BOSTON - Aug. 31, 2022 - Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) Executive Director Marc Draisen today issued the following statement in response to the Federal Transit Administration’s report on safety concerns at the MBTA:

“Today’s Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Final Report found numerous safety concerns at the MBTA, creating an opportunity to renew the T’s focus on day-to-day safety and operations while continuing to modernize, expand, and increase accessibility. These safety concerns, staffing shortages, and necessary repairs result from years of disinvestment in the system, and will require significant investments of both time and money to resolve. The MBTA cannot be expected to dig out of decades of disinvestment in 30 days, or even in three years.

The region should expect major repair needs, including additional shutdowns, over the next several years to make necessary upgrades that will center rider safety and system reliability.

In order to minimize the impacts of these repairs, the MBTA must commit to providing strong replacement service whenever such shutdowns occur, whether they take a month, a week, or a weekend, and work closely with local officials across the region to ensure these services meet the needs of their residents.

As we are in the second week of the unprecedented Orange Line shutdown, the replacement service has generally worked well and its implementation should serve as a model for the future. Replacement service should always focus on serving those most in need: transit-dependent populations, low-income households without cars, and people with disabilities.

In any future shutdowns, the MBTA must work with local officials to address the needs of these communities well in advance of any shutdown or service curtailment to ensure all necessary resources and information are available and broadly distributed before closures take effect.

The day-to-day operating repairs and updates required by the FTA’s report will require the Legislature and the incoming Administration to raise and appropriate adequate funding to allow this vital service to continue moving our region forward. We look forward to partnering with both legislators and administration officials to ensure these investments are made in the form and scale necessary to provide residents with the reliable, efficient, and accessible transit system they deserve.

However, this renewed focus on day-to-day operations and maintenance must not come at the cost of long-term capital investments which the system desperately needs to keep riders safe, to cope with the flooding and heat impacts of climate change, and to bring the transit system into the 21st century.

This work will not be easy, quick, or cheap, but the MBTA is the backbone of the region’s economy and the key to our climate safe future. We can and must do what’s needed – and spend what’s needed – to deliver to Greater Boston what its people deserve: a safe, reliable, 21st century transit system.”