Conductor: MBTA Trains An 'Embarrassment' On Peak Days

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — UPDATED 4:15 p.m.: With the rush of people headed to Boston for the Patriots' Super Bowl Victory parade, commuter rail trains were left covered in litter and understaffed on Tuesday.

"It's honestly embarrassing for the company," said a conductor who asked to remain nameless. "This isn't the image we want to project for riders."

A train stopped in Providence had empty alcohol bottles, spilled coffee cups, and other assorted trash strewn across seats, floors and vestibules.

The large number of passengers, many of whom were intoxicated, forced the train employees to shut down the on-board restroom.

"It was full to capacity, so we had no choice but to close it," the conductor said. "You've got a large crowd of folks who've been drinking, and that's a bad situation."

Puddles were visible on the floor of several cars where passengers had appeared to have either spilled beverages or relieved themselves. Several liquor bottles appeared to be filled with urine were left abandoned on train seats.

With Boston sports victory parades becoming the norm, the conductor said the MBTA needs to plan ahead to improve service on peak days.

"It's not our first rodeo here, and I don't understand why things haven't gotten better," he said. "There needs to be an increase in cleaning crews throughout the day to keep the mess to a minimum."

Rather than having cleaning crews come through just once per day, the conductor stressed the need for maintenance throughout the day on peak days, with crews coming on-board and cleaning the trains while they are in motion or quickly picking up trash when the train is stopped for a longer period of time.

He believes the main obstacle is funding.

"I get it, adding these extra crews will cost money, and people will probably have to be paid overtime. The company doesn't want to spend a ton of extra money," he said. "It's a tough position for us conductors, we see the company's perspective, but also that of the rider. This isn't the image we want to give to our passengers."

With no cleaning crews scheduled to come through the trains, the mess is expected to remain throughout the afternoon and evening.

"The same folks will be riding home later today, and they'll likely have had more to drink by then," the conductor said. "It's only going to get worse."

According to Justin Thompson, a spokesperson for Keolis, the company that operates the commuter rail, extra cleaning crews have been deployed to keep trains clean on Tuesday.

"We have teams who clean coaches between service every day," Thompson said. "On days like today when commuter rail sees historic ridership levels, we have additional cleaners scheduled."

In addition to cleanliness, passenger safety is also a concern on peak travel days. Without extra employees on hand, making sure passengers can safely board and exit the train becomes a concern and can lead to delays as crew members take extra safety precautions.

"A lot of these folks are very intoxicated and aren't paying attention to safety regulations," the conductor said. "Without someone stationed at every car, you might have passengers hanging out in the vestibule, exiting or boarding the train unsafely or becoming aggressive."

Thompson said that extra conductors and employees are in place to meet Tuesday's demand.

"Keolis currently has more conductors and assistant conductors working on the commuter rail than ever before and staffs our busiest trains beyond the required crew numbers," Thompson said. "Today we are using as many conductors and crews as is available to us to support extremely high ridership levels."

The average double-decker car commuter rail train seats around 200 people at capacity. The conductor estimated that Tuesday's crowd was approximately the same size as that of October's Red Sox World Series parade.

"It's not like it's a one-time thing," he said with a laugh. "We've got the Celtics and Bruins, so we could be doing this all again very soon."

Early numbers from the MBTA predict that Tuesday will have the highest ridership the commuter rail has ever experienced. Passengers returning home from the parade are encouraged to be patient, as long lines are expected at major stations during the afternoon and early evening hours.

Photo Credit: Rachel Nunes/Patch