Keeping score on MBTA control board’s priorities

A NEW REPORT  highlights where the MBTA is lagging behind goals set by its previous oversight board or in some cases moving in an entirely different direction.

The report, prepared by the business group A Better City, indicates the biggest shift is taking place with electrification of the commuter rail system and the establishment of a reduced fare for low-income riders. Both were high priorities of the Fiscal and Management Control Board, but the report suggests they now appear to be low priorities of the MBTA and its new board of directors.

The control board, which expired last July, called for the buildout of a Rail Transformation Office, electrification of the Fairmount and a portion of the Newburyport/Rockport lines, and the launch a pilot project testing electric multiple unit service on the already electrified Providence-Stoughton Line. Electric multiple units are electric train cars capable of running alone or as part of a train.

The A Better City report says the staffing of the Regional Rail Transformation Office “remains bare-bones, a deep cause for concern.” In addition, work on the electric multiple unit pilot and electrification of the Fairmount and a portion of the Newburyport/Rockport lines is way behind schedule.

“Given these delays, it seems clear that the EMU pilot service will not go live in 2024 Q2 nor will Phase 1 Service begin in 2029. This will make it difficult for the MBTA to fully decarbonize the commuter rail system and its fleet by 2050,” the report said.

Despite opposition from Gov. Charlie Baker, the control board supported a reduced fare for low-income riders, and directed staff to present to the new board a proposal for a pilot program that would launch in September.

“The MBTA staff updated the new MBTA Board of Directors on February 24, 2022, but no decision was made with respect to program implementation.  It is clear the MBTA is not intending to meet this promise,” the A Better City report says.

On a host of other issues, including safety, decarbonization, a subway connection linking the Red and Blue Lines, bus transformation, and climate resiliency, the report says the T has made modest progress in meeting goals developed by the previous board. The report says the T’s pursuit of new off-the-shelf Green Line vehicles is the only category where significant progress has been made on deadlines laid out by the control board.

Part of the problem in holding the T accountable is determining who is in charge. The A Better City report urges the current T board to follow the lead of the old board.

“The new MBTA Board does not need to start over or pull back from the plans developed in the last few years, they simply need to stay on track with the established plans. This is the time to continue along the path created by the FMCB,” the A Better City report says.

But the new T board sees its role quite differently. The old board was a reflection of its name — hands-on, in some cases driving policy at the MBTA. The new board is more reactive, letting T staff set the agenda.

“That’s quite intentional,” said Betsy Taylor, chair of the new MBTA Board  on The Codcast in December. “The secretary of transportation and the GM [of the MBTA] worked with the governor and the Legislature to create this new board. They wanted it to be more like the [Department of Transportation] board. They did not want it to be a control board.”