That MBTA report is finally out and basically concludes Charlie Baker and legislative leaders need to take over control of the authority through a new "Fiscal and Management Control Board" to replace the new MassDOT board Deval Patrick and legislative leaders set up to take over control of the authority.
The report calls for an end to restrictions on fare increases - in fact, it criticizes the T for offering pass holders higher discounts than other transit agencies in the US and England and says that's "unsustainable."
The state should look at creating a special property-tax levy in the communities served by the T to fund capital improvements and pay off the T's debt - with a state commitment to pay off Big Dig related debts but no new ones.
Oh, and New Bedford? You might want to rethink those plans that assume you're getting commuter rail anytime soon.
The recommendations also include making the T figure out how to spend the capital money it already has - and just on capital projects, not salaries - and crack the whip on workers, too many of whom the panel concluded are system-abusing layabouts.
The report also calls for a halt to any spending on system expansion that doesn't already have federal funding until that program is actually in place. That means the Green Line Extension, which recently received a commitment of nearly $1 billion in federal funds is OK, but plans for an electrified commuter-rail line to New Bedford should be shelved.
The report estimates a 20-year period for "the complete restoration" of the T's physical assets.
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Comments
Exactly!!! This is happening
By Lyndsay (not verified)
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 1:03pm
Exactly!!! This is happening in states all over the country. Union busting, plain and simple. Trying to break into teachers' pensions as well. They'll use any excuse to lay the blame at the workers' feet.
The unions could strike
By Ari O
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 10:07pm
I'm not exactly sure how strike provisions work for 589 and I think any strike would be illegal, but if the T unions wanted to impress upon the populace the importance of the transportation network, a strike would be an interesting tactic. There hasn't been a transit strike in Boston since 1982 when, apparently, the city devolved in to traffic chaos. Something like 75% of commuter rail riders (about 45,000 people) have access to cars and take the train instead. Let's assume that another 100,000 rail riders have the same. If you try and double or triple the number of cars coming in to Boston 93 on a Friday afternoon in the summer is going to look like a cakewalk. Uber will surge and we'll see what a privatized transportation system looks like: only the rich can get anywhere, and not quickly, either.
Charlie would probably wind up sitting in traffic as his Statie chauffer tried to navigate gridlock on 1A. (Gone are the good old days when Duke rode the T—and, yes, I certainly fault Patrick for not walking a few blocks and taking the Red Line in to the State House.) Remember the traffic-pocalypses of February? Part of that was due to narrow, snowy streets. But a lot of it was due to many more people driving, and nowhere for the cars to go. So, yeah, see how far you can push 589. If they see union busting coming down the pike (or, er, the rails) they might strike back.
And if they message it right, they might have a lot of the riders on their side.
"criticizes the T for
By anon (not verified)
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 12:57pm
"criticizes the T for offering pass holders higher discounts than other transit agencies"
I hope this criticism doesn't extend to the commuter rail. Per mile, Boston's commuter rail passes are the most expensive in the United States.
Maybe if they could figure out how to run more efficiently (no more 4-person crews on off-peak trains that only have 1 car open), they could reduce fares *and* reduce the required subsidy.
And I haven't compared the data, but the T commuter rail's abysmal mean distance between failures of about 5000 miles could be the worst in the country as well. Yesterday's major failure on the Fitchburg Line might be the last straw that drives me to buy a car.
Page 11 of the report gives
By anon (not verified)
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 6:59pm
Page 11 of the report gives the details of what they were comparing; it's only subway and bus fares vs. passes they looked at.
Did you see today's news about the recent fire at Forest Hills potentially putting CR signalling equipment out of commission for months? It's like a transit system in a third-world country.
Driver error
By Ari O
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 10:09pm
Apparently that was a driver effing up yesterday that burned holes 3" deep in the rails (I've seen pictures). Basically, he set the parking brake, pressed down on the regular brake and then tried to floor the train. Do that in your car and the wheels smoke a lot. Do it on a train and the wheels spin around, get real hot and melt the rail. Apparently said driver is no longer in the employ of the railroad.
Kudos to the track crews for getting the whole thing operable in a couple hours.
pictures
By blues_lead
Thu, 04/09/2015 - 1:32am
That sounds interesting -could you share some of those pictures?
Fitchburg stuckage
By anon (not verified)
Fri, 04/10/2015 - 12:54pm
Thanks for the explanation. Where did you hear it?
did anyone catch this?
By anon (not verified)
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 1:00pm
Did anyone see this?
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/201...
1. Use the mean instead of the median. Get some skewed statistics that show employees "abusing" their benefits as an excuse. 2. Blame the problems on the employees. 3. Break the unions.
This is a Republican governor's wet dream, and a huge hit for labor in this state.
The public's sympathy...
By issacg
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 4:49pm
is not going to lie with the unions, though. Not anymore. That's why this absenteeism thing is so front and center.
Say what you want about the Baker people, but I will say this - they seem to be covering their bases (and tuchases) very well here.
I don't think you understand
By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 8:17pm
They are covering their asses, but they are cooking the numbers to inflate their case for a takeover and nullification of collective bargaining.
FMLA is not "absenteeism". Neither is short-term disability (or taking sick days built up over the years in lieu of short-term disability).
This isn't about improving the T at all, in any way. This is about disrupting collective bargaining. It won't stop with the MBTA.
I wonder if 589 has their own stats
By Ari O
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 10:11pm
The books seem cooked on this one.
Wait until they come out with the guy who took FMLA because his kid had cancer. The commission is playing with fire on this one.
Somehow I'm pretty sure...
By octr202
Thu, 04/09/2015 - 9:27am
...589 and their allies are sharpening some pencils right now.
The interesting thing will be to see how this plays with the other side on Beacon Hill. These unions have some powerful allies, there will be some fireworks before Baker's able to go all "Scott Walker" on us.
Swirly
By cybah
Thu, 04/09/2015 - 9:46am
Since this post was updated today. I'll comment.
Funny how you mention Public Schools above.. I saw this on twitter this morning from Chris Faraone.
https://digboston.com/dear-boston-media-please-ste...
But the point I want you to see is :
Not sure what he means, but I find it funny that he mentions something about privatizing schools, which kinda was what you were saying yesterday to Baker and this being the beginning of the attack on the middle class (a la Wisconsin).
Sick days shouldn't be
By anon (not verified)
Fri, 04/10/2015 - 12:57pm
Sick days shouldn't be allowed to accumulate. I hope they remove this from future versions of the contract.
Not only does it cost the T a lot, it also means people who get sick end up losing money (the very thing paid sick leave is supposed to prevent), since they get paid for fewer unused sick days when they retire.
Hokey, so we fix all the problems of the past winter by...
By whyaduck
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 1:38pm
"...the MBTA prepares 1 and 5 year operating plans
that rely primarily on own-source revenue and cost containment to
balance the agency’s budget."
Own-source revenue: Want to pay more to commute and park? Wait a minute, you will be.
Cost containment: Curtail T absenteeism.
But my favorite part is where the report is "Dispelling a Debt Myth", page 15, where the panel informs us that the Big Dig debt really ain't that bad folks.
Not sure whether to laugh or cry, at this point.
I agree that there has to be accountability (i.e. management) changes but you can shuffle deck chairs on the Titanic all you want. It comes down to brass tacks: more money is going to be needed and all the fare increases and having folks shell out more to park is not going to do a damn bit of anything.
We need a recall provision....
By Michael Kerpan
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 1:49pm
... in the Mass Constitution. Time to get rid of Baker before he totally trashes the joint. And, while we are at it, we need to fix the structure of the legislature so that a schmuck elected by a relative handful of local voters can't serve as a de facto state dictator.
it's a catch 22
By cybah
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 1:53pm
Like any sort of politics.. sure we can suggest it. But it's the politicians themselves need to act on it. And they wont.
Just look at how long people have been talking about Term Limits in congress... decades and it's still not done because they just don't want it to happen because it means them and their cronies would be out of jobs so quick. And they can't let that happen...
Same with MediPot here in MA.. it was voted on, won by a large margin, and we're what year three and not one dispensary has opened yet.
Like I said above.. the politicians are only out for themselves and not their constituents.
I'm really beginning to dislike the political machine in this country as a whole, it's always just more of the same. and two steps forward, three steps back all the time.
It's time for the Choo-Choo Charlie song!
By necturus (not verified)
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 2:35pm
Once upon a time there was an engineer;
Choo-choo Charlie was his name, we hear;
He had a railroad, and he sure had fun;
He was cuttin' all the budgets
That made the trains run.
Charlie says, "love my budget-cuttin'!"
Charlie says, "it really rings my bell!"
Charlie says, "let's bust up all the unions!
As for all you commuters, you can go to hell."
To what melody...
By Michael Kerpan
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 2:45pm
... should we sing this?
Oooh, ooooh! I know! The "Good and Plenty" song!
By issacg
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 4:46pm
n/t
Hard Facts
By Roslindaler (not verified)
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 1:45pm
Having read the report, I find it surprisingly even handed. The panel is acknowledging that more funding is needed (but should be restricted or come from new sources like fares), that the legislature has hamstrung the MBTA in many respects through legislation preventing it from acting efficiently, and that serious management problems exist that must be addressed before a blank check can be written from the Commonwealth for more funding. One can debate all of the findings about adequate oversight of employees, etc., but two things jumped out at me that I found hard to ignore - (1) the MBTA has not spent nearly all of the money set aside for capital improvements each year for any of the past several years; and (2) the MBTA's tools for procurement are well out of alignment with other state agencies (much less private entities). Unless this is just fuzzy math, and the MBTA has actually spent all of its capital improvement money, it seems like there is, indeed, some low hanging fruit to be had, particularly as most people agree that the major problems with the T are related to age of equipment and facilities. Furthermore, re-aligning the procurement process to allow the T to, for example, consider "best value" in procurement is a no-brainer. The fact that it is not allowed to today, has resulted in the issues we are now seeing with the quality of the new commuter rail coaches, the past problems we have seen with the quality of the new green line cars, and likely the problems we are seeing with the procurement of the new orange and red line cars. I say let the governor take a crack at it by adopting all of their recomendations and see what happens.
Beacon Hill created the
By markg
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 1:58pm
Beacon Hill created the current arrangement to avoid accountability. Which begs the question why would they want to reassert control and and be held accountable. Actually the three men in room who run the state. State reps are just along for the ride.
You to hand it to the Baker people...
By issacg
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 2:12pm
because their roll-out has been perfectly calibrated to support their position.
To the casual observer/citizen (particularly one who doesn't ride the T regularly - and there really are a lot of those, fellow UHubbers!) it absolutely looks like the T's management is totally inept and the T definitely does not need more money.
Govvernment by....
By Michael Kerpan
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 2:16pm
... bright young B-school marketing whizzes. Just what we need.
Rebuttal #1
By Kaz
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 2:49pm
Since 2000, the MBTA has been operating on an unsustainable model of funding. It was never acceptable long-term and was unpredictable and poorly predicted but put into place anyways as Forward Funding. Thus the remedy was designed poorly and should be acknowledged as such. The 2013 funding of the operating deficit *IS* that acknowledgement and your solution of the MBTA trying to file a budget that remains within the sales tax cap (a nonsensical standard to forcibly stuff a public transit agency inside of) is exactly the OPPOSITE of that even in the face of the evidence YOU provide that doing so has ALREADY proven not to work!
What do you think was responsible for the ruination of the MBTA between 2000 and 2013 that ultimately led to a state bailout in 2013? Even the Pioneer Institute got that right when it recognized that the debt refinancing was the only thing keeping the MBTA afloat for so long without help. Your answer to the current predicament is to pretend that everything was fine up until 2013 when the state started bailing the MBTA out as opposed to the fact that it was 2000 that STARTED the downward spiral! Returning to the ideas of 2000 are NOT the answer...but it's the answer that you gave here!
Furthermore, you're system comparisons and monthly pass rate comparisons are not justifiable. All of your zoned trips are about 8 miles apart whereas 8 miles would get you from Newton to North Station. 8 miles gets you out of the city of Boston in almost every direction on the MBTA. How does that adequately add up to the average ride on the MBTA? Why would your take away be that monthly passes are too discounted and not that the subway's one-fare rate should be tiered since nearly all of your comparisons are to tiered systems?
Calling the CA/T debt "diminishing in importance" is a here-and-now ignorance of the history that led to the billions in debt that you attribute to mismanagment! BECAUSE of the CA/T debt service, the funds provided by Forward Funding could not be spent on the transit system and had to go to the debt THUS LEADING TO MORE DEBT! This sort of ignorance of history speaks volumes about your ability to understand the issues on which you've been tasked to solve.
The new order
By Angry Dan
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 6:24pm
First order of business: The 8th of April will henceforth be known as "PowerPoint Day" and will be a fully paid holiday for all the well-connected worthies who are fortunate enough to be appointed to the "Fiscal and Management Control Board".
Aloisi's response to the
By anon (not verified)
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 6:31pm
Aloisi's response to the report: http://commonwealthmagazine.org/transportation/bak...
Pretty much
By Kaz
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 9:20pm
I was going to keep rebutting all of their points, but Aloisi does a more succinct job of it and highlights a replacement for this commission's plan that actually solves problems. So, read that piece. That's largely similar to the points I wanted to make.
By Rebecca Murray. FOI & Public Records Law in Massachusetts
By theszak
Thu, 04/09/2015 - 12:48am
Contact ILL Interlibrary Loan services at a branch public library or college library for a very useful Massachusetts FOI book...
Freedom of Information and Public Records Law in Massachusetts...
Rebecca S Murray; Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc.
Publisher: Boston, MA : Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc., ©2012.
Edition/Format: Print book : English : 3rd ed. 2012
Freedom of information and public records law in Massachusetts : a discussion of the mechanics of the public records law and the impact of the law's application
http://www.worldcat.org/title/freedom-of-informati...
http://www.mcle.org/product/catalog/code/2120290B03
Rebecca S. Murray
Assistant Director/Associate Legal Counsel
National Voter Registration Act NVRA Coordinator Elections Division
Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth
One Ashburton Place, Room 1705
Boston, Massachusetts 02108
Phone: 617-727-2828
Fax: 617-742-3238
http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/cfsdd/madir.htm
see also
http://muckrock.com
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