![]() ![]() Nearly four years later, 69% of survey respondents say the MBTA has gotten worse, not better. The continued problems with the T raise questions about the effectiveness of Baker’s reform efforts. Ultimately, Governor Baker and the state legislature responded by enacting some of the report’s recommendations into law, one being the creation of a temporary Fiscal and Management Control Board to oversee the MBTA’s finances and operations. This culminated in an April 2015 report that exposed severe structural problems, such as underinvestment in maintaining existing infrastructure, project timelines that were inefficient and needlessly drawn out, and lack of organizational stability and accountability. The damage was significant enough for Governor Charlie Baker to form a special panel tasked with investigating the MBTA and proposing possible reforms. ![]() The derailment is not the first disaster the transit system has faced – nor the first time that such a disaster has been used to call for systemic reform.Ĭonsider the winter of 2014-15, a stress test for the T that created daunting delays, crushing cancellations, and red-faced riders. The outrage even stirred Governor Charlie Baker to recommend a $50 million infusion to speed up repairs to the transit system. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh voiced the riders’ outrage and called for the MBTA to delay the fare hike. Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu and others orchestrated an #UnfairHikes protest during which canvassers descended on various T stations on the first morning of the fare hike, handing out stickers and urging riders to plaster selfies and hashtags across Twitter. Even two months after “terrible T-uesday” derailment on the Red Line, service remains hobbled by delays.Ī June WBUR poll said it all: 82% of respondents described the MBTA as being in a state of crisis or crippled with major problems 69% said transportation in the Boston area has gotten worse since the infamous 2014-15 winter that virtually shut down the transit system, and 70% said that the planned fare hikes should be delayed until the Red Line is fixed. While the hike had been approved back in March, two crippling train derailments on the T in June transformed many riders’ discontent from grumbling groans to public outrage. On July 1, Boston’s public transportation agency, the MBTA, instituted a 6% fare increase. Frontier Group intern Adam Martin wrote this blog post. ![]()
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