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Spat on, struck, and threatened: MBTA taking action to protect bus, train drivers from assault
In December alone, 24 of the MBTA's rail and bus employees were verbally or physically assaulted.
The MBTA is taking action after 24 of its employees were assaulted in December alone, several of them struck or verbally threatened while on the job.
All but four of those incidents involved bus employees, Chief Safety Officer Ronald Ester shared during an MBTA Safety, Health & Environment Subcommittee meeting last week. In total, 18 rail and bus employees faced verbal threats or intimidation, four were spat or coughed upon, and two were struck with an object or body part.
The MBTA’s Safety Department tracks data on a monthly basis and identifies trends to develop methods for mitigating assaults on its employees, T spokesperson Joe Pesaturo told Boston.com in an email.
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“The safety of our workforce is of paramount importance and steps have been taken to protect employees on the job, especially the T’s vehicle operators,” he wrote.
MBTA Assaults
For example, partitions between bus drivers and passengers provide one layer of protection, Pesaturo noted.
Also advocating for more safety measures is the Boston Carmen’s Union Local 589, which represents more than 6,000 MBTA employees.
The union said in a statement to Boston.com that its members and leaders “continue to advocate for increased measures to protect transit workers, including advocating to the MBTA for better safeguards for frontline workers and simultaneously advocating to the legislature to codify tougher penalties for those who assault public transit operators and personnel.”
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Local 589 said it has been pushing for the state Legislature to pass HD.2288, which would impose stricter punishments for those convicted of assaulting public transit workers. The bill, put forth by state Rep. Joseph McGonagle, Jr. of Everett, also includes coughing, spitting, or flinging bodily fluids under its definition of assault.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, our frontline workers risked their lives every day to ensure our community has access to safe, reliable transportation, and they deserve to be protected on the job,” Local 589 said.
As required under the 2021 federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the MBTA has safety committees comprised of management and frontline employee representatives, Pesaturo said. He said the agency is also working to hire more MBTA Transit Police officers, bringing on 18 new officers this month and offering entry salaries that range from $81,826 to $99,889 per year.
Hiring has been a challenge throughout the MBTA, with Director of Quality, Compliance, and Oversight Katie Choe recently telling Boston.com that the agency is looking to hire about 2,000 people over the next year or two.
Meanwhile, Gov. Maura Healey is still searching for former MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak’s permanent replacement.
Healey told Boston 25 on Monday that her administration is close to naming a new GM.
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“The key is, though, to get this right,” she said. “To make sure that we have somebody in charge who is focused on safety, on reliability, on making sure that projects are delivered on time.”
Anchor Gene Lavanchy asked Healey how her approach will lead to a different result in the MBTA, given previous governors’ attempts to fix the agency.
“I think it’s about getting in there, spending time getting to know the operations,” she responded. “Kim Driscoll and I have been out to both the operations center as well as some of the actual garages and facilities. We have spent a lot of time talking to people.”
General Assignment Co-op Eli Curwin contributed to this report.
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