Now, while waiting for a train (four Green Line trains and one commuter train to be exact), some lucky passengers will be met with some wide-eyed stares. It’s truly a sight to behold.
Pesaturo acknowledged that he had contacted the group to let them know that authorities had accepted their proposal to, in Locke’s words, “keep an eye on the T.”
“Our team found a safe way to install these ‘moving’ eyes on a limited number of vehicles as part of our ongoing effort to bring moments of joy to passengers’ daily commutes,” he said in a statement.
Locke, a Summerville resident who helped organize the campaign, was excited when she received his email, telling Pesaturo, “This is the best news we’ve ever received in the mail.”
“Thank you so much for making our vision a reality. “If implemented on the MBTA, we would bet that ridership would skyrocket from this moment on,” she wrote.
Roque said the idea behind the moving eyeball was simple.
“Our vision was to give people a T-vision,” Locke said in an interview with co-organizer John Sanchez, 22, of Cambridge.
When Roque received the news from Pesaturo, he immediately ran over to Sanchez to tell him they’d accomplished their mission, and the two shared a tight embrace.
“It’s exactly what we wanted, and it’s what we got,” she said. “We wanted to be recognized by the transit agency. We wanted to add a little whimsy. We wanted riders to look into the T’s eyes and feel something.”
“Part of this plan was, how can we bring more joy into the lives of the hundreds of thousands of Bostonians who use transit every day,” Sanchez said. “We’re pleased that the MBTA has lived up to our expectations.”
Together, they organized a protest in April that drew dozens of people, most of them strangers to Roque and Sanchez, who held signs with googly eyes and slogans like “AlEYEwife” and “AT Cares About Riders.” Several employees from T also showed up, “and shared a few laughs,” Roque said.
“I think one of them brought a giant moving eyeball to Philip Eng and put it on his desk,” she said, “so I think that was the ultimate cornerstone of this movement. We put the eyeball in his office.”
One observer noted that it appeared to be the debut of the googly-eyed train. a few weeks ago.
Pesaturo declined to say when the decals were first installed, but said they are one of several “creative ways” the MBTA is working to improve the passenger experience. Other efforts include narration by children, musical performances at stations, and more. “Share the Love” campaign.
“We hope that these efforts will continue to be a source of community connection in the future,” he said.
Boston being Boston, people don’t hesitate to make fun of the eye-popping trains and say, “They’re on time, they’re clean, [and] Nonflammable There were incidents of passengers jumping into the river during the morning rush hour.”
“MBTA: All we can do is roll our eyes.” one rider joked..
“While I think this is silly and fun, translation: PR people make the difference between a real constituency push (like slow zone awareness) and a trashy headline-generating moment.” Someone wrote.
Others praised the group, One person “I’m crazy about these guys who protested and won to get the MBTA to put Google eyes on their trains,” he posted.
“I can’t wait for flaming eyeballs on MBTA trains to become a niche meme.” another Added.
Locke and Sanchez, who call themselves “huge MBTA fans,” said they believe the moving eye-catchers bring joy to people’s lives. They’ve already equipped Green Line trains with Frog, Golf, Forg and Grof (“Sesame streetRoque said he chose Bilas for the commuter train because “he looks like Bilas”.
Sanchez, a frequent Red Line rider, said she feels most connected to the city and its residents when she’s on the train, while Locke said she’s “overjoyed” that four decorated trains are now running on her favorite Green Line.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing it come up and smile at me,” she said.
“Now it’s up to the public to convince the MBTA to open their eyes and get the word out,” Sanchez said.
Contact Shannon Larson at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her Shannon Larson.