Study: MBTA Faces Likely Overcrowding In Next 10 Years
BOSTON (CBS) - For the people who depend on the MBTA, you know that infuriating moment when you're waiting at a stop and the train just rolls on by because it's so full.
If nothing's done soon, this could happen all the time by the end of the decade.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey reports.
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There are more riders today (more than 1.3 million per day) than at any point since 1949.
According to a new study from the Urban Land Institute, the T could be 20 percent more crowded by the year 2020 because of business and residential development.
Stephanie Pollack, the author of the study, says the increase will be tough on a system that is already overburdened and overcrowded.
"As far as anyone knows, they are actually the oldest continuously operating component in any transit system in North America that is still in daily use," said Stephanie Pollack.
Pollack says the system needs to be improved and expanded. MBTA GM Jonathan Davis agrees.
"That longer-term discussion needs to take place," said Davis.
The State House of Representatives has passed a plan to bail out the T with $50 million. The bill now heads to the Senate.
"We are not talking about bailing out the MBTA. This is not a bailout. This is an investment," said Pollack.
Without that money, the T has threatened deeper service cuts as soon as the fall.
