Last night, the Senate adopted the Governor’s recommendation for a Financial and Management Control Board for the MBTA. The vote was unanimous after a week of debate and negotiation. The process in the Senate on this issue was a great credit to the leadership style of Senate President Rosenberg.
MBTA
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Boston’s state senators should get behind MBTA reforms
The Boston Globe? Editorial Board praised Senator Brownsberger’s support of reforms for the MBTA, including the a financial control board.
Privatization and the MBTA
The exciting frontier of transportation planning is in information technology: car sharing, ride sharing, on-demand shuttles. We can’t expect public transportation agencies to lead in creating these evolving business models. We need to experiment.
Governor’s MBTA Fix
The Governor has accepted political responsibility for fixing the MBTA and has asked the legislature for a set of tools. While there are some elements I cannot support in the Governor’s bill, most notably the reduction in contributions into the Transportation Fund, we should be giving him as much as we can of what he has asked for.
MBTA Customer Appreciation Day: Friday, April 24
A reminder that you can ride the T for free tomorrow, Friday, April 24, and take advantage of purchasing 15% discounted weekly and monthly passes. Also, 16 MBTA partners are offering special one-day offers to customers that show their CharlieCard. The details may be found in this link.
Accountability for the MBTA
The central recommendation of the Governor’s MBTA task force was greater accountability for the MBTA. I agree — the management team needs direct accountability to the Governor. That accountability will give the team the strength it needs to sharpen its focus and make change happen.