MBTA deletes ‘dubious votes,’ announces new T design winners

The MBTA announced what it called the real, verifiably voter-chosen designs for the trains coming soon to the system.

After analyzing the data and “disallowing dubious votes,” the T concluded the paint schemes for the Green and Orange lines were the same onesannounced earlier this week as winners of a rider poll to select designs.

The announced choice for a Red Line design, though, was a fraud, the T said.

The earlier lineup of winners had been tainted by some apparent number-fudging, the agency said in a release Thursday, with many of the votes coming from one computer and happening too quickly: in fewer than ten seconds, the data showed.

“The MBTA regrets any confusion created by the previously announced results, and takes full responsibility for failing to properly monitor the survey responses,” a statement from the agency said. “This will not happen again.The MBTA thanks the thousands of people who had a genuine interest in helping the MBTA select a new look for its new subway and trolley cars.”

The T had been holding the results of the vote as of Tuesday night following concerns about unusual voting patterns.

As it turns out, fewer people than previously thought weighed in for the survey, which had been hosted on SurveyMonkey. The T said earlier this week that more than 177,000 people appeared to have cast votes, but according to figures in the latest announcement, about 25,000 actually weighed in.