This Is Why the T Is Free Friday
In case you forgot.
After two weeks of beautiful spring days, it’s tempting to put aside the painful memories of this year’s traumatic, terrible winter.
But with the MBTA offering a day of free fares Friday and discounted weekly and monthly passes for the month of May to make for up their abysmal service record this winter, let’s take a look back at what we all went through.
It was bad. Riders faced hours-long delays, canceled trips, trapped trains, “modified schedules,’’ and tightly packed rides throughout February’s transportation nightmare. In fairness, transportation officials faced quite a nightmare themselves: the city beat records for a 14-day, 20-day, and 30-day snowfalls that month.
Ultimately, Boston saw over 110 inches of snow this winter, a new record.
Halfway through the month, then MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott told reporters she would resign. She originally estimated that restoring the T to normal operations could take up to 30 days, though Gov. Charlie Baker was quick to clarify that the state was “viewing that as sort of an outer limit’’ estimate. Service was ultimately restored in a couple of weeks.
Keolis Commuter Services, a private company that operates the system’s commuter rail line, was fined $434,425 after 65 percent of their commuter rail trains were late in February, with full service taking over five weeks to return.
With the agency strapped for buses, Peter Pan even started shuttling commuters between certain Red Line stops. The city also employed labor from police cadets, union workers, and prisoners to help shovel snow off of public property.
Does a day of free rides and some discounts make up for one of the worst transit crises in the city’s recent memory? Probably not. But agency spokesperson Joe Pesaturo told BDCWire that the cost of the discounts would be about $5 million — $1.4 for the free rides and $3.6 million for a weekly or monthly pass discount — so taxpayers may as well get their money’s worth.
If you really want to reap the benefits, riders can also show their CharlieCard to local retailers for some small discounts Friday.
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