Media Statement: MBTA Safety Review Panel Report

In a report released on December 9, 2019, an independent safety review panel concluded “safety is not the priority at the T”. Our statement on the findings of the report is below:

BOSTON, December 9, 2019 — 

No public transportation system can – or should – function in the absence of a strong safety culture. Today’s report by the MBTA’s Safety Review Panel demonstrates how much work still needs to be done to transform Metro Boston’s transit and rail system into one that is modern, reliable, responsive and, most importantly, safe. 

Safety is not something to be considered in a vacuum.  As the report indicates, degraded safety culture relates to the inadequacy of the T’s Operating Budget;  the stagnation and starvation of maintenance budgets and protocols; the slashing of training resources; and whipsaw nature of top-down staffing and management changes that have stifled trust, communication and a sense of agency among front-line staff in the performance of their duties.  

The T must address the adequacy of its Operating Budget as a priority.  The report exposes the danger of a mentality that prizes balanced budgets over performance: “Budget resources are lacking in critical areas (training, manpower for operators needed to build and make schedules, maintenance crews, emergency response teams and safety) which may be affecting the safe delivery of services. There is also no contingency in the budget for safety emergency related issues.”   We have called for increasing the T’s operating budget to enable it to attract, hire and retain the talent it needs across the organization. Our prior concern was focused on the T being able to get work out faster, and to perform maintenance activities in a more regular and disciplined manner rather than deferring such activities until they qualified as a capital expense. We now add safety to the list.  We renew our call to the legislature and the administration to make an adequate Operating Budget a priority of the 2020 session.

The report’s suggestion that there is lax maintenance on Orange Line (and by inference Red Line) cars is alarming. The public must have confidence that the equipment carrying it every day is well maintained by a motivated professional workforce.  Sadly, this report seriously undermines that confidence. We call on the General Manager to address this issue as an immediate priority.  

The Safety Review Panel report is an indictment of an agency that everyone in Metro Boston depends upon for safe, reliable transit and rail service, regardless of whether they use it or not. The MBTA is too important to the lives of literally tens of thousands of people for anyone to pass over this report lightly. At the same time, we caution that this report must not distract from the urgent need to advance key modernization and connectivity projects like Regional Rail, Better Bus, West Station and the Red/Blue Connector.  The MBTA must be able to multitask. If leadership and staff cannot do this because they lack resources, the legislature and governor must provide those resources.  

For media inquiries, please e-mail media@transitmatters.org. 

###

Media Statement: Rail Vision FMCB Resolution

BOSTON, November 4, 2019 — 

TransitMatters applauds today’s action by the FMCB to advance Regional Rail in Massachusetts. We began this journey in February 2018 with the publication of our Regional Rail report and we are pleased to see its progress from plan to policy. Since the initial release of our report in 2018, we have worked tirelessly to write op-eds, hold outreach events around the region, especially in Gateway Cities, analyze the system line-by-line, and release a follow-up Proof of Concept whitepaper this fall laying out the practical first steps to be taken. We are grateful for the support and feedback we have received from politicians and elected officials, key stakeholders, the Rail Vision group, our media partners who have helped us get the message out, and most importantly our supporters who have written letters and testified at FMCB meetings in support of our initiative. This comprehensive outreach and support is why we are at this critical point today.

We believe that this is an important first step toward transforming our current antiquated Commuter Rail system. We will continue to push hard for a new service delivery model based on frequent all day service, replacing today’s dirty diesel locomotives with more cost effective electric multiple units and providing better service with high level platforms at every station. Today is the beginning of making the vision we laid out in our 2018 Regional Rail plan actionable. We look forward to a close collaboration with the T and other stakeholders to keep this critical initiative on track. 

For media inquiries, please e-mail media@transitmatters.org. 

###