Problems with the MBTA

The MBTA has helped develop the city of Boston as we know it today. However, even though the MBTA has grown into a major success, there are some problems that need to be addressed to improve the public transportation system.

The major fundamental complication within the MBTA is the overcrowded nature of the commuter rail. Over-congestion can make a rider's experience uncomfortable, inconvenient, and stressful. Therefore, the rider may not choose to take the MBTA as their main form of transportation in the future, decreasing the MBTA's daily and yearly income

• The MBTA is trying to develop a new modern way to transport people to their desired destination with ease and comfort. However, the MBTA is neck deep in debt and cannot reconstruct the systems at the moment.
• The lines that serve the lower and middle class communities are highly rated as over-congested. This is because the red and orange line, for example, have limited stops within each run. The riders have to ride the train for a longer period of time due to the inconvenience.
• This problem also can make an appearance on the light rail lines, such as the green line. The green line makes frequent stops that have a reasonable walking distance between them. The prevalence of stops makes it bothersome for the riders to get to their desired destination on time.

Since the heavy rails tend to have less inconvenient stops, there are not as many accessible Charlie Card Fare Boxes as needed.

• Wealthier communities have more convenient stops that promote Charlie Card fare boxes along the green line. For example, the green line that serves mostly Newton and Brookline, has Charlie Card fare boxes at almost every stop. Meanwhile, Roxbury and Mattapan, have an insufficient amount of stops on actual train lines, such as the red and orange lines. Even though these subway stops feature Charlie Card fare boxes, most of the above-ground service is limited to buses. This forces people to walk farther to reach a subway station when commuting to work every day increasing the amount of effort needed. This discourages commuters from using public transportation because of the lack of accessibility.
• While the public can purchase passes and Link Cards at the stops in wealthier communities, people cannot do that on the T itself. Passengers can only pay for the single fare, which can be more expensive, and then are forced to pay for the full fare to get downtown; afterwards, they are able to buy a pass. Contrary to popular belief, it costs more money to buy a pass and it’s inconvenient.

Everyday, more than 1 million people depend on the MBTA as their form of transportation. The MBTA runs from 4:00 am to 1:00 am. Normally, this is fine for commuters who work from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. However, these hours does not help people have more than one job or the civil servants.

• MBTA service ends relatively early. Most people in the lower to middle class communities work more than one job. Many of them work shifts that extend beyond the last bus or train. This means that people who are most likely to be in need of the MBTA services are the very same people who are least likely to actually be helped by it.
• Public Safety Officers, Police Officers, Firefighters, and many more help keep this city and all the people in it safe. And yet, they cannot use the MBTA when their shift ends at 3 or 4 in the morning.