“I think there is a lot to learn from this moment,” Thompson said via e-mail. “It illustrates the real, and in this case, incredibly tragic consequences of chronically under investing in the T.”

"We believe that a pilot to kick this off could be less than $10 million, and we're looking at less than $100 million annually to pay for a system wide fare that would also include the commuter rail," Stacy Thompson, the executive director of LivableStreets Alliance said.

“We need a systemwide approach, and we need to do it this session,” said LivableStreets Alliance Executive Director Stacy Thompson.

It’s a move that is also being supported by transportation advocacy groups like LivableStreets Alliance. Executive Director Stacy Thompson argued these improvements will help avoid some hiccups down the ‘track’

“It’s unacceptable,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of LivableStreets Alliance, a public transportation advocacy group. “What’s the point of the board? Someone died, there should be an immediate response. I would have liked to see the board ask for what the public can reasonably expect. It goes beyond a dereliction of duty. Someone died in a horrible way.”

"Even if this is a one-off incident, it is alarming that we don't have more information at this point," said Stacy Thompson, executive director of the transportation advocacy group LivableStreets Alliance. "Many things had to go wrong for something this tragic to occur, and so I want to understand every step that went wrong, and I want to understand what the T is doing to make sure this never happens again."

Vehicle design standards focus on the safety of people inside the car, not outside, she said. “We have built cars that make it impossible to see humans,” Thompson said. “I think a punitive response wouldn’t fix this.”

Kristiana Lachiusa is with the advocacy group LivableStreets. “So we spoke with a couple hundred riders back in December and overwhelmingly everyone we spoke to was like this is the greatest thing the MBTA has done,” Lachiusa said.

Route 28’s ridership increased by 22% following the pilot, according to Stacy Thompson, executive director of the nonprofit LivableStreets Alliance. Additionally, 5% of people riding Route 28 said they would have driven a personally owned vehicle if not for the elimination of the fare. Although 5% may seem like a small margin, it has a significant impact on congestion, Thompson said.

"Sometimes the choice between paying for a monthly pass means that you can’t buy groceries for your children," Thompson said in a recent Zoom interview.