Mayor Janey Demands MBTA Restore All Service Cuts, Launches City Transit Pilot

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Mayor Kim Janey and a 60-plus-member Transit is Essential Coalition pressed the MBTA Tuesday to restore all pandemic-era bus and subway service cuts immediately and with a transparent, equity-focused timeline. Janey, appearing alongside advocates from labor, environmental justice, and the restaurant industry, called on MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak by name to join in the push for restoration, citing $435 million in newly secured federal operating support as sufficient to act. The mayor simultaneously announced a city-funded transit pilot running March 29 through April 19, providing 1,000 workers in seven Boston Main Street districts — including Nubian Square, East Boston, and Fields Corner — with free Charlie Cards pre-loaded with $60 each and free two-month BlueBike passes. Lee Matsueda of Community Labor United credited coalition organizing with reducing a threatened loss of 800 MBTA jobs to zero. Dwayne Tyndale of ACE warned the MBTA that his organization would pursue "regulatory and legal strategies" if service is not restored equitably to Black and brown communities.