Filed under: Photography
Corin and I took the Commuter Train/Red Line to meet my mother for dinner last night in Cambridge. I was excited to discover that the token and turnstile system in South Station had been upgraded with the new “Charlie” system where you buy a Charlie card which contains credits and you feed it into shmancy new “gates” (that will probably be broken in a month). So before going through, I snapped a couple photos.
After taking my third picture (right) I was told by an MBTA employee to stop taking pictures. I asked why and she told me it was “illegal”. I asked her politely why it was illegal and turned around to find another MBTA employee in my face saying, “You ever heard of 9/11?!”.
Apparently everyone is a suspected terrorist now. Doesn’t it make you feel safer?
After again asking for clarification, they started to get riled up and wanted to call the police. Not knowing whether they were right or not, we simply continued on our way.
After searching the web, I came across a few discussions on Flickr of similar experiences (1, 2). However, I still haven’t found anything on the MBTA web site. I also don’t understand the concept of a “company” that is “owned” by the government. I believe that is basically the position of the MBTA. It was burped out by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts but how independent it is? Does it still get funding from tax payers? Is it no longer public property? Can they just make up any rules they wish?
According to the above discussions, you can get a permit to take photos, however it takes two weeks, requires two forms of identification, and requitres two trips to the office, one to submit the request and one to pick it up. Assuming they decide you are not a terrorist, your permit is only valid for 30 days.
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What I found charming on the MBTA this weekend is how certai stations like South Station *only* take the Charlie pass, and other stations like Davis Square *only* take the tokens. I arrived in Boston in South Station, was browbeaten into getting a Charlie pass (which I paid for with tokens) and then couldn’t use it on my way back out from my sister’s place in Davis. MBTA is truly a bizarre animal.
Comment by jessamyn 03.27.06 @ 6:05 amPhotography is protected by the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It also happens to be protected by the 16th Article of the Massachusetts Constitution. Nobody in their right mind would entertain the idea of applying for a permit to associate with their friends. Not in America. At least not yet.
For the same reason, I did not apply for an application to take photographs on the MBTA. It’s a civil right. It’s already mine.
After being stopped and interrogated by MBTA police for photography in the subway last month, after weeks of hounding the MBTA to actually disclose, in writing, what their policy IS on photography on the subway without a permit, after a dozen (or so) unanswered emails and about as many unreturned phone calls, this morning I spoke to Mary Logalbo, an MBTA lawyer. She specializes in Constitutional law.
Apparently Mrs. Logalbo obtained permission from the MBTA Deputy Police Chief Paul MacMillan to fax me a DRAFT COPY of their photography policy. It expressly allows amateur photography on the MBTA but requires that you provide ID upon request, photography of the subject cannot pose a security risk, the activity of shooting cannot disrupt MBTA operations and the pictures must be for strictly non-commercial use only.
No more background check.
No more one-month expiration.
John Reinstein and the ACLU deserve a lot of credit for forcing the MBTA to reconsider the policy and put it on legally defensible footing. Note the “original issue date” of 2006 — this policy was likely written in response to Reinstein’s letter to MBTA Police Chief Joseph Carter in June of that year. All my yapping did, I suspect, is get me a copy of the draft before anyone else.
You can find a copy of the draft policy here.
Regards,
Jason Desjardins
jason@pho7o.com
http://www.pho7o.com/
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