As the clock strikes 8:15 a.m., thousands of students at the high school take their seats and begin the school day. However, the routes they take to get there vary significantly. With transportation being the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts, shifting to low-carbon modes of transportation constitutes a priority for the climate action goals of both the town and the state. At the high school, however, obstacles remain in the way of a car-free morning rush hour.
For students whose method of commuting involves a car, many said they would like to use a more eco-friendly method of transportation but have obstacles in the way. One commonly cited obstacle was distance, with multiple students stating they would bike or use public transportation if they could, but that living in South Brookline or Boston makes that difficult.
Junior Madelyn Bracken said she is not able to rely on public transportation for her commute.
“I would rather there be an easier way for me to get to school by public transport. The 51 bus often doesn’t cut it for me due to its long ride and lack of reliability,” Bracken said. “I wish I lived [near to] or had better access to something like the Green Line with more reliable times and shorter rides.”
Freshman Kallista Oliva usually walks to school, but sometimes also takes the train. Oliva said that she has also experienced problems with the reliability of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).
“It’s really convenient how the stop [Brookline Hills] is on campus, but the MBTA website arrival times are sometimes off by a few minutes. Recently, the next trains have been taking 10-20 minutes to arrive,” Oliva said.
The D Line, in particular, struggles to maintain punctuality. According to data from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation compiled by the advocacy group TransitMatters, trains on the D Line arrived on time 78 percent of the time over the past year. This compares to 85 percent for the Red Line, 87 percent for the Orange Line and over 99 percent on foreign systems such as Hong Kong’s MTR and Copenhagen’s Metro.
Some of the most common suggestions from students on what the MBTA could do to make the transportation experience better were on the topic of the fare. Some suggested clarifying the pricing for student CharlieCards, while others, such as freshman Jonah Bentson, would go a step further.
“Make the MBTA free by increasing taxes. That would make everything better. Or if not the train lines, take a leaf from [New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani’s] book and make the buses free,” Bentson said.
Junior Trevor Bozzuto said he believes there are issues more important than cost for the MBTA to tackle.
“I personally think that free transit shouldn’t be a priority for Boston, and I think that paying a fare makes sense especially for rail transit like the Green Line,” Bozzuto said. “I think that if the MBTA were to allocate resources to improving student commutes in Brookline and across Boston, those should be spent improving service and not removing fares.”
In a statement to The Cypress, the MBTA said it is working continuously to build a better system that will serve the needs of young people.
“We are building a more reliable MBTA. The Track Improvement Program, which removed all slow zones from the subway system, is a great example of how the T is making changes to get riders to their destinations on time – and more quickly,” the MBTA wrote. “We are also advancing real-time communication technology to make sure that riders know when things change and can make decisions about their travel plans based on the most up-to-date information.”
