MBTA trains with googly eyes? đ âIf the trains canât be reliable, at least they can be funâ
If your late T train was stressing you out, would some fun googly eyes brighten your mood?
A local group believes so, as they call on the MBTA to attach googly eyes to the front of trains.
More than 100 people are expected to march next week from Park Street station to the MBTA offices, as âGoogly Eyes MBTAâ pushes for some personality on the T.
âThis is bigger than me wanting googly eyes on trains,â march organizer Arielle Lok told the Herald on Wednesday. âThis is wanting a new vision for the T, giving the T vision.â
The T should run a trial for a few weeks, adding googly eyes to a small percentage of trains, according to the group.
âLook: the MBTA has a responsibility to improve the lives of Bostonians,â Googly Eyes MBTA wrote as it promotes the march for next week. âIf the trains canât be reliable, at least they can be fun and bring a smile to the faces of over a million people per day.
âCompared to the $24 BILLION dollars it will take to fix the T, simply adding Googly eyes to trains could represent a budget of merely a few hundred dollars,â the group added. âThink of all of the new T riders who will come from around the globe to revel in the glory of Bostonâs trains.â
Last year, the MBTA estimated that it will cost $24.5 billion to bring its dilapidated system into a âstate of good repair.â That price tag has spiked by $14.5 billion since the agencyâs last capital needs analysis was conducted in 2019.
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Lok, the march organizer, is a Vancouver native where buses every holiday season transform into Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The buses in Canada add googly eyes, a red nose and antlers.
âPeople get so hyped to see them out in the wild,â Lok said of the Vancouver buses during the holiday season. âBoston does not have this kind of energy.â
As the group puts up posters for the march, Lok said the reaction for the idea has been âsuper, super positive.â
âHumans are an empathetic speciesâwe want to relate to the world around us, to feel a connection to our surroundings and our public transit system,â Googly Eyes MBTA wrote.
âWhen T trains are delayed, people can at least look into the eyes of the train when it finally arrives, and feel some love and understanding in their hearts,â the group added. âThe T doesnât want to be late. It feels bad being late.â
A spokesperson for the MBTA said the T will take the idea under advisement.
âWe are open to fun ways to make people smile and creatively improve ridersâ experience, like in-station musical performances and children voice-over announcements to our âShare the Loveâ campaigns, service improvements, and the kindness our transit ambassadors show,â the MBTA spokesperson said. âAll the while, our employees are working hard on infrastructure upgrades.â
The march is planned on Monday from noon to 1 p.m. The group will be congregating at Park Street MBTA station, marching to Boylston station, and ending in front of the MBTA offices.
A group says the T should run a trial for a few weeks, adding googly eyes to a small percentage of trains. (Googly Eyes MBTA image)
More than 100 people are expected to march next week to the MBTA offices, as they call for googly eyes on trains. (Googly Eyes MBTA image)