President Trump’s transportation secretary has ordered the MBTA to take immediate action to improve safety for riders and transit workers, or risk the loss of federal funding.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hit MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng with the federal order via a Thursday letter, saying that the T “must ensure a secure and clean environment, reduce crime, vagrancy and fare evasion, and maintain a safe operating system.”
“President Trump cares about our great cities and the hardworking Americans who inhabit them,” Duffy said in a Friday statement. “While local leaders seem intent on putting the needs of criminals first, we’re not waiting for the next Iryna. Chicago and Boston are on notice to take actions that enhance safety and reduce the crime affecting their riders and transit workers — or risk losing federal support.”
Duffy was referencing Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was stabbed to death on a train in Charlotte, N.C. on Aug. 22.
The Trump administration’s focus on the MBTA, or “Boston leadership,” appears to be responsive to two attacks on bus riders that took place in the past month, according to a U.S. Department of Transportation statement.
The USDOT statement references an elderly woman who was shoved off an MBTA bus at a stop in Roxbury on Sept. 8. The woman was injured after falling on a concrete sidewalk, MBTA Transit Police said.
The feds also mentioned an Aug. 16 incident involving a man who allegedly attacked at least one person with a belt on an MBTA bus in Cambridge. The man allegedly removed his belt and struck a rider in the face and neck, Transit Police said.
“This is about standing up for American families who deserve a safe and clean transportation system,” Duffy said.
Duffy’s letter to Eng directs the MBTA to focus particularly on “key transportation and intermodal hubs such as South Station.” Duffy’s deputy director of transportation Steven Bradbury suggested last month that the Trump administration was considering taking over the state-owned South Station to address security.
The federal government has taken control of Union Station in Washington, D.C., per an agreement reached this week with Amtrak and the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation Boards of Directors and announced by USDOT.
In his letter, Duffy advised Eng that the MBTA should target federal funds for “capital expenses related to crime prevention and security activities,” particularly at South Station, “the second-busiest transportation hub in New England.”
Duffy noted that the federal government has invested heavily in improving and maintaining South Station over the years, “and wants to ensure that this federal interest is protected for the benefit of public transportation passengers and workers.”
“People traveling on the MBTA system to reach their jobs, education, healthcare, and other critical services need to feel secure and travel in a safe environment free from crime and threatening encounters with drug addicts or the mentally ill, and workers who operate the system need to be assured of a safe operating environment to provide transportation services,” Duffy wrote to Eng.
Duffy has requested that the MBTA submit written reports within 14 days that identity actions taken to deter crime, stop fare evasion and provide a clean environment for riders; and summarize all sources of funds received for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 relating to safety and security, along with any funds from federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security.
Eng, the MBTA general manager, said the T is focused on safety and plans to provide the feds with the requested information.
“We value and appreciate our long-standing partnerships with the USDOT and (Federal Transit Administration), and we have a common goal to ensure that riders are safe and feel safe while using public transportation,” Eng said in a Friday statement.
Eng said he spoke this week with FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro in Boston “about our shared commitment in ensuring the security of every passenger, and we are in agreement about providing the safest commute possible for all riders and employees.”
“As the MBTA and its Transit Police Department continue to work together with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, I want to assure the public that safety is at the heart of everything we do at the T,” Eng said. “Investments in modernization, technology, accessibility, infrastructure and more are showing real, tangible results as ridership returns to the system.”
The MBTA became just the second U.S. subway system to undergo a federal safety management inspection in April 2022, following a series of safety failures that culminated with a passenger being dragged to death by a train. The first was Washington, D.C. Metro System.
The T, as result of that investigation by the FTA, was ordered to comply with a series of safety directives to beef up staffing, address inadequate operations and shore up aging infrastructure.
“We’re building back trust with the riding public because the T is a safe, dependable system riders can rely on,” Eng said. “We look forward to providing the requested information and we’ll continue to demonstrate the significant progress that we’ve made working with the FTA.”
Before putting Boston and Chicago on notice, Duffy sent similar letters to transit authorities in Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles.