There’s been a springtime sense of optimism surging through major metropolitan area transit systems. Just not at the MBTA as incoming MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng prepares to take the reins. The difference? Riders’ belief in the system’s reliability.
The head of the MBTA’s oversight board came under strong criticism from one of the state’s top business leaders for declaring that the transit service’s still-low ridership levels represent a “new normal”
Ridership on the MBTA’s commuter rail system, sometimes seen during the pandemic as a barometer for downtown Boston office utilization, has risen steadily this spring, the system’s leader said last week.
Data from the MBTA has backed up what many might see as a common sense prediction: the slow, unreliable service on the Red Line since its June derailment has suppressed ridership and sent customer satisfaction levels into the cellar.
The MBTA went without $23 million last year in potential fare revenue from riders who decamped from the ailing public transit network for ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, according to a new report that also put a big estimate on the net carbon footprint of the companies.
Ridership on the MBTA’s Red Line dropped by about 10 percent in the week following a derailment in June that destroyed key signal equipment at the JFK/UMass station.
