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New MBTA GM Phillip Eng tells riders to ‘stay tuned’ for changes at the T
Eng, who marked his first day on the job Monday, said his top priorities for the T include safety, reliability, and communication.
Phillip Eng began his day the same way thousands of Bostonians do: By taking the T to work.
There was, however, one key difference between Eng and the average rider: As of Monday, the recent Boston transplant is officially in charge of the MBTA.
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Speaking to reporters upon his arrival at Park Street, the new MBTA general manager acknowledged the uphill battle he faces as he takes over the embattled transit agency, which has seen pervasive staffing shortages, service cuts, aging infrastructure, and safety challenges in recent years.
“What I have to do is juggle all of those different priorities,” Eng told reporters in a video of the interaction captured by CBS Boston. “Safety. Reliability. Communication.”
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Eng’s first day on the job came exactly one year after 39-year-old Robinson Lalin was dragged to death after he became stuck in a Red Line train door, a high-profile incident that partly inspired a sweeping federal safety inspection of the T last year.
Addressing the anniversary of Lalin’s death, Eng offered his “deepest sympathies” to the man’s family.
“To people who have lost faith in the T, I’d tell them, ‘Stay tuned,’” Eng said. “If we lose faith, then why are we even trying? The real thing is, you have to believe, you have to have a vision, and we do. I know the people at the T … know we can turn it around; I’m going to demonstrate that we can turn it around.”
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Eng said the T will be open about its challenges and its strategy for addressing them, signaling his intentions to continue the emphasis on transparency launched by his predecessor, interim General Manager Jeff Gonneville.
“And then you’ll start to see meaningful improvements,” Eng said. “It will be slow at the beginning, but as you start to see them come, I think people will regain that trust [in the T].”
He also addressed a recent Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation report which concluded that the T will need to hire around 2,800 workers within the next 12 months if it hopes to address service cuts, safety issues, and other ongoing challenges.
“When you look at the big number, it seems almost insurmountable,” Eng acknowledged. “But when you start to say, ‘How many people do we need to bring on every month?’ … it can be done.”
Eng said he sees himself riding the T every day, and not just to and from work.
“I enjoy mass transportation — that’s why I took this role — and I want everyone else to start enjoying it, too,” he said, pledging to restore service levels. “Because every precious minute of their time that they’re not at home and with their families, I understand that’s lost time. We’re going to restore that back to them.”
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