TESTIMONY: MBTA Agenda Item 5 & 6

Presented by Tom Ryan, Tom Ryan, Senior Advisor on Policy, Government & Community Affairs

MBTA Board of Directors, April 28, 2022, Agenda Items 5 & 6 | Delivered on Wednesday, April 27th

Members of the Board thank you for the opportunity to submit comments today.

The Commonwealth is experiencing a transition to the new normal, with increased return to the workplace, and we expect to see additional commuters in the months ahead. Riders are making important mobility decisions about how they reconnect to the workplace, family, recreational trips, and daily activities.

We are asking that the FY23 MBTA Budget commit to a return to full-service levels across all modes and to put more focus on customer experience. Safety, reliability, and affordability are top of mind for riders. It is critical that the MBTA provides transit service that addresses these concerns, supports increasing demand, and enables strong, equitable economic recovery and growth.

Now more than ever, bringing back and growing ridership will depend on the MTBA’s ability to show that mass transit can make be the better commuting alternative. This is a short- and long-term objective for the MBTA. Today, it’s about getting people back. Tomorrow, it’s about ensuring there is funding to keep service running!

This week, A Better City released a new report called Keeping the MBTA on Track: A Review of Prior Commitments, which provides an update on how initiatives launched by the FMCB are advancing since the appointment of the new Board of Directors.

  • The MBTA is behind with respect to a means-tested fare program. Last summer the FMBC voted to fund the program in the FY23 budget and to launch a pilot no later than September 2022. This Board should not be backing away from this commitment and we ask that it be addressed today.
  • The MTBA is advancing procurement of Type 10 Green Line vehicles, an important FMCB recommendation, that can improve service, increase capacity, and reduce costs to the operating budget. This deserves support from the Board, and we are excited to see this initiative moving forward.

For six years, the MBTA produced detailed strategic planning efforts through a transparent process that resulted in public promises that are supported by riders, elected officials, and the business community.

The new MBTA Board does not need to start over or pull back from the plans developed by the FMCB, they simply need to stay on track with the established plans, including bus and Commuter Rail transformation as well as safety review panel recommendation implementation, amongst others.

Thank you

 

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