Accessibility

The MBTA and its employees have a responsibility to provide accessible transportation to everyone. Below are the standards the MBTA holds its employees to for system-wide accessibility, and the standards we as riders should hold them to as well. If you notice any exceptions, please report to the MBTA (more at the bottom of this page)

Requests for assistance

    All reasonable requests for assistance made by passengers to employees must be honored. These requests can be made by ANY PASSENGER who needs assistance, even if they do not have a visible disability. 

    If the employee is unable to assist you or considers your request to be unreasonable /unsafe, they are required to contact OCC/Dispatch for further info.
    These requests must never be denied because the passenger does not have an apparent disability.

Examples of reasonable requests include (but are not limited to)

• Use of bridge plates, gap mitigation devices, mini-high platforms, or mobile lifts.
• Use of the rear (accessible) doors at accessible Green Line stations.
• Waiting for a passenger to be seated before the vehicle moves
• Announcing arrival at a passenger’s destination
• Assistance with fares
• Assistance navigating stations

    Priority seating (under MA Law) must be given up for elderly and those with disabilities. A passenger may ask an employee for help finding a seat, however if someone is already in the priority seat, the employee is not allowed to force them to move. In this case, the employee should find another available seat or provide the passenger with the approximate time of the next vehicle.

Employee Interaction

    Employees are prohibited from making any rude or offensive disability-based comments or gestures to or about passengers with disabilities.
    Employees must never ask or demand that a customer disclose their disability or provide information on the nature of their disability, either generally or as a condition for providing the passenger with assistance, access to the system, or use of any accessibility equipment.

Assisting passengers

    Employees must always identify them as MBTA employees when approaching a passenger (obvious uniforms do generally count)
    Employees must interact with the passenger with the disability, not anyone they may be traveling with.
    Employees must ask the passenger if they would like assistance. Employees must never assume a passenger requires assistance because they have a disability.
    If a passenger requires assistance, the Employee should assist the passenger how they would like to be helped. 

    Under no circumstances should a passenger who uses a mobility device or a passenger with an apparent disability be denied service at a location where other waiting passengers are able to board.

    If an employee is unable to board a passenger who uses a mobility device or a passenger with an apparent disability, the employee must contact the OCC Dispatcher to receive guidance on how to proceed. The employee must also inform the passenger why they can not be accommodated and an approximate arrival time for the next vehicle.

    Employee must assist customers with priority seating upon request. if the seating is occupied, the employee must ask if the seated passenger is willing to move. The employee is not allowed to force any passenger to give up their seat(they might have a non-apparent disability)

Filing a complaint

When submitting a complaint, include as much relevant info as possible. This include but is not limited to:
-Station(include where in the station, or which two stations and which direction if on a vehicle)
-vehicle (car number is posted on the inside and outside of the car)
-Employee involved (They are required to give you their ID if you ask(GEN5-H). Buses will auto announce this
-Time and date
-A brief description of the situation.

These complaints can be reported online (mbta.com) or by calling 617-222-3200
If you notice an elevator or escalator in need of repair, note its unit number (above the doors or along the hand rails) and call 617-222-2828