February 3, 2015
The crippling delays that hit commuters on public transit Tuesday are "unacceptable," Gov. Charlie Baker said on Tuesday.
Baker said in a statement he will work closely with his transportation chief Stephanie Pollack and MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott to monitor the MBTA, particularly the Red Line, during the low temperatures and snow clean-up.
"I also plan to meet with Dr. Scott soon to discuss ways to improve service and better serve our communities that rely on the T to get to and from work," Baker said.
Earlier in the morning, a Boston-bound commuter rail train was stuck at Quincy Center and riders were eventually told to take the Red Line, which was experiencing its own delays, into the capital city.
"It's unacceptable for commuters to experience these delays, but we ask everyone to be patient and plan ahead, checking MBTA.com/winter for scheduling alerts throughout the day," Baker said.
Beacon Hill lawmakers and Gov. Deval Patrick in 2013 raised taxes to improve public transportation, claiming at the time they had produced enough revenue to address system expansion and repair needs.
Scott told FOX25 on Tuesday morning that the Red Line is where the system has some of its oldest equipment. The planned replacement of the Red Line and Orange Line cars that were built in the late 1960s and early 1980s will take six years, she added.
"I'm being very candid, the lack of investment through the years, and I'm not using it as an excuse, but I'm just being very candid, that this is when the failure to honestly have been making those investments, all the way along, just not having the funding to do it," is apparent, she said.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who signed off on the transportation financing legislation while a state representative from Dorchester, came under fire during the 2013 mayoral race for his support of the package, which one rival charged as inadequate for what the MBTA needs.
Asked about the aging MBTA equipment at a City Hall press conference on Tuesday, Walsh said the transit system would face problems even if it was "brand new."
"A lot of it has to do with the weather conditions," he told reporters.
Walsh said the city has received more snow in the last week than during the legendary blizzard in 1978. Boston was hit with 27.1 inches of snow during that storm.
Over the weekend, the city removed 6,000 truckloads of snow, the mayor said. A 350-ton snow melter is being brought in, according to Walsh's public works commissioner, Michael Dennehy.
Walsh said he had received phone calls about unplowed streets. "It's going to be a while," he said, adding that city officials are attempting to widen the main streets.
The mayor said it's possible that the city will "shatter" its snow and ice removal budget.
A parking ban in Boston will remain in effect until 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Walsh defended holding a Super Bowl victory parade for the New England Patriots on Wednesday instead of Saturday, saying the players are planning to go on vacation before then.
An audit and finance committee of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation's board of directors plans to meet on Thursday in Boston. The meeting starts at 2:30 p.m. at 10 Park Plaza.
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