Fixing MBTA Finances and Accelerating MA Project Delivery

At the outset, let's establish this as the prism by which all MA Transportation agengies unfortunately must operate under:

The average road, bridge, and MBTA project takes 7-10+ years to build in the Commonwealth, and this fact is absolutely outrageous.

In addition to Project Delivery, below, are several ideas to begin the process of fixing the MBTA’s dire finances, and other proposals to accelerate the project life cycle for all MA public works projects.

[Note: I along with many local officals recently attended the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) Panel Discussion entitled “Transportation and the Economy” held at 2 Clock Tower Place in Maynard].

The MBTA is currently holding hearings on proposed fare increases and service cuts. The T is certainly in dire financial shape. Yet the tale that has been told about how it got that way, and how the problem can be solved, is incomplete.

Part of the narrative we have heard is that the MBTA was overburdened by debt from Big Dig mitigation projects. This came about when the forward funding system was implemented in 2001. But that inherited debt was $1.7 billion. Since forward funding began, the amount of debt tripled to $5.2 billion.

Some service cutbacks may be avoided by changing the way they are delivered:

Harbor ferries already serve Logan Airport so Massport might be a better choice to manage the MBTA's water transport system.

Privatization of some T services should also be considered. Currently, five bus routes are operated by private companies. Expansion of this program could preserve some threatened bus service.

To help the MBTA get through the budget crisis and avoid service reductions, the Legislature should exempt the agency from the Pacheco law.

In 2009, State Auditor Joe DeNucci warned increasing demand for RIDE services and a lack of competitive bidding in the program threatened to create a new budget buster.  (Last April, Governor Patrick created a commission to find ways to make the RIDE more efficient).

There is also administrative overhead that should be cut before service is reduced. Here are examples from a recent MBTA budget (listed on their own website) that could be ELIMINATED:

1. Strategy Development ($115,300) "Establishes an ongoing dialogue
that identifies the actions crucial to delivering value to our external customers and internal stakeholders."
2. Copy and Design Services ($249,000) “Designs at least 20 marketing
campaigns, four newsletters, two annual reports and two subway maps.”
3. Service Planning and Special Projects Department ($1,138,596) “Performs bus stop inventory and responds to an est. 500 passenger inquiries annually.”
4. Local, State & Federal Relations ($346,353) “Lobbies areas of government.”

With a deficit this large some MBTA service cuts may be needed. But, before these things occur, the T and MassDOT need to make sure it has eliminated needless bureaucracy.  Since I have worked on the inside at MassDOT, in a multiple of positions, I believe we cannot give up on the ‘reform before revenue’ argument completely.

I have worked on pilot recommendations as major components of both the Patrick Administration’s Scorecard Initiative and Accelerated Bridge Program launched in the spring of 2008, focusing on performance based management and on-time delivery in MA Transportation.

(These ideas and techniques we piloted should immediately be expanded without delay to every public works project in the state).

During Gov. Cellucci’s Administration, I worked as a Right of Way Project Manager, collaborating closely with the City of Worcester on the property acquisition and relocation claims of citizens and businesses displaced over the Route 146 Mega-Project. 

And lastly, I hold a Master’s Degree from Northeastern University. At Northeastern, I worked closely with former Gov. Michael S. Dukakis who served as my Faculty Advisor, where we researched transportation finance, and the statewide agency merger (creating MassDOT), which eventually commenced in summer and fall of 2009. 

Transportation reform is an economic issue just as it can and should be an environmental issue, as we search for ways to fix an aging system, properly operate and fund the "T" and prevent carbon emissions from rising - thanks to crowded roadways in/around Metropolitan Boston.

Bringing performance based management and on-time delivery, while reforming the MA agencies involved in road, bridge and MBTA projects is central to our Economic Recovery and should be rapidly expanded during this recession.