Packages larger than a loaf of bread prohibited
Riders on the Orange Line and T buses that travel on Interstate 93 and pass by the FleetCenter, for example, will be banned from carrying anything larger than a pocketbook or briefcase, and all permitted bags will be searched on those trains and buses. On all other lines, pocketbooks, briefcases, backpacks, and packages will be subject to random search. Those who refuse to be searched will not be allowed on. Large bags, suitcases, and gift totes will be inspected in every case.
Generally, the T's approximately 1 million weekday riders will be discouraged from taking bags, especially large bags, onto the system the last week of July, including those going to and from the airport with luggage, said Michael Mulhern, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
....
Using mass transit will be key, Mulhern said, because of planned road closures, including the shutdown of I-93 and roads that feed into it from 4 p.m. to midnight.
Mulhern acknowledged he was urging people to use mass transit during the convention while at the same time subjecting them to security-related delays and inconveniences never before seen on the system.
"It's a conflicting imperative, but we try to balance all that," he said. "One extreme would be no security; the other extreme would be so much security it impacts our ability to achieve our core mission. We're hoping people will understand and tolerate any inconvenience, especially given what happened in Madrid."
Boston Globe letter to the editor in response:
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This is not about inconvenience, Mulhern. We the people refuse to give up all our nation stands for. Please join the rally against this disgraceful treatment:
RALLY AGAINST THE "T" SEARCH
POLICY THAT SHREDS
THE 4TH AMENDMENT
THURSDAY JULY 1 FROM 8 AM - 9 PM
PARK STREET STATION, BOSTON
organized by the SAFE AND FREE "T" ALLIANCE
For more information, call (617) 482-3170 ×314
MBTA SEARCHES:
WILL THEY MAKE YOU SAFER
OR SIMPLY LESS FREE?
The MBTA has announced that it will begin searching
bags of some passengers at some T stations starting
in early July. It intends this policy to be permanent.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?
The possibility of long waits on your way to and from work.
Your bags may be screened on a "random" basis by electronic screening devices and/or dogs.
You may be refused entry to the "T" if you refuse to be searched.
Anything the police find in the course of a search may be used against you in a criminal prosecution.
WILL THIS GIVE US REAL SECURITY?
What terrorist will wait on line to be searched?
Is this a good use of law enforcement time and resources?
ARE YOU WILLING TO TRADE YOUR LIBERTY
FOR A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY?