Has MBTA GM Phillip Eng gotten the T back on track?

[@a_bich-]

i think he's brought in a glimmer of hope for the future, at the same time, the T still has issues of years and years of neglect that won't go away overnight. I think long-term t will be in the great shape, right now, though I'm not expecting anything to really be great.

[@jimryan5280]

I certainly think Phil Eng is the most competent qualified GM for the MBTA. One thing he should do immediately is terminate any future contracts with Chinese manufacturer CRRC. That the Red Line cars from 1969 are still in operation is perhaps the T's biggest disgrace and embarrassment. New Red Lind cars being manufactured by CRRC are years behind schedule and are only now being phased into service. The T's contract with CRRC has been an absolute debacle. Mr. Eng needs to be more forceful in his condemnation and critique of CRRC. He will also have a big decision to make in the procurement of Red Line cars to replace the "newer" cars manufacturered by Bombardier and introduced to service in 1993. These cars are fast approaching the end of their useful life cycle. Mr. Eng should make a bold decision and sign a deal with Kowaski for the open gangway style subway cars in service in Toronto and New York. These are definitely the subway cars of the future and allow riders to move from car to car, very impressive! Mr. Eng will also need to proiotize expansion efforts with an emphasis on the Red Line/Blue Line connector at Charles/MGH. In terms of customer service, Mr. Eng needs to revamp the sign shop at the MBTA. Signing at T stations and platforms desperately needs to be more clear and coherent. Again take a cue from New York and Washington that utilize black background with bold white lettering. Also retire Inbound/Outbound and replace line direction with Eastbound/Westbound and Northbound/Southbound. As an example of the T's incoherent signing Red Line signing needs to be noted that the Mattapan Line runs via Ashmont. Signing on the Green Line is a hodge podge of utter confusion and just a mess! Hours of operation also need to be seriously addressed and updated with a focus on later operating hours on Friday and Saturday nights of at least 2 a.m. or later. That the T stops running at 12:30 a.m. on weekends is certainly not meeting the demands of the public. This change could easily be achieved by having the system open later on the weekends at 7 a.m. and closing earlier on Sunday nights at midnight. The T needs much work, but with that being said I do wish Mr. Eng much success and support.

[@heinzotto1194]

Yes, you are right. All of these things.

[@AlexTangBang]

6:38 - I wonder if there's analysis of the NYC congestion toll, and wonder if this will also be an option for Boston since it's ideas are still being considered?

[@clamato54]

How about a border toll around Boston for cars?

[@Flat10squirrel]

What is MBTA, is it about baseball

[@chriscirino5779]

The slow zones that were supposed to last a few weeks are still in place a few years later.The MBTA actually needs to downsize because the ridership is way down .

[@ElectricEvan]

If you shrink the system then it gets less useable and the ridership will go down farther. In other words what you a proposing is a method of killing the T not fixing it.

[@chriscirino5779]

@@ElectricEvan They do not need to run trains every 7 min all day the trains are empty.I get a seat every morning and night during rush hour.Most people are working from home so why are the running the T at the sane rate they were pre covid?

[@ElectricEvan]

@@chriscirino5779 That is how *you* use the T. A lot of us don't use it that way. It's been shown service frequency drives ridership. You can't replace a car until you have the same level of convenience.

[@12KevinPower]

Hilarious. You want more car drivers on the road with the amount of traffic?

[@TommyTom21]

@@chriscirino5779In what world are the trains empty?? In my experience the trains are often overcrowded.

[@purpleness64]

Nope its still abysmal