Crowdfunding Campaign Raises Money and Awareness for Boston's MBTA

"A GoFundMe campaign, purportedly started by a Charlestown man, is trying to raise enough money to fix the MBTA," reported Nate Boroyan to break the news that has picked up steam in local and national media this week. Boroyan has been tracking the campaign for BostInno, finding the campaign had raised $5 on February 6 and $395 by the next day. As of February 15, the campaign had accrued $1,415.

Before going any further, it's worth noting that the campaign will surely not meet its fundraising goals and is not meant to be taken entirely seriously as a solution to Boston's transit struggles. So, for instance, the rewards usually attached to hitting various funding levels include the ability to "forcibly remove backpacks from passengers and throw them into the pit between platforms" at $200 and "Your very own state funded Legoland with an Orange Line station" $130 million. Contrast the obviously tongue in cheek nature of the campaign with a recent effort to launch a downtown urban revitalization effort in Bakersfield, California.

Here's how Sandy Smith described the campaign for Next City: "Since it appears the Commonwealth of Massachusetts won’t be able to come up with even a fraction of the system’s $3 billion maintenance backlog, let alone the $30 billion the MBTA needs to bring the aging system into the 21st century with rebuilt facilities and new equipment, McCormick has taken the initiative to try the crowdfunding option."

The GoFundMe page includes a list of desired capital improvements as well a promise to donate the money generated by the campaign to Alternatives for Community & Environment if (when?) it doesn’t meet its $300 million target.