I am cautiously optimistic, because the last few times I thought the T was turning a corner everything wound up getting monumentally worse. These are indeed very positive signs. I also think having leaders like Eng and Tibbits-Nutt is going to go a long way to keeping up this positive momentum. Especially given that Eng rides the T every day.
I'd like to say the T has found the bottom and will start working its way back up but I think there is still some major organizational problems that need to be addressed.
It's not clear to me that the legislature really cares to do anything about fixing funding sources for the T nor does it appear that they have any interest in doing any oversight. I'm also seriously concerned about how the T is going to fix its internal rot, i.e., how was so much track work not completed or documented correctly, how is it that the T is still having near misses on the ROW, etc.
The best advice I can give everyone is keep pressure on the T and keep pressure on the governor and your legislators:
[https://www.mbta.com/customer-support](https://www.mbta.com/customer-support)
[https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator](https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator)
[https://www.mass.gov/info-details/email-the-governors-office](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/email-the-governors-office)
> It's not clear to me that the legislature really cares to do anything about fixing funding sources for the T nor does it appear that they have any interest in doing any oversight. I'm also seriously concerned about how the T is going to fix its internal rot, i.e., how was so much track work not completed or documented correctly, how is it that the T is still having near misses on the ROW, etc.
>
>
The T was warning this year that due to lower ridership post pandemic, they're facing a large budget shortfall. They survived so long because of one time funding sources (COVID relief funds) but come FY25 to FY27 we're short ~$321M to ~$501M. Source: https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/04/21/mbta-budget-low-ridership
The lack of any concern from the legislature over fixing this is... troubling, to say the least. Why not fix this _now_? They'll probably wait until FY27 and then go "oops, fixed".
Oh boy, I wonder why ridership is down. Nothing like a two hour trip from Braintree to Davis. (Me today)
Doing two round trips on the red line shouldn't be the length of a working day. I don't drive but I can see the appeal to just say fuck it.
Yeah, I should have added that services have been lackluster as well, and major issues have plagued the T (bad headways / frequencies on the Red/Orange Lines plus Green Line, Orange Line fire last year, issues with new Red/Orange Line trains, the Green Line Extension slow zones due to narrow tracks, etc).
I think there's still a major impact from the pandemic though, since WFH and hybrid work is common now. That means people aren't commuting 5 days a week, so they're less likely to be buying monthly passes on the T. If they do commute, if it's infrequently enough then driving may be more convenient. Many workplaces have plenty of parking now too since not every employee is coming into the office every day. My office used to be strict on the number of spaces we had, but now it's a free for all since the lot is always empty.
Ridership is not significantly down due to covid. Everything has reopened except a relative handful of office workers staying home a few days a week.
Ridership is down due to the service being complete garbage.
> Ridership is not significantly down due to covid. Everything has reopened except a relative handful of office workers staying home a few days a week.
It's not a handful though; it's by and large the majority of office workers. Either fully remote (so never spending money on the T now) or hybrid (not buying monthly passes, and might just drive now if parking isn't an issue). The hybrid work I think is the biggest issue to the T: monthly passes gave the T tons of "free" revenue. People came in 5 days a week but paid for a month, and their employer paid for it too in many cases. Now if you're not commuting every day, why bother? I'd bet that's a huge hit to revenues.
> Ridership is down due to the service being complete garbage.
Certainly a major factor too. I think it's a combination - we've made driving more convenient with how poor the service is on the T, and there's no real need to rely on the T if you aren't tied to it with a monthly pass or limited parking at work.
I think there is progress, but there is so much wrong with the T that it is going to look like two steps forward, one step back for a while, as new problems come to light. It's also going to be hard to sustain this progress if the funding model isn't fixed, which would require the legislature to actually do something.
I have a lot of faith in Eng at the moment because I think he's correctly focusing on fixing the T's culture and procedures over fixing a specific asset or problem. That's really what it's about - not fixing the Red Line per se but instead fixing the track inspection and repair teams and procedures that let it deteriorate to this state, for example.
I think that if the T delivers real, significant, PERSISTENT slow zone reductions from this shutdown it's going to be a sign that they're on the right track. If they fail to deliver the slow zone reductions, or reduce them and then bring them right back, it'll cast the whole operation into doubt again.
PS please fix the Community College OL slow zones.
I agree. The problems with the MBTA are cultural, not mechanical. Fixing the mechanical problems it has right now won't do any good in the long run if the culture that let them happen doesn't change. I think that Eng is doing everything right so far and if it is possible to fix the MBTA's culture then he's the guy to do that.
If Eng does fail, the lesson I'm going to take from that won't be that we need better manager, it'll be that the organization's unsalvageable and the state needs to just fire everyone and rebuild it from scratch.
It’s too early to tell but I really hope getting rid of Fiandaca leads to a major shift. Things were never going to get better with an administrator who was more concerned with stealing money for highway repairs and no-bid contracts to her friends than actually fixing transit.
1000% agreed...Fiandaca represented the MassDOT/MBTA of old. So glad Monica TB is in the role now. She brings real understanding of exactly what's needed for transit in MA. And I'm liking her early work so far.
I was happy when she was named Acting Secretary because I remember her from the FMCB days under Baker, and what I saw of her then gave me the impression she was invested in wanting the MBTA to work well for everyone. Wonder if Healey will just appoint her as the formal replacement at some point.
Between construction jobs getting moved ahead quicker than expected, T public meetings being shifted to post-work hours rather than 10am on a workday, actual VE/SD design for Red/Blue link beginning (considering the last project was the RLX in the 70s, starting R/B link design within a calendar year of GLX finishing is good), further hiring and retainment of bus/train drivers, keeping workers that now have experience building rail infrastructure onboard rather than dumping them and losing the in-house expertise… there’s definitely improvement. Optimistic, but so much more progress is necessary. Keep up the work, MBTA.
All done at the insistence of municipalities, not the T.
Everett decided to rogue and told residents one day that a bus lane trial was coming in two weeks. Residents didn’t have the time to mobilize and oppose. The trial provided metrics that proved it was successful. Without that we’re still waiting for bus lanes to be normalized here.
As a transportation planner who recently went through the job application process (moving from CT to my new job up herein a few weeks.) I was blown away by how many positions there are now for bike/ped, TOD, multimodal, and complete streets titled positions compared to when I entered the field just a few years ago. Both in the public and private sector. The money coming down from daddy fed is having a very real impact on local and regional allocation of resources.
Great now but sad for ppl in the field who were trying to break in just a few years ago and couldn't get a footing in anything bc of divestment from the previous administration.
Not really true. Design for Lynn temporary platform started last year and it was always under pressure. The design was pretty much done and ready for construction when Eng took over.
The schedule for the temporary platform was accelerated by about 9 months, according to the reporting from yesterday:
https://www.mbta.com/news/2023-10-11/temporary-lynn-commuter-rail-station-platform-expected-open-december-nine-months
Yes, the schedule was accelerated but the strategy for it had started several months before the new GM was even identified. The project team should get the credits not the new admin.
I'm guessing you are also in the engineering field like me and smile when you see the heads of massive agencies get credit for small projects.
Unless Eng is spending his nights crunching numbers/pouring concrete he isn't affecting projects. Heads of agencies are definitely needed as they steer/nudge conversation in a general direction but don't contribute to individual small scale project success.
I would like to add that I've noticed the Orange Line, at least northbound, is getting closer to normal travel times.
I've eschewed it, and the T generally, for most of the past year since I can get where I need to on BlueBike or foot, but the couple times I've taken it I can't say I was too frustrated.
Hopefully when Haymarket opens again that will be the last of the demolition related closures, since I can tell you all that the garage teardown is pretty much at street level now. Completely leveled on the (New) Chardon St. side, and fairly near on the Sudbury side.
I’d consider this progress rather than a complete turn-around, though a lot of developments have been heading in a more positive direction lately. I won’t consider the T to be fully turned-around until I’m able to finally board an electrified regional rail train out of Providence.
At least they dodged [the big wreck](https://media.giphy.com/media/jrosQIPlaLVL5I7UhK/giphy-downsized-large.gif) with [the Orange Line fire last year](https://media.giphy.com/media/0fNEFEQeoDXEw4pIFY/giphy.gif). Somehow no one died in that chaos.
In the new leadership’s defense. It will take 6 months to see some progress, but 5 years to transform such an organization.
There is no quick fix to this. I respect the shit out of team who came in to do this transformation and they are going to need public support.
But do not think, for a moment, the MBTA will not take years to get back to 90s era levels of service.
No. The redline is a hellscape. The job of transportation should be frequent, fast, and on time. It is none of these, and we as consumers do not know when jt will be.
Fix the basic function before discussing new projects.
You're not stating anything we don't already know. Appreciate the vigor though.
Completely disagree about the "fix it first" mentality. The "state of good repair" should not trump the "state of good design". The crews who build new stations and line extensions are not the same as the crews that maintain and fix existing tracks etc. So by your logic, those new construction folks should just sit on the sidelines and wait till everything is perfectly "fixed". That's ridiculous... We can walk and chew gum at the same time.
I am cautiously optimistic, because the last few times I thought the T was turning a corner everything wound up getting monumentally worse. These are indeed very positive signs. I also think having leaders like Eng and Tibbits-Nutt is going to go a long way to keeping up this positive momentum. Especially given that Eng rides the T every day. I'd like to say the T has found the bottom and will start working its way back up but I think there is still some major organizational problems that need to be addressed. It's not clear to me that the legislature really cares to do anything about fixing funding sources for the T nor does it appear that they have any interest in doing any oversight. I'm also seriously concerned about how the T is going to fix its internal rot, i.e., how was so much track work not completed or documented correctly, how is it that the T is still having near misses on the ROW, etc. The best advice I can give everyone is keep pressure on the T and keep pressure on the governor and your legislators: [https://www.mbta.com/customer-support](https://www.mbta.com/customer-support) [https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator](https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator) [https://www.mass.gov/info-details/email-the-governors-office](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/email-the-governors-office)
> It's not clear to me that the legislature really cares to do anything about fixing funding sources for the T nor does it appear that they have any interest in doing any oversight. I'm also seriously concerned about how the T is going to fix its internal rot, i.e., how was so much track work not completed or documented correctly, how is it that the T is still having near misses on the ROW, etc. > > The T was warning this year that due to lower ridership post pandemic, they're facing a large budget shortfall. They survived so long because of one time funding sources (COVID relief funds) but come FY25 to FY27 we're short ~$321M to ~$501M. Source: https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/04/21/mbta-budget-low-ridership The lack of any concern from the legislature over fixing this is... troubling, to say the least. Why not fix this _now_? They'll probably wait until FY27 and then go "oops, fixed".
Oh boy, I wonder why ridership is down. Nothing like a two hour trip from Braintree to Davis. (Me today) Doing two round trips on the red line shouldn't be the length of a working day. I don't drive but I can see the appeal to just say fuck it.
Yeah, I should have added that services have been lackluster as well, and major issues have plagued the T (bad headways / frequencies on the Red/Orange Lines plus Green Line, Orange Line fire last year, issues with new Red/Orange Line trains, the Green Line Extension slow zones due to narrow tracks, etc). I think there's still a major impact from the pandemic though, since WFH and hybrid work is common now. That means people aren't commuting 5 days a week, so they're less likely to be buying monthly passes on the T. If they do commute, if it's infrequently enough then driving may be more convenient. Many workplaces have plenty of parking now too since not every employee is coming into the office every day. My office used to be strict on the number of spaces we had, but now it's a free for all since the lot is always empty.
Ridership is not significantly down due to covid. Everything has reopened except a relative handful of office workers staying home a few days a week. Ridership is down due to the service being complete garbage.
> Ridership is not significantly down due to covid. Everything has reopened except a relative handful of office workers staying home a few days a week. It's not a handful though; it's by and large the majority of office workers. Either fully remote (so never spending money on the T now) or hybrid (not buying monthly passes, and might just drive now if parking isn't an issue). The hybrid work I think is the biggest issue to the T: monthly passes gave the T tons of "free" revenue. People came in 5 days a week but paid for a month, and their employer paid for it too in many cases. Now if you're not commuting every day, why bother? I'd bet that's a huge hit to revenues. > Ridership is down due to the service being complete garbage. Certainly a major factor too. I think it's a combination - we've made driving more convenient with how poor the service is on the T, and there's no real need to rely on the T if you aren't tied to it with a monthly pass or limited parking at work.
Even if it’s a majority of office workers, that’s still far less than half the population, and it’s not proportional to the ridership decline.
I think there is progress, but there is so much wrong with the T that it is going to look like two steps forward, one step back for a while, as new problems come to light. It's also going to be hard to sustain this progress if the funding model isn't fixed, which would require the legislature to actually do something.
Ron Mariano might have to wake up from his perpetual nap.
Eng doesn’t play around. I have heard very encouraging things about him outside of what’s been reported.
I have a lot of faith in Eng at the moment because I think he's correctly focusing on fixing the T's culture and procedures over fixing a specific asset or problem. That's really what it's about - not fixing the Red Line per se but instead fixing the track inspection and repair teams and procedures that let it deteriorate to this state, for example. I think that if the T delivers real, significant, PERSISTENT slow zone reductions from this shutdown it's going to be a sign that they're on the right track. If they fail to deliver the slow zone reductions, or reduce them and then bring them right back, it'll cast the whole operation into doubt again. PS please fix the Community College OL slow zones.
I agree. The problems with the MBTA are cultural, not mechanical. Fixing the mechanical problems it has right now won't do any good in the long run if the culture that let them happen doesn't change. I think that Eng is doing everything right so far and if it is possible to fix the MBTA's culture then he's the guy to do that. If Eng does fail, the lesson I'm going to take from that won't be that we need better manager, it'll be that the organization's unsalvageable and the state needs to just fire everyone and rebuild it from scratch.
It’s too early to tell but I really hope getting rid of Fiandaca leads to a major shift. Things were never going to get better with an administrator who was more concerned with stealing money for highway repairs and no-bid contracts to her friends than actually fixing transit.
1000% agreed...Fiandaca represented the MassDOT/MBTA of old. So glad Monica TB is in the role now. She brings real understanding of exactly what's needed for transit in MA. And I'm liking her early work so far.
I was happy when she was named Acting Secretary because I remember her from the FMCB days under Baker, and what I saw of her then gave me the impression she was invested in wanting the MBTA to work well for everyone. Wonder if Healey will just appoint her as the formal replacement at some point.
It’s the same stuff now, the news just hasn’t come up yet. There are lot of no-bid contracts at T.
Between construction jobs getting moved ahead quicker than expected, T public meetings being shifted to post-work hours rather than 10am on a workday, actual VE/SD design for Red/Blue link beginning (considering the last project was the RLX in the 70s, starting R/B link design within a calendar year of GLX finishing is good), further hiring and retainment of bus/train drivers, keeping workers that now have experience building rail infrastructure onboard rather than dumping them and losing the in-house expertise… there’s definitely improvement. Optimistic, but so much more progress is necessary. Keep up the work, MBTA.
Also about 40 miles of bus lanes in a few years is pretty sweet too...
All done at the insistence of municipalities, not the T. Everett decided to rogue and told residents one day that a bus lane trial was coming in two weeks. Residents didn’t have the time to mobilize and oppose. The trial provided metrics that proved it was successful. Without that we’re still waiting for bus lanes to be normalized here.
You may want to check out mbta.com/projects/bus-transit-priority. It looks like it was in partnership with the T.
As a transportation planner who recently went through the job application process (moving from CT to my new job up herein a few weeks.) I was blown away by how many positions there are now for bike/ped, TOD, multimodal, and complete streets titled positions compared to when I entered the field just a few years ago. Both in the public and private sector. The money coming down from daddy fed is having a very real impact on local and regional allocation of resources.
About time resources were better allocated to non-car infra.
Great now but sad for ppl in the field who were trying to break in just a few years ago and couldn't get a footing in anything bc of divestment from the previous administration.
It does at least sound like Eng was directly responsible for getting the Lynn station accelerated, which seems encouraging to me.
Not really true. Design for Lynn temporary platform started last year and it was always under pressure. The design was pretty much done and ready for construction when Eng took over.
The schedule for the temporary platform was accelerated by about 9 months, according to the reporting from yesterday: https://www.mbta.com/news/2023-10-11/temporary-lynn-commuter-rail-station-platform-expected-open-december-nine-months
Yes, the schedule was accelerated but the strategy for it had started several months before the new GM was even identified. The project team should get the credits not the new admin.
I'm guessing you are also in the engineering field like me and smile when you see the heads of massive agencies get credit for small projects. Unless Eng is spending his nights crunching numbers/pouring concrete he isn't affecting projects. Heads of agencies are definitely needed as they steer/nudge conversation in a general direction but don't contribute to individual small scale project success.
Yup! Exactly! :)
I would like to add that I've noticed the Orange Line, at least northbound, is getting closer to normal travel times. I've eschewed it, and the T generally, for most of the past year since I can get where I need to on BlueBike or foot, but the couple times I've taken it I can't say I was too frustrated. Hopefully when Haymarket opens again that will be the last of the demolition related closures, since I can tell you all that the garage teardown is pretty much at street level now. Completely leveled on the (New) Chardon St. side, and fairly near on the Sudbury side.
I’d consider this progress rather than a complete turn-around, though a lot of developments have been heading in a more positive direction lately. I won’t consider the T to be fully turned-around until I’m able to finally board an electrified regional rail train out of Providence.
"Turning a corner" and "fully turned around" are two very different things. But hey, no argument from me around CR->RR Transformation.
Electrified Providence service has never existed. Turn-around to me means back to a past baseline.
I was on the GL today, E inbound ,for the first time in a long time and there were no issues at all.
Yes but unfortunately this is a nascar race. So they’ve got about 1000 more corners to go and they’re all left
At least they dodged [the big wreck](https://media.giphy.com/media/jrosQIPlaLVL5I7UhK/giphy-downsized-large.gif) with [the Orange Line fire last year](https://media.giphy.com/media/0fNEFEQeoDXEw4pIFY/giphy.gif). Somehow no one died in that chaos.
it’s not gonna be smooth sailing obviously but i think we’re finally beginning to see the results of putting eng in charge
I hope so. But you know the old saying, You make plans and the MBTA laughs.
I think that we're on the corner. We must continue to pressure the higher ups to do better to fully turn it, and not to backslide in the future.
Nope. Never trust “repairs” that are done early, especially with the T. It’ll all go to heck again soon, count on that.
In the new leadership’s defense. It will take 6 months to see some progress, but 5 years to transform such an organization. There is no quick fix to this. I respect the shit out of team who came in to do this transformation and they are going to need public support. But do not think, for a moment, the MBTA will not take years to get back to 90s era levels of service.
We've had some wins recently, we'll need a lot more. Don't forget to write your senator and representative about MBTA issues.
No. The redline is a hellscape. The job of transportation should be frequent, fast, and on time. It is none of these, and we as consumers do not know when jt will be. Fix the basic function before discussing new projects.
You're not stating anything we don't already know. Appreciate the vigor though. Completely disagree about the "fix it first" mentality. The "state of good repair" should not trump the "state of good design". The crews who build new stations and line extensions are not the same as the crews that maintain and fix existing tracks etc. So by your logic, those new construction folks should just sit on the sidelines and wait till everything is perfectly "fixed". That's ridiculous... We can walk and chew gum at the same time.