Several MBTA drivers were greeted this morning by MBTA personnel and Newton residents offering thanks to their commitment to load and unload riders with disabilities efficiently. The Appreciation Day was organized by Robert Solomon, a member of the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council.
Robert, working with director of Light Rail Operations Bill McClellan, initiated new training programs over the past 6 months to allow riders in wheel chairs to board in under 5 min, down from over 20 min and speeding the ride for everyone.
As part of the Appreciation Day T drivers will enjoy discounts on several Newton Highlands businesses through the weekend.
There will also be a session held from 3:00 to 5:00 today and there is a need to have a few people help out greeting the drivers.
Please, please come to the Newton Highlands T Station between 3 and 5 to help with the afternoon shift. It will be as big a reward for you as it is for the T drivers we are recognizing.
Congratulations to Robert Solomon and a lot of folks at the T who made this a possible. I was there handing out gift certificates to the drivers and it was well worth it just to see them break into a surprised smile when they realized we were there to thank them for all they do, particularly for handicapped riders. They have made great strides in that area and it’s pretty clear that today’s T drivers and the T Union are a far more professional, customer friendly and just plain nice group of people than the old guard
Kudos to Newton Highlands resident, Robert Solomon, who single-handedly organized this joint event with the MBTA!
Seeing the puzzled, then delighted, looks on the T drivers’ faces was incredibly satisfying and well worth a few raindrops on my head! While they weren’t quite sure why they were being asked to leave their MBTA cars, the drivers on the Riverside Line followed their supervisors’ suggestions and de-trained for a few surprising and happy moments to be greeted by their new friends from Newton Highlands (with a few friends from Waban also helping) and told that they were immensely appreciated by their riding community for all that they do to help passengers, especially those who require handicap access to their cars.
The Highlands community has seen marked improvement in the MBTA drivers’ ability to use equipment to aid wheelchair bound passengers, and since handicapped passengers access time has been reduced to just a few minutes, this is a win for non-handicapped passengers as well!
Newton Highlands has a considerable number of wheelchair using residents living nearby, especially in handicapped accessible housing on Lincoln Street, who travel on the MBTA and require such help. It should be noted that the Newton Highlands Station is not yet ADA compliant, since the ramp leading to the tracks is much too steep to meet ADA requirements. If that ramp were to be reconfigured to allow safe wheelchair access, then the MBTA would be required to also provide a permanent raised access to the trains for people in wheelchairs.
Some MBTA Stations have already been retrofitted to meet handicapped passengers’ needs. Since there are so many wheelchair using residents who live near this particular MBTA stop, Newton would be well-served to advocate strongly for the same improvement at the Newton Highlands stop.