(Mario Jarjour/WBZ NewsRadio)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Boston Mayor Marty Walsh joined frustrated MBTA riders calling to delay fare increases in the wake of a Red Line derailment that caused transit woes over the past week.
"There should be no fare increase until the Red Line is fixed," Walsh tweeted Monday. "The @MBTA must act with urgency and it's unfair to ask riders to pay more until the Red Line is fully operational."
Walsh also called for the T to install a community representative on their oversight board.
Due to the damage to signal systems by last week's derailed train, delays remained through Monday morning's commute—and the extra Commuter Rail trains sent to help were themselves felled by mechanical issues.
The T has fare increases scheduled to go forward across the entire system July 1, with prices going up an average of six percent.
Last week, East Boston MBTA rider Kyle Andrews filed a change.org petition calling for a freeze in fare hikes, as well as a federal investigation of the transit agency.
Since then, more than 5,000 people have signed it. You can view the petition here.
MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak has vowed the agency will hire a third party to address all the derailments that have occurred over the past two years, but nobody from the agency has mentioned holding off on the fare increase scheduled for just two weeks from Monday.
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