Transit advocates: Need cash for ‘crisis’
Transit advocates and officials are again calling for more T funding after a power shutdown on the Blue Line caused a massive passenger back-up Wednesday, while Red Line riders continue to deal with the aftermath of last month’s derailment.
“This is yet more evidence that we are in a transportation crisis,” said Chris Dempsey of the advocacy group Transportation for Massachusetts.
Mayor Martin Walsh sent a letter Wednesday to Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, asking her to increase the number of trains on the Red Line and nearby Commuter Rail lines. It has been more than a month since the Red Line derailment at JFK/UMass caused ongoing delays, and T fares have since gone up 6%.
Running more trains during off-peak times on the Red Line, resulting in fewer trip delays, would cost about $7 million per year, the mayor claimed in the letter.
“While I appreciate the progress and urgency expressed by the MBTA in recent weeks, I still firmly believe we need better service on a faster timeline,” Walsh wrote. “As the MBTA works to fix the ongoing issues with its service, Red Line riders need better solutions today.”
A MassDOT spokeswoman responded, “We share Mayor Walsh’s interest in improving the public transportation system for MBTA customers and all residents of Massachusetts and Secretary Pollack and General Manager (Steve) Poftak look forward to meeting with the Mayor to discuss how we are moving forward with plans to invest in infrastructure.”
Restoration efforts on the Red Line are resulting in “incremental improvements” to service, according to a MassDOT update Wednesday. The T is now running 24 trains during rush hour on the Red Line “trunk,” between Alewife and JFK — about 10 trains per hour during rush hour through Park Street.
Also on Wednesday, City Councilor Michelle Wu on Boston Herald Radio said the failures of the MBTA must be addressed as a systemwide problem, and that Gov. Charlie Baker is the one getting in the way of extra funding.
“We really need to take this moment and recognize it not just as a one-off, not just as another incident on the Blue Line, but the whole system is in crisis and is interconnected,” Wu said. “We have a limited window to find the funding and the political will to get a plan in place. I think there’s one person that is really holding a lot of that back, which is Gov. Baker.”
A spokeswoman for the governor punted to the MBTA.
In a statement, the MBTA echoed Baker’s longstanding position that the state is in the middle of its record five-year, $8 billion plan.
“The MBTA is focused on implementing its $8 billion infrastructure investment plan, the highest amount spent in any five-year period, to modernize and improve the reliability of the system, and looks forward to working with the legislature to pass its recently announced $50 million capital acceleration plan to help deliver projects faster,” a spokesman said in a statement.
The $50 million one-time injection is a “start,” Dempsey said, but he reiterated that it’s not nearly enough.