Outraged MBTA riders are rallying against planned fare hikes set to take effect tomorrow, denouncing the increases coming after a month of serious problems on the rails.
Protesters gathered around the Park Street station today as the T readies for its fourth price hike since 2012. The hike is coming after both the Red Line and Green Line saw trains derail in June, and riders at the rally said they didn’t want to pay more for poor service.
“We continue to get the crappy end of the stick and I’m sick and tired,” President of Chelsea City Council Damali Vidot said.
Terri Asci detailed the “fiasco” of a recent commute.
“Waiting for the 7:50 train to be told it was canceled after 20 minutes waiting on the platform and then told we had to go to Canton, most of us walked to the train station, we couldn’t get to Canton, then the next train coming in, that was late,” Asci said. “I can’t do my job properly if I’m not at work on time”
Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu, who organized the protest, said the T needed an accelerated funding plan to deal with issues that ripple out beyond the rails, including residents choosing cars over public transit
“We have the worst traffic in the country and that is choking our economy, it’s literally choking our kids with pollutants in the air,” Wu said.
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