Phil Eng pushes back after Trump administration’s demand for info on T safety

“Our work is never done, but the results are clear: we are delivering a safer, more reliable system for our riders,” Eng said.

MBTA General Manager Phil Eng.

October 6, 2025

2 minutes to read

Pushing back on federal transportation officials who recently questioned the MBTA’s safety, T General Manager Phil Eng said last week the agency has “made significant strides” to become safer and more reliable.

Eng’s Oct. 2 letter came in response to a missive from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, who threatened to revoke federal support for the MBTA if the T did not take action to enhance safety and curb crime. Duffy specifically cited a Sept. 8 incident during which a 63-year-old woman was violently shoved off an MBTA bus in Roxbury.

More on the MBTA:

T leaders “sincerely appreciate” the Trump administration’s “interest in and concern for public safety on the MBTA’s transit network,” Eng told Duffy, though he defended the agency’s track record.

“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 said in a separate statement.

He noted MBTA Transit Police have seen a 16% reduction in recorded crime systemwide between Jan. 1 and Sept. 24 this year, compared to the same period in 2024. The department has also added dozens of police officers since fiscal year 2022. That’s in addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars the T has poured into safety and security infrastructure in recent years, Eng pointed out.

“Our commitment to safety is the foundation of everything we do, and the letter submitted to Secretary Duffy is a clear demonstration of how the MBTA, in working closely with the [U.S. Department of Transportation] and the [Federal Transit Administration], continues to deliver for our riders,” he said in his statement. “Since 2023, we’ve addressed decades of deferred maintenance, rebuilt a depleted workforce, and invested hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements and service upgrades.”

In his letter, Eng explained federal funding to the MBTA has allowed the agency to advance projects that further enhance the T’s safety, accessibility, and reliability.

“We share your commitment to the safety of our employees and the public we serve,” he told Duffy. “All riders must be safe — and feel safe — while using any part of our network.”