Early Tuesday morning, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority warned once again that fare officers were to be deployed, like, really soon.
Citing $2.8 billion in lost fares from the Northeastern stop alone, the MBTA again outlined their plans to place multiple “fare officers” on each green line train in order to ensure that all passengers pay their fare. This plan, first revealed right after the opening of Park Street Station in 1897, is a key target for Phillip Eng, who became the highly praised head of the MBTA after as successful a career as one can get in New Jersey.
In an exclusive interview, Eng said that getting fare officers on the green line was “on or near the top of my to-do list.” Looking up excitedly from maps of the orange and blue lines, he continued, “I just want to shut down the orange line from North Station to Forest Hills one more weekend… then I promise I’ll get right on whatever it was.”
Eng also dispelled rumors that officers had already been deployed to the green line, reassuring The Trusty Husky that a blurry photo of a well-dressed man aboard a green line train that made rounds in May was “probably a Jehovah’s Witness or something.”
Tessa Walter contributed reporting for this story.