Alcohol charges will be brought against eight Boston College students whose vehicle collided with a Green Line trolley on Sunday. The trolley, headed outbound on the B line, struck the Jeep at about 30 mph after it cut in front of the moving train at around midnight.
Police said the students were in possession of open cans of beer and a bottle of vodka during the collision. All students, three of whom were on BC’s national champion men’s hockey team and one who played women’s lacrosse, were identified as minors.
While no one on the trolley was seriously injured, several of the students involved were injured with head, neck and back injuries.
In a statement released yesterday, BC maintained that the driver of the vehicle was sober.
“We are thankful that the injured students are recovering and the driver of the vehicle that was struck by the MBTA trolley had not been drinking before the incident,” the statement said.
The collision came in the wake of other safety issues faced recently by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Last weekend, police arrested a Quincy man accused of groping two women in Dorchester.
Passenger safety has proven to be a continuing problem for the MBTA. In 2008, the launched an “anti-groping campaign” in which ads posted in stations urged victims of any sexual assault on a train or bus to report the incident.
Emily Bushold, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, says she already feels generally safe.
“I’m always wary of pickpocketing, but other than that, I think the MBTA does a good job of making people feel secure,” she said. “I’ve personally never heard of anyone being assaulted on public transportation.”
CAS freshman Hannah Alleman agreed.
“There are always going to be crazy and maybe even threatening people on the T,” Alleman said. “It’s just a matter of dealing with the situation. Knowing there is a hotline definitely makes me feel more safe.”
The MBTA has recently faced numerous financial issues as well. In order to combat an expected loss of $5.1 million in revenue this year, the MBTA’s operating budget will reflect at 0.3 percent decrease over last year, bringing the overall operating budget down to $1.62 billion. In a budget briefing released last month, the MBTA attributed financial losses to lower ridership, less advertising and parking income and lower interest rate income on investments.
The MBTA has also made managerial shifts in the past month. Richard Davey was appointed Rail and Transit Administrator for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and General Manager of the MBTA after Daniel Grabauskas, the post’s previous holder, resigned last August in connection with allegations of discrimination in the workplace.
Davey said in a statement that he plans to combat safety and financial issues in the coming months.
“I firmly believe we must guard against complacency and carelessness and address safety issues as soon as they arise,” Davey said in the statement. “To that end, I am announcing that we will establish a MBTA safety hotline. If you see an unsafe practice or condition, we will ask that you alert a supervisor or call the safety hotline.”
In spite of their challenges, however, the MBTA has recently made plans to expand their wireless services to all Commuter rails. So far, 258 Commuter Rail coaches have been equipped with free WiFi, and the MBTA expects the remaining 151 coaches to be outfitted with the wireless network before the end of the summer.
CAS freshman Nina Hrebenko said she is glad the MBTA will be offering WiFi, arguing that the service is long overdue.
“I take the Commuter Rails home, and my mom uses them to commute to work,” Hrebenko said. “The WiFi service means getting more work done, and that’s definitely necessary for some people. . . . The only thing better would be having it on regular trains or somehow having phone service underground.”
In addition to this, the MBTA started the preliminary phase of its Green Line extension project earlier this year. The extension will to continue service from Lechmere Station through Cambridge, Somerville and Medford, more specifically to College Avenue in Medford and Union Square in Somerville, reaching into the heart of Tufts University’s campus.
As the MBTA prepares to address challenges and create new amenities in coming months, Davey conceded in a statement that the system’s fiscal obstacles were no secret. But he said his administration can and will combat those problems.
“This reality demands that we seek entirely new ways of doing business, with an eye toward containing costs while seeking to improve the bottom line,” Davey said. “I will be working with MassDOT on the alignment of back office functions . . . and we will continue to optimize federal funding sources for both our new rail programs and existing capital needs.”
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