MBTA’s entire Orange Line subway cell-phone ready

As part of the Patrick-Murray Administration's transportation reform agenda to strengthen customer service, newly appointed MBTA General Manager Richard Davey said a customer convenience for Orange Line riders providing for the first time wireless telephone services along the entire Orange Line underground corridor.  Orange Line customers in Boston can use their wireless devices from end to end of the Orange Line, including 19 stations.

MBTA General Manager Davey
said, "Governor Patrick has been clear – our mandate is to focus on T riders
and work every day to improve safety and customer service. Providing customers
with the option to access their cell phones or PDA devices while traveling on
the system is a worthwhile convenience for personal and business use. We will
continue this wireless expansion throughout the system."

A call can now be held
continuously in all the underground sections of the Orange Line from
Massachusetts Avenue through Back Bay, New England Medical, Chinatown, Downtown
Crossing, State Street, Haymarket, North Station, and under the Charles River
to Community College. T-Mobile and AT&T will provide service at these
locations.

At the press conference
held at the Orange Line’s Ruggles Station, General Manager Rich Davey and
Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan also announced a cell phone anti-theft
awareness campaign to combat the recent rise in smart phone theft. In all of
2009 there were 134 Smart Phone thefts. 
From January 2010 to present, there have been 46 cell phone thefts
compared to 27 thefts during the same time period last year.

"While we appreciate that
wireless access is a convenience for all of our customers, we encourage riders
to be aware of their surroundings while traveling on the system and not use
their phones near vehicle doors during station stops or when exiting the
station," said MBTA Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan.

In December 2007, the MBTA
became one of the first subway systems in the country to provide underground
wireless telephone service with wireless telephone service at four key downtown
locations and in the connecting tunnels: 
Downtown Crossing, Park Street, Government Center and State Street. In
May, a similar extension of service will encompass the Red Line tunnels and
underground stations.  Calls will
be able to be carried continuously from Charles / MGH through Park Street,
Downtown Crossing, South Station, Broadway, and Andrews to JFK/UMass.  The underground sections of the Blue
and Green Lines are currently in design.