Eng affirms MBTA's commitment to safety in response to federal inquiry, funding threat

Safety is "a core component in everything" the MBTA does, according to a letter General Manager Phil Eng sent to federal transportation officials.

The Oct. 2 letter is a response to federal Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's request for information about what the MBTA is doing to stop crime on the transit system. In it, Eng emphasized how the T is focused on safety for riders and staff, while also underscoring the efforts the agency has made to improve the safety of the physical system itself.

Duffy had demanded information on "practices and expenditures" related to crime, vagrancy and fare evasion, or "risk federal support." He cited two assaults on MBTA bus riders this summer. In one case, someone shoved an older woman. In the other, a man attacked at least one other person with a belt.

President Trump and federal officials have used the specter of crime to intervene in Democratically-controlled cities in recent months. Duffy, speaking at South Station in August, mused that the federal government could take over the station to help reduce crime, similar to the federal takeover of Union Station in Washington, D.C. Unlike Union, however, South Station is not a federal facility, and there isn't a legal mechanism for a federal takeover.

The Federal Transit Administration also said it sent a similar letter to the head of the Chicago Transit Authority. Transit authorities in Los Angeles and New York City received requests earlier this year, too.

Eng's letter states that the T "has built over $512 million in security infrastructure" since 2012. The money has been used to upgrade outdated video surveillance at stations and aboard buses and trains; and to establish a security hub that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

And since 2023, the year Eng joined the T, the agency has invested more than $480 million to improve system safety "in partnership with the FTA" after the administration required the T to address 53 problem areas ranging from staffing to operating polices that put riders and staff at risk.

The MBTA provided nearly 9.3 million rides across the system in 2024; in that time, MBTA Transit Police Department data documented 821 reports of violent crimes. The top recorded crimes were larceny, aggravated assault and auto theft.

According to Eng, the T has seen a 16% reduction in recorded crime from January through September this year compared to the same period last year, despite a 10% boost in ridership.  He also detailed projects across the system to improve cleanliness and lighting, among other efforts, to improve rider experience and safety.

Caitlin Allen-Connelly, the executive director of the Boston-based transportation advocacy group TransitMatters said she found Eng's letter went "above and beyond what the FTA outlined" and was effective in describing "the incredible number of things that the MBTA is doing that make safety a priority, not just from an infrastructure perspective, but for riders and for their workforce."

She said her organization continues to "stand by the T" while holding the transit authority accountable to providing reliable transportation.

The MBTA is the fourth largest public transit agency in the nation, even though the metro area's population ranks 11th nationally, according to census data.

In a statement, Eng said the response letter "is a clear demonstration of how the MBTA, in working closely with the USDOT and the FTA, continues to deliver for our riders."

"Our work is never done, but the results are clear: we are delivering a safer, more reliable system for our riders, and we will continue to challenge ourselves every day to get better,” Eng wrote.