Brown Bagging

The MBTA has announced that to help reduce their budget deficit liquor will be sold in subway stations. With the growing population of panhandlers who collect money in the subway stations then leave to go purchase alcohol the MBTA can increase profits by selling spirits within the stations. MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said "We are hoping that the alcoholics and students of the Boston area will take advantage of this new service." Beer and pint bottles of hard alcohol will be available in plastic bottles and brown bags starting May 1, 2005 from carts and kiosks in red and green line stations. MBTA authorities acknowledge that consuming alcohol in public places is currently illegal in Massachusetts but they assure Bostonist that the MBTA police will continue to "look the other way" as long as passengers do not remove the containers from the paper bags they are sold in. Officials anticipate that the MBTA operated liquor stands in the “Drink and Ride” program will bring an estimated $11 million in revenue in the next year. Governor Mitt Romney approved the proposal stating that the employees of the liquor stand will have to go through the same TIPS training that bartenders now have to go through. "[Retailers] won’t need to know how to mix drinks, but it’s a safety issue" Romney said "our vendors will have to know when a patron has had too much."