Opinion: MBTA not in favor of commuter students

Commuter Students Disapprove of Ending Late Night Services; MBTA cancels new schedule

MBTA’s purple line train, also known as the Commuter Rail by Flickr user matthrono

Commuter students all across Boston have to rely on the MBTA in order to get to class at a decent time. Last year, the Boston Globe reported that the MBTA announced a new winter and fall schedule. The new schedule included some new routes to certain lines, including the busy Lowell line. This came as great new addition for commuter students, who no longer have to base their entire class and campus work schedule around one specific time. It was also helpful for the commuter students because they took into account train delays with severe weather.

The new schedule seemed lile a great idea. So the MBTA did with what most businesses do with great ideas.

They went and cancelled it after just a few basic complaints, as reported by Boston.com.

This is also on top of the suggested idea to cancel all late night subway services around Boston too, which is the best way for commuter students to get around if they are going out and about in the city.

There was a hearing in Boston on Jan. 19, where students were speaking up for their needs around the city that late at night, according to the Boston Herald. Some go out with their friends, some of them work really late at their jobs and in some cases, there may be students out there working on a group, or solo, project really late. Having a late night service is great for students who stay up late, and it won’t cost them a lot.

MBTA’s green line service that runs throughout Boston, Allston, Brighton, and Brookline; all of which house college students across the Mass Bay area. By Flickr user Trenten Kelley

MBTA wants to end the service because the cost of running it late at night does not justify having a few students on the subway.

Fast Forward to January of 2016…

Along with the proposed cuts and ending of good ideas, the Boston Business Journal has reported that the MBTA holds a dubious distinction of being the only commuter system with the most breakdowns in America.

With that news, commuter students who read that probably threw their hands up in the air and shouted “Finally, someone said it!”

A Good Commuter Service = Helpful to Commuter Student

With so many different colleges across the city of Boston, it is no wonder that the majority of MBTA riders are commuter students. Schools like Suffolk University have more than half of their students using forms of transportation to get around. They rely on services, such as the MBTA, to get to class. Most of the time, the students are paying a decent amount of cash a week in order to do this.

The somewhat lack of care from the MBTA is causing a lot of annoyance from commuter students. They have to base their entire schedule around what the MBTA can provide for them. Also, depending on how many times they use it per week, they are paying with a fair amount of their paycheck. A portion that can be saved towards something else.

Yet despite being consistent enough customers for this transportation service, the MBTA getting rid of a late night service and not even attempting to start a schedule because of a few complaints here and there, is just not fair. To those commuter students who have been riding the commuter rails and subways systems for years now, looking to get something to help them out a bit, it is a little insulting.

That does not mean that every company should give longtime customers a reward for sticking with the company. The MBTA is no different, and no one should whine and expect them to treat them as a special little snowflake. However, if the MBTA is not looking at the overall convenience of the new schedule and the late night services, than they should keep the longtime riders in mind. In fact, the new schedule would have probably gained a few new riders, after seeing that the times now reflect their own personal schedules a lot better.

Commuter students often go underappreciated on their respective college campuses. They are treated as if commuting is a lot easier than it sounds. It would be a lot easier if the transportation company’s would cooperate with what they need.