MBTA has ten-year plan to ditch the historic trolleys on the Mattapan Line

The reasons to switch are because they fall apart constantly (because they're 80 years old) and new parts are extremely unavailable (because they're 80 years old). The MBTA has to either take parts for repairs from what stock they have left (not much), or fabricate the parts themselves, which is a pain in the ass and expensive in its own right.

Also, they're uncomfortable. Obviously that's not a financial concern here but it's a nice side effect to upgrading.

Switching to the same cars as are on the Green Line makes maintenance an order of magnitude easier and cheaper because you're adding a layer of consistency to the fleet. Keeping the PCC cars rolling means maintaining an entirely separate class of vehicles. Mothballing them means it's easier to train maintenance workers since they won't have to deal with them anymore.

So yeah, it would probably cost a bit less to keep the PCCs in a technical sense, but it makes everything easier and smoother-running to replace them.

(Also, money is fake, and the state should just pay for the MBTA like it used to, thanks)

Between hand crafted parts and ADA issues, the PCCs are just not cut out for regular commuter service.

I see this to be a good thing, I hope that putting LRV's down there will entice maybe other LRVs near by (hello Blue Hill Ave)

First, if you are going to make assumptions that this is because Haitians live in the area, how about noting that the Irish and Jewish residents who lived in Mattapan 40 years ago also got the second hand vehicles.

But anyway, if you have followed the saga of the Mattapan Line at all, you'd know that the bridges can't handle the heavier vehicles that have been used on the Green Line since the 1970s. It sounds like the plan is to retrofit the bridges for heavier loads and thereby newer vehicles. You could celebrate that, or you could hear the dog whistles you want to hear.

I understand your frustration in general but it's unfounded here.

1.) - The Mattapan Line has gotten second hand Green Line cars since 1929 when it opened - it's a glorified shuttle service.

2.) - The PCC's are still there because of Milton and their political clout. If it weren't for Milton, it would have been gone a long time ago.

3.) What event on the Mattapan Line happened 30 years ago that you're referring to? Outside of the reconstruction of Ashmont 10 years ago, the line has basically been the same since 1929 (or the late 1950s when the PCC's first appeared on it).

(in other words the line has been this way long before Haitians came to Boston)

How are the trolleys in Haiti?

Agreed. You can tell that the T leadership wants to scrap the PCCs, but hasn't because there has been so much community pushback. The presentation to the FMCB today was so flawed. It only looked at capital costs and not operational or maintenance costs. The only good thing is they finally realized that buses are actually not a good solution for the line. (They don't actually cost less and they don't really fit in the right of way, either.)

Why don't we just ask them for the necessary parts since they must have a more robust support network?

And the lack of parts for when the snow causes something to break.

Toronto has street cars, but they are also on the second generation (at least) beyond their PCCs. San Francisco doesn't get snow, though I've be curious enough to see if Philly runs the Girard Avenue line when they get snow. Other than that, we are talking newer vehicles designed for the elements.