THE MBTA RECENTLY GAVE several private contractors a midnight tour of three of the authority’s bus maintenance garages, which the head of the local machinists union cited as symbolic proof that negotiations over the future of the facilities are taking place out of the public eye.
Michael Vartabedian, the business agent for Local 264 of the International Association of Machinists, said a bus carrying the contractors arrived at the Arborway Garage in Jamaica Plain at midnight two weeks ago and, after a tour there, proceeded on to bus maintenance garages in Quincy and Lynn. The MBTA is seeking bids from private contractors to run the garages and is hoping to cut costs at the facilities by about $12 million a year.
“The governor is not being transparent with this,” said Vartabedian, who accused the T of trying to privatize the bus garages “under the cover of darkness.”
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About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
T officials privately say a site visit for the bidders was not unusual. They said the visit took place at night instead of during daylight hours to avoid a union response that could have disrupted the workplace.
Union officials say it was their understanding that five companies toured the garages, including TransDev, based in France; First Transit Inc. of Ashland; and MN Transportation of Dallas. An MBTA spokesman declined comment about which companies participated in the garage visits, but issued a statement dismissing the notion that the privatization was being explored secretly.
“From the start, this process has been very transparent with a publicly advertised RFP and multiple discussions at public meetings of the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board,” the T said. “Not wanting to be disruptive during the garages’ busiest hours of the day, the T scheduled the site visits for nighttime when there is less activity in the garages.”
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