President Trump’s transportation secretary has ordered the MBTA to take quick motion to enhance security for riders and transit employees, or danger the lack of federal funding.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hit MBTA Basic Supervisor Phillip Eng with the federal order by way of a Thursday letter, saying that the T “must ensure a secure and clean environment, reduce crime, vagrancy and fare evasion, and maintain a safe operating system.”
“President Trump cares about our great cities and the hardworking Americans who inhabit them,” Duffy stated in a Friday assertion. “While local leaders seem intent on putting the needs of criminals first, we’re not waiting for the next Iryna. Chicago and Boston are on notice to take actions that enhance safety and reduce the crime affecting their riders and transit workers — or risk losing federal support.”
Duffy was referencing Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was stabbed to demise on a prepare in Charlotte, N.C. on Aug. 22.
The Trump administration’s give attention to the MBTA, or “Boston leadership,” seems to be responsive to 2 assaults on bus riders that happened prior to now month, in accordance with a U.S. Division of Transportation assertion.
The USDOT assertion references an aged lady who was shoved off an MBTA bus at a cease in Roxbury on Sept. 8. The girl was injured after falling on a concrete sidewalk, MBTA Transit Police stated.
The feds additionally talked about an Aug. 16 incident involving a person who allegedly attacked at the least one individual with a belt on an MBTA bus in Cambridge. The person allegedly eliminated his belt and struck a rider within the face and neck, Transit Police stated.
“This is about standing up for American families who deserve a safe and clean transportation system,” Duffy stated.
Duffy’s letter to Eng directs the MBTA to focus notably on “key transportation and intermodal hubs such as South Station.” Duffy’s deputy director of transportation Steven Bradbury steered final month that the Trump administration was contemplating taking on the state-owned South Station to deal with safety.
The federal authorities has taken management of Union Station in Washington, D.C., per an settlement reached this week with Amtrak and the Union Station Redevelopment Company Boards of Administrators and introduced by USDOT.
In his letter, Duffy suggested Eng that the MBTA ought to goal federal funds for “capital expenses related to crime prevention and security activities,” notably at South Station, “the second-busiest transportation hub in New England.”
Duffy famous that the federal authorities has invested closely in enhancing and sustaining South Station through the years, “and wants to ensure that this federal interest is protected for the benefit of public transportation passengers and workers.”
“People traveling on the MBTA system to reach their jobs, education, healthcare, and other critical services need to feel secure and travel in a safe environment free from crime and threatening encounters with drug addicts or the mentally ill, and workers who operate the system need to be assured of a safe operating environment to provide transportation services,” Duffy wrote to Eng.
Duffy has requested that the MBTA submit written studies inside 14 days that id actions taken to discourage crime, cease fare evasion and supply a clear surroundings for riders; and summarize all sources of funds acquired for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 referring to security and safety, together with any funds from federal companies, together with the Division of Homeland Safety.
Eng, the MBTA common supervisor, stated the T is targeted on security and plans to offer the feds with the requested info.
“We value and appreciate our long-standing partnerships with the USDOT and (Federal Transit Administration), and we have a common goal to ensure that riders are safe and feel safe while using public transportation,” Eng stated in a Friday assertion.
Eng stated he spoke this week with FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro in Boston “about our shared commitment in ensuring the security of every passenger, and we are in agreement about providing the safest commute possible for all riders and employees.”
“As the MBTA and its Transit Police Department continue to work together with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, I want to assure the public that safety is at the heart of everything we do at the T,” Eng stated. “Investments in modernization, technology, accessibility, infrastructure and more are showing real, tangible results as ridership returns to the system.”
The MBTA grew to become simply the second U.S. subway system to endure a federal security administration inspection in April 2022, following a sequence of security failures that culminated with a passenger being dragged to demise by a prepare. The primary was Washington, D.C. Metro System.
The T, as results of that investigation by the FTA, was ordered to conform with a sequence of security directives to beef up staffing, handle insufficient operations and shore up getting old infrastructure.
“We’re building back trust with the riding public because the T is a safe, dependable system riders can rely on,” Eng stated. “We look forward to providing the requested information and we’ll continue to demonstrate the significant progress that we’ve made working with the FTA.”
Earlier than placing Boston and Chicago on discover, Duffy despatched related letters to transit authorities in Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles.
