Last week, candidate for Revere At-Large Councillor Dimple Rana and her supporters were at Beachmont T Station talking to commuters and taking selfies as part of a system-wide day of action organized by Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu to protest the T’s fare hike and demand investments to make the MBTA more reliable. Rana was the only candidate for office in Revere to participate in the action, joining more than 50 candidates and elected officials and hundreds of volunteers taking action at MBTA bus, commuter rail, and subway stations across Massachusetts. Rana was not the only candidate standing out at a Blue Line station, with East Boston’s City Councilor Lydia Edwards, and East Boston’s State Rep. Adrian Madaro both at Maverick Station on Monday morning.
When asked why she was participating, Rana responded: “Traffic is the biggest issue I hear about whether I’m at work or on the campaign trail, and in Revere we know that the T’s fare hike will force commuters off the T, into cars, and onto Revere’s highways and side streets. I’m participating in today’s protest because to tackle traffic, Revere needs to stand up for a more reliable, affordable T.†Rana greeted dozens of commuters, handing out flyers about what riders could do to take action, and posting pictures with several T riders on her campaign’s social media accounts, including one with Revere resident, current Suffolk County Register of Probate, and T Commuter Felix D. Arroyo.
Rana pointed to community and rider representation as the top reform she wanted to see from the MBTA, saying, “Revere paid more than $3.5 million to the MBTA in the FY 2019 budget on top of the fares paid by thousands of Revere residents every day, and yet Revere has no say in how the system is run, or what it prioritizes. As a City Councillor, I’m going to demand that Revere and our T riders have a seat at the table as decisions that have such a huge impact on our community are made.â€
