I’m a big fan of public transport. It’s a great way to move hundreds of people from A to B in one go, it helps workers get to their jobs every day, and it’s essential for cutting congestion in city centers. Because of this, I’m all for improving public transport in any way possible, even through simple changes to make users smile more.
That’s why I’m getting onboard this excellent new campaign out of Boston, which is calling on city center managers to add googly eyes to the front of trains. You might think this means adding more train services, cleaning up stations, or making them more accessible. No, what this campaign wants is googly eyes stuck to the front of trains.
It’s a simple campaign, but one I think would really brighten Boston up and make it a true global player when it comes to mass transit. The campaign, which was brought to our attention by Curbed, was launched by Massachessets residents Arielle Lok and John Sanchez, who argue that Boston’s transit operator, the MBTA, has a “responsibility to improve the lives of Bostonians.”
“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,” the pair writes on Medium. “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. Think of all of the new T riders who will come from around the globe to revel in the glory of Boston’s trains.”
The pair is calling for the MBTA to test out its proposal for a few weeks to see how it’s received. They argue this is a similar tactic to what’s done in Canada every year, when trains in Vancouver are dressed up like Rudolph for Christmas. If this idea was adopted, they say people’s days will “immediately become 10 times better.”
It’s a fair argument, and I’d agree that if city officials can’t improve the reliability of public transport in America then they should at least make it more fun to share a delayed, overcrowded train with a bunch of grumpy commuters. Of course, if they want to heavily invest in infrastructure instead, then I’m all for that as well.
If you agree with Lok and Sanchez, then you should head down to the march that they are organizing in Boston next week. It kicks off on April 29 and will see fans of trains and googly eyes march on the MBTA offices. I’d say I’ll be there too, but I might be tied up with the London Underground, but we’ll have to wait and see.
