MBTA general manager vows more transparency after oversight board was left in dark on worker safety plan

The general manager of the MBTA pledged to be more transparent Thursday after the T apparently kept its oversight board in the dark last month about federal regulators’ rejecting its worker safety plan.

After several serious near-miss incidents and at least one worker injury, the Federal Transit Administration demanded in April the T make changes to its protocols. The agency submitted a plan, but on May 19, the FTA said it was "insufficient" and told the T to craft a new version focusing on more immediate changes.

But on May 25, general manager Phillip Eng and the head of the T's quality, compliance and oversight office did not mention the letter at an agency board meeting. The media first reported the FTA's rejection of the T's plan on May 29.

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On Thursday, a member of the agency's board of directors, Chanda Smart, pressed Eng at a board meeting about why she had found out about the FTA's May 19 directive in the news media, calling it "unacceptable."

Eng said he took responsibility for the T's opacity. He said when he received the May 19 letter it was among several "correspondences" from the FTA. "Certainly moving forward, I understand the importance of transparency and sharing that document," Eng said.

Thursday's meeting was only the third of the new iteration of the T's oversight panel, envisioned as a middle ground between the previous board's laissez-fair approach and the aggressiveness of the Fiscal and Management Control Board, which oversaw the agency from 2015 to 2021.

Top of the agenda Thursday: the agency's finances. Board members unanimously approved the agency's $2.7 billion operating budget for the fiscal year that begins in July.

The MBTA is facing down an enormous fiscal cliff in years to come when fare revenue and state sales tax revenue, the agency's two largest consistent sources of funding, are projected fall far short of covering the T's operating expenses, including wages, benefits, fuel, and day-to-day maintenance.

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The T's revenue for the coming fiscal year was $366 million less than its projected expenses, said Mary Ann O’Hara, chief financial officer, but the agency was able to fill the gap with one-time state funds and money from its emergency fund, which includes federal pandemic relief money.

"Recurring revenue does not support our recurring expenses," said O’Hara. "One-time money is great, but one-time money alone doesn't solve the recurring problem that we have. . . . What we see coming is money is going to go out the door unless something changes on the financial structure."

The MBTA projects it could be short as much as $139 million in fiscal year 2025, which begins next summer, and as much as $475 million the following year, according to O’Hara's presentation to the board Thursday.

Equally as concerning is the MBTA's capital budget, said board member Thomas M. McGee, which covers things like new trains, bus garages, and expansions like the Green Line extension.

The proposed capital investment plan starting in July presented to board members Thursday includes spending $9.7 billion over the next five years. But available funding each year decreases from around $1.9 billion next fiscal year to around $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2028. Board members did not vote on the plan Thursday.

"The [fiscal year] ′24 number, I would suggest that that doesn't come even close to meeting our need for [that year]," said McGee. "And seeing it continued to be reduced is even more sobering than the operating budget's gloomy picture moving forward."

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Transit advocates have long been urging the Legislature to provide new ongoing funding for the MBTA instead of filling multi-million budget gaps with one-time funds each year.

Meanwhile, Eng said the T continues to make progress on eliminating slow zones, where trains are forced to travel at reduced speeds because of unresolved track defects.

On his first day as general manager in April, Eng said he would publish a plan for how and when each slow zone will be eliminated. After nearly two months on the job, Eng said Thursday he is instead going to focus on fixing the tracks in the slowest areas first and talking to businesses and people affected by possible subway closures before announcing any plans.

New FTA requirements that the T overhaul its procedures for keeping workers safe are also complicating efforts, he said.

"That is one of the variables that has had a switch and pivot a little bit from a full plan," he said, speaking to reporters after the meeting.

The MBTA's speed restriction dashboard showed Thursday that trains are still operating at reduced speeds in around 20 percent of the T's subway tracks.

Taylor Dolven can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @taydolven.