The T Is Working Again. Leaders, Don’t Hit the Brakes.

The transformation of the MBTA over the past 18 months has been nothing short of miraculous.

The T began this decade in dire straits. But under Phillip Eng, the T has tackled long-standing issues, from slow zones to outdated services, restoring public confidence, reflecting the combined efforts of advocates, workers, and leadership. To sustain this progress, state leaders must commit to ensuring the MBTA’s long-term stability.

The Covid-19 pandemic decimated Boston’s transit agency. Now, years later, total ridership is still only 65 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

Perhaps riders’ hesitancies are to be expected — the T has also had to reckon with an increasingly dysfunctional system. It seemed like every line faced a host of issues over the years, culminating in 2024. The Orange Line caught on fire. Green Line trains derailed — twice. The Red Line was subjected to abysmal speed restrictions.

These failures have inspired a widespread lack of confidence in the MBTA among Massachusetts residents. When Governor Maura Healey ’92 assumed office in 2023, many were pessimistic about the future.

As a daily Red Line rider, I honestly felt the same; the slow zone between Harvard Station and Central Station was infuriating. As a new member of the Cambridge Transit Advisory Committee, I hoped to solve these problems and address a pressing future concern: a “fiscal cliff” threatens to devastate the MBTA’s budget, leaving the future of Boston’s transportation system in peril.

Governor Healey faced a monumental task: choosing a new MBTA general manager who was competent and driven enough to fix the T’s problems. Luckily, she struck gold with Phillip Eng. Eng’s leadership demonstrates how to rebuild trust — first with riders who depend on the T, then with the advocates who support it, and finally with the agency itself.

Listening to interviews, I could tell Eng understood what riders need from the T: safe trains and buses, timely arrivals, and speedy travel. But these experiences were rare, so Eng tackled the problems at their roots: He prioritized maintenance, removed slow zones, and increased bus frequencies.

Many of these measures initially caused service disruptions and quite a few headaches, but the subsequent results have been dramatic. The group TransitMatters, which tracks services on the MBTA, found a decrease in significant delays over the past year and a half. Moreover, the agency began discounting fares for low-income riders, and new initiatives like contactless payment and a mobile app have made traveling easier than ever.

I’ve felt the effects myself: On the first day of the slow zone-free Red Line, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief as my train journeyed from Harvard to South Station in just fifteen minutes — a journey that had taken me thirty before. I can transfer without issues or delays whenever I take the bus home during breaks. I’ve even heard my friends and classmates compliment the T, a monumental shift from the nonstop complaints of old.

Strategic organizing from transit advocates across Massachusetts made many of these actions possible. Groups like TransitMatters, Public Transit Public Good, and Transportation for Massachusetts championed equity and accessibility for all of us in the MBTA region.

Riders aren’t the only ones who have benefitted. In an interview in 2023, Eng noted “a real satisfaction” among technicians and rail operators who felt accomplished for completing this work. The success has even begun to repay the agency, which has been able to rebuild its workforce after a surge in applications. When the people who keep our trains and buses running smoothly are satisfied, riders are better off, too.

Eng is demonstrating a powerful lesson in exercising political power effectively — but we aren’t yet in the clear. The state’s actions create a rift between what improvements residents require and what lawmakers are willing to support.

Our state leaders, partially responsible for allowing the T’s 2024 crisis to ensue, must now ensure the T continues to remain sustainable, safe, and solvent.

Until recently, the state government seemed disinterested in the MBTA’s future. Decades ago, it jeopardized its budget with debt from the Big Dig, one of the most expensive highway projects in U.S. history. Then, when voters passed a ballot measure in 2022 to expand public transportation funding, the legislature offset that funding by cutting taxes for the wealthiest residents.

Now it seems that lawmakers are finally noticing public frustration. In Cambridge, transit was a top issue in last year’s state representative primary between State Rep. Marjorie C. Decker and labor organizer Evan C. MacKay ’19. Decker’s support for the wealthy tax cuts and perceived disinterest in public transit issues in her district almost led to a historic loss, demonstrating that voter concerns matter.

This month, Governor Healey took steps toward stabilizing the MBTA’s financial state through an $8 billion funding proposal — an essential component of ensuring transportation successes continue in Massachusetts.

The importance of our system is indisputable. We need an affordable MBTA to bolster economic growth. We need a sustainable MBTA to encourage climate-friendly commuting. We need an equitable MBTA to connect all of our communities. We must hold leaders to a higher standard. They should emulate the commitments we’ve seen from Eng, riders, workers, and advocates.

At Harvard, we can also strengthen our commitment to a robust MBTA. Boston is a great place to attend college, but only if the T is efficient, convenient, and affordable.

Great transportation creates great cities. By pursuing an affordable, sustainable, equitable, and stable MBTA, we are pursuing a future where everyone can truly enjoy what Boston has to offer.

Clyve Lawrence ’25-27, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a Government concentrator in Adams House and a member of the Cambridge Transit Advisory Committee.