority is a joke of a public transportation system, put to shame by New York, Washington, Chicago, Atlanta, you name it.

From the Globe report:

“There’s sort of a combination of frustration and disgusted resignation, and I think people are just sick of the excuses,’’ said Paul Massari, who rides commuter rail from Salem to Boston’s North Station and bikes the final leg to his job in Cambridge.

Massari said he has not had an on-time train in two weeks. Monday and again yesterday he said he waited about 15 to 20 minutes beyond the posted time for his inbound train, a hassle made more frustrating in the bitter cold. His wait was further aggravated, he said, when neither online service alerts nor the countdown sign at the station gave accurate information.

The Twitterati aren’t anyer happy about the T’s performance than Massari is:

Blogs and social media such as Twitter and Facebook have given people an amplified and immediate voice for airing service concerns. The T has taken a pounding on Twitter lately. Hardly unusual yesterday were tweets such as: “1 hour and 45 mins later, I’m finally walking into my building. #mbta you’re the worst. Ever.’’ and “MBTA I really . . . hate your gutts [sic]! We are in a fight!’’

Let’s face it: The only transit systems that might possibly be more pathetic than Boston’s are:

1) The Los Angeles subway system, which goes approximately nowhere and which will cost somewhere between $4 and $6 billion to extend nine miles, according to LA-based The Transport Politic website.

2) The Cincinnati subway system, which doesn’t actually exist because they laid the wrong-gauge track. Not to mention laid it out east-west (useless) instead of north-south (useful).

So, to review: The MBTA is superior to a couple of non-existent transit systems.

Have a nice ride.