Mayor Michelle Wu and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey spoke on the MBTA dysfunction at a press occasion Monday morning, referring to a possible FTA takeover, fare free rides and the “breaking point” of the T’s crumbling infrastructure.
“It will be chaos,” Wu stated, referencing the “unprecedented, painful” shutdown of the Orange Line from Aug. 19 to Sept. 18 and the partial shutdown of the Green Line from Aug. 6 to Aug. 21. “We never should have gotten to this point.”
“But it is because of decades of delayed action, deferred maintenance, starving our public transit system of the resources that it needed,” Wu stated, noting that the MBTA carries extra debt than some other public transit company within the nation. “We are fighting to make sure that this moment is one where we start to make right finally.”
Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge tweeted updates Monday concerning plans for shuttle buses, protecting bus routes clear and different different transit choices in the course of the shutdown.
With service interruptions and security incidents proliferating, federal officers have prompt that the Federal Transit Administration could quickly have to take over for the beleaguered MBTA.
Both Wu and Markey pushed again on this concept, saying the transit group wants federal partnership, not a takeover.
“With any service, the most important thing, I believe, is for those who experience it every day to have a direct voice in shaping it,” stated Wu. “The further away you get in terms of federal oversight of a local service or complete takeover, raises some concerns.”
“In fact, we should be going the other direction,” she continued. “The city of Boston and many of our municipalities in the metro area have been fighting for direct seats on the MBTA governing board.”
A proposal to take action progressed via the state legislature, however died when legislators ran out of time to get it throughout the end line.
Wu and Markey additionally voiced help for making the general public transit free within the metropolis in the course of the shutdown.
“Public transportation is another one of those cornerstones that underlie everything and the more people ride, the more everyone benefits,” Wu stated, pointing to the connections between accessible public transit ties and local weather change. “Even if you’re not directly on that train or bus, you’re breathing cleaner air, you’re experiencing a faster commute yourself. So any mechanism that ensure we’re removing barriers goes a long way.”
Wu didn’t converse to any concrete plans to make the T fare free, however did remind residents that shuttle buses and, with a Charlie Card, the commuter rail will likely be free in the course of the shutdown contained in the Orange Line zones.
Wu additionally referenced her help for Markey and Representative Ayanna Pressley’s proposed Freedom to Move Act, which might funnel billions of {dollars} to fund and incentivize free entry to transit in cities across the U.S. The invoice has stalled within the House.
“When I was a boy, the T worked,” stated Markey. “How can it be, all these years later, that it doesn’t work? We’re in the 21st century. We just have to spend the money, use all our technological capabilities to get this fixed once and for all.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”