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MBTA holds conference call to address impact of weather on transportation

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority held a conference call Tuesday afternoon with members of the media to speak about various measures for snow removal and the impact the weather has had on the transportation service.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority held a conference call Tuesday afternoon with members of the media to speak about the weather's impact on transportation. PHOTO BY BETSEY GOLDWASSER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority held a conference call Tuesday afternoon with members of the media to speak about the weather’s impact on transportation. PHOTO BY BETSEY GOLDWASSER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Beverly Scott, outgoing CEO and general manager of the MBTA, hosted the conference call to explain operations for Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

“The reason I’m just walking in the room is because we’ve all been working nonstop,” Scott said.

While T service is operating, Scott said the schedule is extremely limited with numerous closures and rerouted lines. The only fully functioning lines are the Blue and Silver Lines, Scott said, and the Green and Red Lines are relying heavily upon operational bus lines to extend their typical services.

Scott also said the commuter rail system is on an extremely reduced schedule with subpar performance.

“It’s like a war, and we’re taking this back station by station, line by line, switch by switch and we could not do this by ourselves,” Scott said. “There’s no way we could possibly do this without the full support of MassDOT, but as importantly, we have the full support of this administration, and we have literally been hunkered down on all levels bringing resources to the table.”

On average, 1.4 million trips are taken on the T each day, which weighs heavily on decisions to shut down operations, she said.

“When people ask questions like, ‘Well why don’t you just shut it down,’ it’s because it’s absolutely the dependence of this region and this Commonwealth on having this service and this system up and operating,” Scott said. “The notion of having some T service is quite candidly better than having no T service.”

Scott said the MBTA has resorted to shoveling the tracks by hand, as well as utilizing other existing resources.

“This is beyond a Snowzilla,” she said. “We’re doing them by hand because there’s just a tremendous accumulation out there.”

Scott was also asked about her resignation, which she announced on Feb. 11.

“It was a personal decision. There will be a time you all can ask any questions about that, but that is not what we are focused on,” she said. “What I’m focused on is my absolute commitment to this team. My focus is on how we can get this restoration as quickly as possible and give it everything we possibly can.”

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