MBTA trains with googly eyes? 👀 ‘If the trains can’t be reliable, at least they can be fun’
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 “Googly Eyes MBTA” pushes for some personality on the T.
“This is bigger than me wanting googly eyes on trains,” march organizer Arielle Lok told the Herald on Wednesday. “This is wanting a new vision for the T, giving the T vision.”
The T should run a trial for a few weeks, adding googly eyes to a small percentage of trains, according to the group.
“Look: the MBTA has a responsibility to improve the lives of Bostonians,” Googly Eyes MBTA wrote as it promotes the march for next week. “If the trains can’t be reliable, at least they can be fun and bring a smile to the faces of over a million people per day.
“Compared 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,” the group added. “Think of all of the new T riders who will come from around the globe to revel in the glory of Boston’s trains.”
Last year, the MBTA estimated that it will cost $24.5 billion to bring its dilapidated system into a “state of good repair.” That price tag has spiked by $14.5 billion since the agency’s last capital needs analysis was conducted in 2019.
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.
“People get so hyped to see them out in the wild,” Lok said of the Vancouver buses during the holiday season. “Boston does not have this kind of energy.”
As the group puts up posters for the march, Lok said the reaction for the idea has been “super, super positive.”
“Humans are an empathetic species—we want to relate to the world around us, to feel a connection to our surroundings and our public transit system,” Googly Eyes MBTA wrote.
“When 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,” the group added. “The T doesn’t want to be late. It feels bad being late.”
A spokesperson for the MBTA said the T will take the idea under advisement.
“We are open to fun ways to make people smile and creatively improve riders’ experience, like in-station musical performances and children voice-over announcements to our ‘Share the Love’ campaigns, service improvements, and the kindness our transit ambassadors show,” the MBTA spokesperson said. “All the while, our employees are working hard on infrastructure upgrades.”
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.
