Dear MBTA,
A couple of months ago, I was riding the 5:10 Framingham-bound commuter-rail train to Boston Landing. I was engrossed in some fascinating reading, but a small part of my brain was listening for stop announcements, or so I thought. Imagine my surprise when I looked up and found myself in Newtonville!
Before exiting the train, I commented to one of the conductors that I was surprised to have missed my stop and asked if there had been stop announcements. “Oh, there were definitely stop announcements,” she replied. “We always announce every stop.”
OK, then, I said to myself, taking her reply at face value. Apparently I had just been careless and allowed myself to become so distracted by my reading that I had missed the announcements.
Fast forward to today, February 27, when I once again took the 5:10 Framingham-bound train. This time I wasn’t distracted by anything, so I paid attention as we approached Boston Landing. Guess what? There were no stop announcements whatsoever — not from the conductors, and not from the PA system — for either Yawkey or Boston Landing.
Not making stop announcements is not only rude, it’s also an A.D.A. violation.
Conductors gaslighting passengers and telling them there are “always stop announcements” when that’s not true is also rude.
Kindly take this under advisement.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Kamens
