BOSTON — For Boston subway riders, it seems every week brings a new tale of transit woe.
Runaway trains. Subway cars belching smoke and fire. Fatal accidents. Malfunctioning station escalators. Rush hour trains running on weekend schedules. Brand-new subway cars pulled from service. Derailed construction vehicles.
The repeated chaos of the nation’s oldest subway system has stretched the nerves of riders, prompted a probe by the Federal Transit Administration and worried political leaders.
“It’s enraging. Everything that we’re doing trying to build more affordable housing, or empower our schools, bring jobs to Boston - it all relies on people being able to get around,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a Democrat who promised to “Free the T,” said in a radio appearance on GBH News, referring to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.