Report ‘paints a bleak picture’ of the MBTA, chairman says
Two months into its existence, the MBTA’s new governing body filed a report Tuesday full of its stark findings so far.
The Fiscal and Management Control Board’s Baseline Analysis and Progress to Date report, which can be read in full at the end of this article, says problems at the T are “are even more serious and deep-seated’’ than a critical report found earlier this year.
The new report is largely comprised of various nuggets the board has heard at meetings in recent weeks, such as: The system’s annual operating budget will more than double to more than $400 million by 2020 if no changes are made before then; it would cost more than $7.3 billion to get the system back to a state of good repair; in recent years, the T has usually not spent what it needs to in order to keep that $7.3 billion from expanding further; employee absences accounted for $14 million of overtime pay last year, including $7 million in unscheduled absences; and the Green Line extension into Somerville and Medford has seen costs increase by as much as $1 billion.
“Without question, this report paints a bleak picture of the current state of the MBTA,’’ Joseph Aiello, the board’s chairman, said in a statement. “But it provides the baseline we need to be able to move forward with actions to get the MBTA back on track.’’
The report also points to signs of progress at the agency since earlier in the year. It cites the creation of the chief administrator position to serve in tandem with the general manager, as well as the weekly meetings of the control board, as indicative of the state’s efforts to grapple with the MBTA’s financial and managerial issues. It says commuter rail trains have more consistently arrived on time since April, and notes the implementation of an $83 million plan to prepare the system for winter weather.
The five-member control board is scheduled to submit another report in December, which will have more details on the T’s problems and possible solutions for dealing with them, according to Tuesday’s report.
The board was formed by the state legislature at the urging of Gov. Charlie Baker earlier this year. Baker’s first winter in office drew wide attention to the T’s problems, as harsh weather severely limited the system’s ability to operate.
Read the full report:
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2015 winter weather woes on the T:
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