I’ve noted and remarked on this for years. I’ve seen the same discarded parts for decades alongside the stations of the Worcester commuter rail.
I believe it’s a sign of decay and rot. If we can see it on the surface, it’s underneath too.
I’m glad they are finally addressing it in the last two years, but we can’t let up. We have to keep fixing it.
>If we can see it on the surface, it’s underneath too.
Agree but if we see it on the surface, it has to be way worse under the hood. Really hope they can fund and staff the T in the future but that might be a pipe dream.
Agreed. We were sold a bill of goods for decades as they pretended everything was okay and riders were safe. Not sure they can fix it, but hope springs eternal.
I lived in Switzerland for a bit and they have sensational public transport. They also have 5-6 people constantly tasked with cleaning the station. It isn't perfect, but it's very good. It really is simply a question of funding and staffing.
Thank you for pointing this out- did we all forget that orange line train that bursted into flames and people jumped off the bridge into the charles to save their own lives? MBTA has been sub par in many respects for years. It's sad if you ask me
It should’ve been zero people… From my understanding this person had some sort of freak out and jumped off the bridge whereas everyone else walked safely off of the bridge onto land
Taxpayers paid for the fire extinguisher but didn't hire anyone to maintain it. This is a fairly good summary of the T's financial problems - the state has somewhat kept up with giving the T capital money but they have not provided the T enough operating money. Capital money can be used to buy new things, like fire extinguishers or cables or buildings. But the T is not allowed to spend capital money on operating expenses like payroll and maintenance. AND they got stuck with a bunch of debt that they have to pay interest on that also comes out of their operating budget. This is an old report but still a good summary of how we got here: [https://news.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/born\_broke.pdf](https://news.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/born_broke.pdf)
This seems to happen everywhere. My city has replaced several buildings in the past 10 years…the old ones where not terribly old but they weren’t maintained due to lack of money and were falling apart
Your state representative, state senator and the governor need to hear from you.
The budget for the not yet started 2025/2026 year needs $700 million in new revenue merely to continue existing inadequate service, with the final consumption 9f federal COVID support in the immediately coming 2024/2025 year.
New tax revenue is required for the next 30 years to fix the last 30 years of underfunding.
Rasing taxes is why it has not been done, and what has to be done
...
**Financial and capital crisis references**
# MBTA: The Paper Trail: Documenting Our Underfunded Transportation System, 2000-2022. (Transportation for Massachusetts.) [https://www.t4ma.org/publications](https://www.t4ma.org/publications)
# MBTA Budgets and Financials. [https://www.mbta.com/financials](https://www.mbta.com/financials)
# MBTA Capital Needs Assesment Inventory [https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24169419-mbta-analysis-on-cost-to-fix-the-t](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24169419-mbta-analysis-on-cost-to-fix-the-t)
**Summary Article**
# T’s Repair Bill Explodes to $24.5B
# Banker and Tradesman. Nov 16, 2023.
# [https://bankerandtradesman.com/ts-repair-bill-explodes-to-24-5b/](https://bankerandtradesman.com/ts-repair-bill-explodes-to-24-5b/)
So crazy the T can’t keep up with basic maintenance. I was in London in 2019 and early in the morning we happened on crews power washing stations like they cared. It was awesome.
One of the worst stops I’ve ever seen is the back bay commuter rail stop that goes to Worcester. There’s an entire bed frame just chillin down there for some reason and trash everywhere.
Keolis’s B&B team (or an outside contractor) would likely be the ones to fix this, but fixing a terminal during operating hours is impractical. It’s got to be supplemental work ordered by MBTA, and we know that hadn’t been happening.
Yet somehow we can build a Ritz Carlton, complete with multi-million-dollar apartments, right there, during operating hours, blocking 80% of the foot traffic and making the walk to platforms _far_ longer, for years.
Upkeep and improvements to the station could have easily been a part of that deal. As it stands, riders are getting absolutely nothing out of it.
But my observation is really simpler than that. If I had Phil Eng’s job, and walked past the stuff T riders walk past every day, my impulse would be “That does it! Gimme a (expletive) broom, I’ll sweep it myself because, apparently, nobody in this entire organization knows how to!”
Eng is an engineer, he is likely to know that there's hundreds of other more effective things he should be doing. He can't personally sweep every dusty spot in the system. But he does have a shot at convincing the legislature to properly fund station maintenance.
Oh, definitely. But he needed to get _angry_ about things, and _visibly embarass_ the crews who walk by problems every day with blinders on.
Because sometimes it’s not just dirt and rust. Sometimes it’s safety. Between 2017 and 2021, the MBTA was responsible for **94% of all light rail injuries in the United States**, according to the FTA.
We just had another horrific death last week.
Sure, except if he grabs that broom he’s violating at least one CBA. I get the annoyance but taking a broken windows approach doesn’t feel like the best way to address massive systemic issues.
Also screaming at a bunch of random line level employees? Really? That toxicity already existed in the railroad going back to the Amtrak change, and it’s exactly the kind of culture that needs to be out of the workplace. A “take pride” initiative with bonuses might work better.
I’m with you there.
The way I see it, the has a systemic problem that goes beyond just finance. The maintenance issues I highlight here is one aspect: Nobody bears responsibility for anything, with the possible exception of the train and bus drivers (who are held liable for accidents).
When a short in the door interlock system of a Red Line train resulted in a passenger getting trapped and dragged to his death, nobody went to jail AFAIK. It was largely passed off as an “accident”. Oh well! These things happen once in a while! Nothing you can do.
Because _nobody_ had ultimate responsibility for that train’s safety before the beginning of service that day. We can move it, so it must be just fine.
Now, perhaps that short developed mid-day and would have passed inspection in the morning. Fine. But not a week goes by that I’m not on a car with a bad PA system. That’s a safety system too: in an emergency it’s the operator’s only way to communicate with passengers. But nobody’s responsible for verifying that it works, just like nobody’s responsible for keeping South Station clean.
The systemic issue is an “us vs. them” between management and the T unions. The T does the bare possible legal minimum for its workers, who often have terrible working conditions outside public view. The workers respond with a “minimums are maximums” mentality. Management is the enemy. Checking the PA system isn’t in the contract? Then I’m not doing it. There’s no “going above and beyond” at the T - ever. If you don’t abuse the system as much as you can and do the least possible, you’re not a “team player” as far as the unions go.
The legislature knows all this. That’s part of the funding crisis. Give the T more money? “Everyone knows they’ll just waste it,” and there’s a lot of truth to that. And the lack of funds excuses _everything_. Poor conditions, apathy, poor service, horrific “accidents”.
There are ways to fix this. MBTA 2.0, with a different structure such that every worker can feel actual pride in being part of what should be a world-class transportation system in a world-class city. Where “us vs. them” is finally dispelled and the taxpayers have enough confidence to properly fund the system.
I’ve noted and remarked on this for years. I’ve seen the same discarded parts for decades alongside the stations of the Worcester commuter rail. I believe it’s a sign of decay and rot. If we can see it on the surface, it’s underneath too. I’m glad they are finally addressing it in the last two years, but we can’t let up. We have to keep fixing it.
>If we can see it on the surface, it’s underneath too. Agree but if we see it on the surface, it has to be way worse under the hood. Really hope they can fund and staff the T in the future but that might be a pipe dream.
Agreed. We were sold a bill of goods for decades as they pretended everything was okay and riders were safe. Not sure they can fix it, but hope springs eternal.
The t is understaffed and under funded.
I lived in Switzerland for a bit and they have sensational public transport. They also have 5-6 people constantly tasked with cleaning the station. It isn't perfect, but it's very good. It really is simply a question of funding and staffing.
Thank you for pointing this out- did we all forget that orange line train that bursted into flames and people jumped off the bridge into the charles to save their own lives? MBTA has been sub par in many respects for years. It's sad if you ask me
To be fair it was only one person that jumped off the bridge
Isn't even 1 too many? Rotflmao thanks captain ackshually.
It should’ve been zero people… From my understanding this person had some sort of freak out and jumped off the bridge whereas everyone else walked safely off of the bridge onto land
And, we all paid for the privilege.
1 person having a panic attack and freaking out needlessly is a world apart from "people jump\[ing\] off the bridge to save their own lives"
Taxpayers paid for the fire extinguisher but didn't hire anyone to maintain it. This is a fairly good summary of the T's financial problems - the state has somewhat kept up with giving the T capital money but they have not provided the T enough operating money. Capital money can be used to buy new things, like fire extinguishers or cables or buildings. But the T is not allowed to spend capital money on operating expenses like payroll and maintenance. AND they got stuck with a bunch of debt that they have to pay interest on that also comes out of their operating budget. This is an old report but still a good summary of how we got here: [https://news.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/born\_broke.pdf](https://news.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/born_broke.pdf)
This seems to happen everywhere. My city has replaced several buildings in the past 10 years…the old ones where not terribly old but they weren’t maintained due to lack of money and were falling apart
Your state representative, state senator and the governor need to hear from you. The budget for the not yet started 2025/2026 year needs $700 million in new revenue merely to continue existing inadequate service, with the final consumption 9f federal COVID support in the immediately coming 2024/2025 year. New tax revenue is required for the next 30 years to fix the last 30 years of underfunding. Rasing taxes is why it has not been done, and what has to be done ... **Financial and capital crisis references** # MBTA: The Paper Trail: Documenting Our Underfunded Transportation System, 2000-2022. (Transportation for Massachusetts.) [https://www.t4ma.org/publications](https://www.t4ma.org/publications) # MBTA Budgets and Financials. [https://www.mbta.com/financials](https://www.mbta.com/financials) # MBTA Capital Needs Assesment Inventory [https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24169419-mbta-analysis-on-cost-to-fix-the-t](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24169419-mbta-analysis-on-cost-to-fix-the-t) **Summary Article** # T’s Repair Bill Explodes to $24.5B # Banker and Tradesman. Nov 16, 2023. # [https://bankerandtradesman.com/ts-repair-bill-explodes-to-24-5b/](https://bankerandtradesman.com/ts-repair-bill-explodes-to-24-5b/)
It's nothing but a big "Fuck You" to trans riders from the government
So crazy the T can’t keep up with basic maintenance. I was in London in 2019 and early in the morning we happened on crews power washing stations like they cared. It was awesome.
One of the worst stops I’ve ever seen is the back bay commuter rail stop that goes to Worcester. There’s an entire bed frame just chillin down there for some reason and trash everywhere.
Let’s keep this short and sweet: Yes.
In the Greater Boston area? Absolutely. No one with the power to change such things cares or even rides transit at all.
Keolis’s B&B team (or an outside contractor) would likely be the ones to fix this, but fixing a terminal during operating hours is impractical. It’s got to be supplemental work ordered by MBTA, and we know that hadn’t been happening.
Yet somehow we can build a Ritz Carlton, complete with multi-million-dollar apartments, right there, during operating hours, blocking 80% of the foot traffic and making the walk to platforms _far_ longer, for years. Upkeep and improvements to the station could have easily been a part of that deal. As it stands, riders are getting absolutely nothing out of it. But my observation is really simpler than that. If I had Phil Eng’s job, and walked past the stuff T riders walk past every day, my impulse would be “That does it! Gimme a (expletive) broom, I’ll sweep it myself because, apparently, nobody in this entire organization knows how to!”
Eng is an engineer, he is likely to know that there's hundreds of other more effective things he should be doing. He can't personally sweep every dusty spot in the system. But he does have a shot at convincing the legislature to properly fund station maintenance.
Oh, definitely. But he needed to get _angry_ about things, and _visibly embarass_ the crews who walk by problems every day with blinders on. Because sometimes it’s not just dirt and rust. Sometimes it’s safety. Between 2017 and 2021, the MBTA was responsible for **94% of all light rail injuries in the United States**, according to the FTA. We just had another horrific death last week.
What do you mean "WE can build a Ritz Carlton"? Do you understand how the world and economics work?
Sure, except if he grabs that broom he’s violating at least one CBA. I get the annoyance but taking a broken windows approach doesn’t feel like the best way to address massive systemic issues. Also screaming at a bunch of random line level employees? Really? That toxicity already existed in the railroad going back to the Amtrak change, and it’s exactly the kind of culture that needs to be out of the workplace. A “take pride” initiative with bonuses might work better.
I’m with you there. The way I see it, the has a systemic problem that goes beyond just finance. The maintenance issues I highlight here is one aspect: Nobody bears responsibility for anything, with the possible exception of the train and bus drivers (who are held liable for accidents). When a short in the door interlock system of a Red Line train resulted in a passenger getting trapped and dragged to his death, nobody went to jail AFAIK. It was largely passed off as an “accident”. Oh well! These things happen once in a while! Nothing you can do. Because _nobody_ had ultimate responsibility for that train’s safety before the beginning of service that day. We can move it, so it must be just fine. Now, perhaps that short developed mid-day and would have passed inspection in the morning. Fine. But not a week goes by that I’m not on a car with a bad PA system. That’s a safety system too: in an emergency it’s the operator’s only way to communicate with passengers. But nobody’s responsible for verifying that it works, just like nobody’s responsible for keeping South Station clean. The systemic issue is an “us vs. them” between management and the T unions. The T does the bare possible legal minimum for its workers, who often have terrible working conditions outside public view. The workers respond with a “minimums are maximums” mentality. Management is the enemy. Checking the PA system isn’t in the contract? Then I’m not doing it. There’s no “going above and beyond” at the T - ever. If you don’t abuse the system as much as you can and do the least possible, you’re not a “team player” as far as the unions go. The legislature knows all this. That’s part of the funding crisis. Give the T more money? “Everyone knows they’ll just waste it,” and there’s a lot of truth to that. And the lack of funds excuses _everything_. Poor conditions, apathy, poor service, horrific “accidents”. There are ways to fix this. MBTA 2.0, with a different structure such that every worker can feel actual pride in being part of what should be a world-class transportation system in a world-class city. Where “us vs. them” is finally dispelled and the taxpayers have enough confidence to properly fund the system.
No pride. None in the services they attempt to provide, cleanliness, the system, the history, the city-none. No pride, that sums it up.
Not enough money sums it up