Photo: Emily Reynolds/Daily Free Press-B.U.

Believe it or not, I've become a Grabauskas fan!  We all know I can be very opinionated on the MBTA and I usually come down on them.  But I'm also someone who believes in results.  If Bush brought results, well then hell I'd give him his credit... of course, thats not exactly the case (though he is a GREAT orchestra conductor!)  And for someone like me, a staunch liberal to be a huge fan of a republican shows that - while not knocking republicans, I'm just not a fan (understatement of the year), I am a fan of RESULTS.
Look at what Grabauskas has done... He came into the MBTA at a very rough time... to say the least... And lets just look at what he's done... You CAN'T tell me that the experience of riding the MBTA has not improved.  Yes the fares went up - they didn't have a choice... But we got a system where fare evading is harder then ever.  We have MUCH better security... At our stations, we are told when the train is arriving (and on the Red Line, you get the convience of knowing if its a Braintree or an Ashmont train).  They are realizing their problems with scheduling and working on it.  They are working on customer service, and trying (emphasis on TRYING) to make MBTA employees more helpful to the customers. 
He hasn't sugar-coated anything - he makes it clear that the MBTA is in dire straights these days.  And he is working on fixing it, while refusing to cut service.  I'm not clear on what his expansion plans are... I know he wants them, I just don't know if these plans are what should be best (Arborway extension, Blue Line to Charles, Blue Line to Lynn, etc) but he is not just throwing them on the backburner.  You can't dismiss the obvious change going on in making the MBTA an efficient transit service.
I do have my gripes... I do want Arborway service restored - Jamaica Plain deserves the investment - even if it means subway under Centre Street.  The Blue Line is an issue as connecting to the Red Line from the blue is quite frankly annoying and very inconvient.  And service to Lynn should be a top priority.  It's one thing riding an extremely packed bus through Boston... when you have to be in a packed bus on route 1A, going 50 mph... its a no brainer... The situation in Lynn is awful, and North Shore riders (dare I say) get the worst service in the system.  This needs to be addressed...
But all and all, Dan has made me a believer, and I cannot wait to see what the outcome of his tenure will be.  I'm fascinated by the change he has brought to the MBTA and I hope he's around when the MBTA can get out of this debt crisis.