The site suffered outages lasting for several hours each on Jan. 12, Jan. 27 and Feb. 2 as Massachusetts commuters dealt with a trio of snowstorms the likes of which had not been seen for 15 years and which prompted state officials to urge everyone to use public transportation.

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"When we had our first crash I was concerned,'' Richard Davey, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, . "But when we had our second -- well, our second and then our third -- I was very frustrated.''

So, too, were those looking to the for train and bus schedules, as well as up-to-date information about delays and cancellations.

"We need to make sure that we are getting customer information right 100% of the time,'' Davey told the Globe. "Because if we know there's always going to be some issue with service, we need to be in a position to be able to convey that information. ... My expectation is that the Web site will be up and running all the time -- in particular in critical situations.''