MBTA manager Phillip Eng also wants a better T: 'There is more work ahead'

A man in a suit and tie walks down an MBTA platform. — After introducing himself to Massachusetts at a Riverside Station press conference on Monday, incoming MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng hopped aboard a Green Line train to head into Boston for more meetings with T staff.

Jeremy Siegel is co-host of Morning Edition at GBH News. Feedback? Questions? Story ideas? Reach out to Jeremy at jeremy_siegel@wgbh.org.

January 30, 2024

Updated January 30, 2024

Jeremy Siegel: You're listening to GBH's Morning Edition. The MBTA is hoping for a better year. After being plagued by slow trains and a series of dangerous incidents, with riders getting trapped in doors, the T is trying to fix things. But that is a big job. They're in the middle of a major upgrade, shutting down significant portions of their system one by one while crews work to fix tracks and get trains up to speed. That includes a massive shutdown of the Green Line, which came to an end earlier this week, and another coming to the Red Line next week. For more on these efforts, I'm joined by the head of the MBTA, General Manager Phillip Eng. Good morning. Thanks for coming on.

Phillip Eng: Well, thank you for having me. I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you and your listeners.

Siegel: So Green Line trains are running again after a January of shutdowns, one of a series of them that are planned for the next year. What sort of work did crews do on the Green Line? Because as recently as this morning, we have heard from some people saying that trains are no faster than they were before. We're waiting on the platforms for them to come. What was accomplished during the shutdown?

Eng: Well, the trains are moving faster, the trains are moving smoother. I guess it depends on each person's perception of the trip. But I can assure our riders that during this last diversion that took place in January, and I appreciate everyone's patience, what they will experience over time is the stabilization of our schedules. Time between trains should improve. There is more work ahead. And work more closely, coming up in Feb. 5, we will be tackling some of our worst portions on the Red Line, in particular, this one stretch is from Alewife to Harvard.

Siegel: But let's talk a little bit more about those planned closures coming on the Red Line, because during this most recent shutdown on the Green Line, I witnessed and experienced firsthand some of the chaos that it caused. There were severely overcrowded Orange Line trains. That's where people were told to find alternative service downtown during the Green Line shutdown. There were people saying things about the T that I'm not going to repeat on the air, but extremely, extremely frustrated. I'm wondering, is this sustainable for another year to have these continued shutdowns of lines while crews are working to get trains up to speed when people are frustrated, having to pack into overcrowded trains and not getting to work on time?

Eng: Well, I think the people that need to use the system and rely on the system, and I talked to a lot of them myself, this is going to be the best route for them. I understand, I took those same diversions. I ride the Green Line in the morning, I got off at North Station. I took the Orange Line to our office here at 10 Park Plaza. I see, and I observe, and every diversion that we do, we're looking to see how we can improve upon that. The worst thing we can continue to do is have bad service, slow service. And we were not addressing it in the matter we would have, it would really be very difficult and longer to address the track conditions that existed. I saw that in my first six months: You fix two restrictions and two pop back up. It's just too much amount of work that needs to be done in the non-revenue hours of two hours a night.

Siegel: Do people ever recognize you when you're taking the train?

Eng: They do, and I will have to say, the folks have been supportive. They have told me how important the T's success is to them. And that makes it even much more important to me to make sure that we continue to deliver for the public.

Siegel: But you don't have people running up and yelling at you, like, 'my trains are not arriving on time'?

Eng: You know, I've had some good conversation with folks. They have every right to speak. You know, some of the diversions early on, I remember at Packard's Corner, I took the alternate bus service to get to the incident. And in the heat of the incident, when people are still finding their ways, there's always a little frustration. I understand that. But we're also focused on improving communication to our riders: Real-time announcements, real-time information. If an incident occurs, we want them to know how long it will take for us to respond and address. This way, they can make real, informed decisions on how to use the T or to find other routes if necessary.

Siegel: There have been a string of recent safety incidents on the T. In one of them, a passenger's leg recently got stuck on a door at Medford/Tufts. Several other door problems on other lines. Also another so-called near miss where a worker could have been hit by a train. These were all recent. They were under your leadership. How can people be confident in the system when they hear about things like this?

Eng: Well, what I want riders to know is that one of the things that I've been doing since I've gotten here, and even the leadership before, is we want our workers to inform us when these occurrences happen. I think what you're seeing is our employees speaking up to share these occurrences and perhaps what was happening is that not every single incident was being reported before. And what we need is in each one of these is to learn from them. I did speak with the young woman who was on the Green Line, her name was Rebecca, just to follow up with her, make sure she was doing well. But every one of these incidents we've addressed short term, we've taken measures on our own to implement technology where a train cannot enter an area. And in other places, we have implemented new procedures. So all of these things are what the new leadership team is taking into account as we continue to build in better processes for our employees, but also for the public. And what we're focused on is ensuring that the public knows that their safety is paramount above and beyond everything else. Same with our employees. If we don't have a safe environment, it doesn't matter what else we do. So those are the things that we are 100 percent focused, day in and day out. That will always be our number one priority.

Siegel: A fare free pilot program for some buses in Boston is coming to an end at the beginning of March. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu wants that to stick around. I think riders would definitely like free buses to stick around. Do you want fare-free buses?

Eng: Well, what I'm looking to do is to make sure everybody that needs to use our system can afford our system. I'm really proud of the initiative, when I first got here, the governor and the legislature had money for us to look at low-Income fares and what the most recent proposal from the governor, is to fund the ability for us to move forward with low income fares. Those other types of discussions, always open to it. I'm really pleased and proud of our partnership with the city and their willingness to continue looking at how to continue those bus routes. And we're working with the city on that. But I also know that I have to look forward to the future and making sure that I put us on the road to be much more fiscally balanced year to year. And there's a long way to go. But I'm really excited about the support that I've gotten to date, and I really thank the governor and administration for all of that.

Siegel: MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng, thank you so much for your time this morning.

Eng: Thank you for having me.

Siegel: You're listening to GBH News.

MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng wants a better T. But he’s aware of what he’s up against, with aging infrastructure, a string of safety problems and a strained budget.

“I saw that in my first six months,” he tells me. “You fix two [speed] restrictions, and two more pop up. It’s just too much work to be done in the night.”

After being plagued by slow trains and a series of dangerous incidents, with riders getting trapped in doors, Eng says the T is trying to fix things and hoping for a better year.

But that is a big job: The MBTA is in the middle of a major upgrade, which includes shutdowns of significant portions of their system one by one while crews work to fix tracks and get trains up to speed. That includes a massive shutdown of the Green Line, which came to an end earlier this week, and another coming to the Red Line between Alewife and Harvard next week. Eng said the shutdowns will have a positive long term impact.

“I can assure our riders that during this last diversion that took place in January — and I appreciate everyone's patience — what they will experience over time is the stabilization of our schedules,” Eng said. “Time between trains should improve. There is more work ahead.”

Riders have shown frustration with diversions. Eng said he’s experienced the diversions himself in his commute, switching from the Green Line to the Orange Line at North Station to get to the MBTA’s headquarters at 10 Park Plaza.

“I see, and I observe, and every diversion that we do, we're looking to see how we can improve upon that,” Eng said. “The worst thing we can continue to do is have bad service, slow service.”

People occasionally recognize him on the T, he said.

“I will have to say, the folks have been supportive. They have told me how important the T's success is to them. And that makes it even much more important to me to make sure that we continue to deliver for the public,” he said.

Riders also share their frustrations with him.

“When people are still finding their ways, there's always a little frustration. I understand that,” he said. “But we're also focused on improving communication to our riders: Real-time announcements, real-time information. If an incident occurs, we want them to know how long it will take for us to respond and address. This way, they can make real, informed decisions on how to use the T or to find other routes if necessary.”

Along with rider frustrations, the MBTA is also facing worker safety concerns. On Jan. 8, a worker had a “near miss” incident on the Green Line, in which workers were on the tracks while a train was running.

Eng attributed at least some of the safety incidents to increased reporting.

“I think what you're seeing is our employees speaking up to share these occurrences and perhaps what was happening is that not every single incident was being reported before,” he said.

He also spoke with a woman who had her leg caught in the door of a Green Line train.

“Every one of these incidents we've addressed short term, we've taken measures on our own to implement technology where a train cannot enter an area,” he said. “And in other places, we have implemented new procedures. So all of these things are what the new leadership team is taking into account as we continue to build in better processes for our employees, but also for the public.”

As a pandemic-era pilot of fare-free bus service on some routes within Boston comes to an end, Eng said he’s been looking at ways to make fare more affordable to low-income riders.

“But I also know that I have to look forward to the future and making sure that I put us on the road to be much more fiscally balanced year to year,” Eng said. “And there's a long way to go. But I'm really excited about the support that I've gotten to date, and I really thank the governor and administration for all of that.”