Congressman Seth Moulton Slams MBTA After Fed Oversight Report

SALEM, MA — U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Salem) slammed the MBTA — saying the mass transit authority needs "top-to-bottom changes that affect everything from hiring to vision and culture" — following a Federal Transit Authority report released on Wednesday highly critical of the MBTA's oversight and staff levels.

The FTA report said the transit agency developed troubling safety problems due to a focus on completing capital projects, and a workforce that's too small to run the subway system.

The MBTA is in the midst of a 30-day shutdown of the Orange Line and a portion of the Green Line largely designed to expedite infrastructure work.

"The new report published by FTA details a perfect storm of systemic failures — inadequate staffing, ineffective communication, noncompliance with safety and maintenance standards — that have led to the situation the MBTA is in today," Moulton said in a statement to Patch. "It is still hard to understand why the system is failing at the most basic maintenance measures when our peers across the globe are able to keep their own systems updated and running safely."

(More on Patch: FTA Orders MBTA To Fix Safety, Staffing Problems In New Report)

In response to the FTA report, MBTA officials said on Wednesday they were launching the Quality, Compliance, and Oversight Office, which will operate outside of the T's current organizational structure and implement actions to address the report's findings.

"The MBTA's number one priority remains safety for both our riders and our employees," MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said on Wednesday. "We are grateful to the FTA for their recommendations as we build on numerous actions and initiatives already in place across the organization to strengthen our safety management."

Katie Choe, who has more than 20 years of experience working in construction management and safety oversight, will lead the new oversight office.

But Moulton charged that a more substantial overhaul of MBTA operations is needed.

"What we need now is a path forward that involves collaboration at the federal, state, and city levels and to pursue transformative improvements, including a huge infusion of workforce hiring and training, so that we are never in this situation again," Moulton said. "We now need to see a detailed plan from the MBTA that goes far beyond the necessary catch-up repairs.

"We need a wholesale culture shift at the MBTA."

The FTA has ordered the T to address four new special directives covering areas like safety communications and balancing the funding of new projects vs. day-to-day operations.

The 90-page FTA report found an "increase in severity" of incidents in the subway system dating back several years.

The FTA report was released shortly after Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday morning filed a supplemental $1.6 billion budget proposal, which includes $200 million for the MBTA.

The FTA report only covered the MBTA's subway system. Commuter rail and bus services were not audited.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached @Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)