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What to know about the MBTA's plans to step up fare enforcement
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
Happy Friday. The forecast is calling for a return of more summer-like weather this weekend (though you should still be mindful of rip currents if you make a beach trip).
To the news:
Heads up: The MBTA is planning to step up enforcement against fare evaders next month. Starting Sept. 8, the T says workers in blue shirts and khakis (sort of like Best Buy employees) will start issuing warnings and possibly fines to riders caught sneaking into the subway system or onto a bus without paying. "We owe it to our riders and the public at large to do our part and collect all appropriate fare revenue," MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said in a statement yesterday, adding that the money from fares (which makes up about 15% of the T's overall revenue) is "essential to delivering the levels of service you expect."
- The move has been a long time coming. Since 2021, T leaders have mulled how to address what they feared could be a dramatic increase in fare evasion, due to the introduction of all-door boarding for buses and trolleys and the opening of gate-less Green Line Extension stations. (Officials estimated the changes could lead to tens of millions of dollars in additional unpaid fares a year.) Last fall, the T put together a 16-person "fare engagement" team to greet riders and politely educate them about the new system. But now, their duties are being expanded.
- How it works: The fare engagement team will fan out across the system; they won't be everywhere, but T officials say "you can expect them on occasion." The T says it's a "warning-first" system, but repeat offenders will face fines ranging from $50 to $100. Riders who refuse to cooperate will be asked to leave the system. (Read more here on how the new step-by-step enforcement process will work.)
- What's next: For now, the T says the fare engagement team will visually monitor whether people pay as they enter fare gates and board vehicles. However, future phases of this system will include putting them onboard buses, Green Line trolleys and Mattapan trolleys to verify fare payment with handheld devices.
- Is now the right time? T officials stress they've gone to lengths to ensure the new check system will be implemented equitably, and are promoting their reduced fare options for riders who struggle to pay. Still, some transit advocates are concerned about the timing. "We are already dealing with a public that's fatigued about confrontations in public spaces," Reggie Ramos, the head of Transportation for Massachusetts, told WBUR's Amy Sokolow. "Indiscriminate ICE operations have really created this trauma with people in the public sphere."
Not good: Firefighters in Quincy say they've discovered the presence of PFAS — the so-called "forever chemicals" that have been linked to cancer — in their firefighting gear. Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch says the city purchased the gear specifically marketed as being free of such chemicals. However, the firefighters union says they identified the toxins through independent testing at the University of Notre Dame.
- The city is now launching an investigation. " We are going to find just how far back and how widespread this issue has become," Koch said during a press conference yesterday. "We dedicated all the necessary resources to resolve this matter up to, including, legal action, which we'll take a serious look at against the companies that are responsible for the manufacturing and distribution."
PSA: Massachusetts Treasurer Deb Goldberg is trying to return six Purple Heart medals to the descendants of those who earned them — or maybe even one of the recipients themselves. WBUR's Rob Lane reports the state recovered the medals from unclaimed safe deposit boxes, and Goldberg says she received a tip that one medal recipient may still be alive in a nursing home. (She's still trying to confirm the rumor.) "Such sacrifice was put forward, and the families deserve to have this medal back to be able to pass down through the generations," Goldberg said.
- CBS Boston has the list of the six veterans awarded the medals. If you know one of them — or just want to see if you have any unclaimed money or property — call 617-367-0400 or visit findmassmoney.gov.
The father of Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is facing an attempted murder charge, after allegedly stabbing a man in a Las Vegas parking lot dispute Wednesday night. The Associated Press reports that 57-year-old Quenton Brown — who goes by his middle name Marselles — is being held in Clark County Detention Center.
P.S.— What juicy Massachusetts tradition celebrated its 40th anniversary this week? Think you know the answer? Take our Boston News Quiz!
