Responding to federal pressure, MBTA GM Phil Eng has painted a passenger pushing an elderly woman off a bus as not indicative of how the agency has made “significant strides” in safety.

The general manager says he and his colleagues “appreciate” the Trump administration’s “interest in and concern for public safety on the MBTA’s transit network,” and federal funding is crucial to its overall success.

Eng’s remarks came in a letter he sent to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who demanded that the T submit reports that identify actions taken to deter crime, stop fare evasion, and provide a clean environment for riders.

Duffy’s order came after a pair of attacks on bus riders at the end of the summer.

The U.S. Department of Transportation focused its statement, which accompanied D

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