www.bostonglobe.com
Come-on folks --you know there are lots of cables in the T system that are 50-60 years old. That is practically new by MBTA standards.Downed cable that caused Blue Line evacuation was more than 50 years old, official says - The Boston Globe
The 50- to 60-year-old steel cable probably “weakened until the point where it came down” after decades in a damp, subterranean tunnel, said Phillip Eng, the MBTA general manager.
www.wbur.org
The Pioneer Institute is garbage.
The Pioneer Institute is absolutely arguing in bad faith, but there are legitimate points made. And while too much focus on cost control will lead to neglecting service quality, too little means that far less service is provided than could be with those funds. In particular, the increases in bus operating costs (64% revenue miles) from 2019 to 2023 are nothing to sneeze at. It's hard to say exactly what caused that, and the NTD numbers for 2024 should be interesting. However, Pioneer shows their hand by providing data on revenue hours (increase of 94% over the same time period), which is almost certainly a worse metric.A new report says the T's spending is 'unsustainable.' Phil Eng says recent expenditures have been worth it.
MBTA General Manager Philip Eng called the report “disgusting” because it failed to acknowledge “the amount of work performed to repair the system.”www.boston.com
The Pioneer Institute is garbage.
While this is clearly hypocritical, it is fair to ask why MSP and the T need their own pensions instead of just integrating into the state's. Larger pension funds are, in general, able to achieve higher rates of return all else being equal. There is also the benefit of pension costs not being a drag on any specific agency and it being much harder to not fully fund those pensions. Ultimately, the pensions are almost certainly a result of the T and police having better unions than most state employees, which while good for them, is a pretty terrible reason for their pensions to be that much more generous.
What really pisses me off is that they keep on doing track work. Nothing wrong with that. They claim once & for all. But they just keep on going back time & time again, doing the same spots over & over again, messing up streets, detour traffic, wasting up & monopolizing precious time & making traffic a living nightmare!!!! Or they are doing the work, then are finding out that old cable lines that were in use hundreds of years ago are suddenly coming lose and are knocking out power to trains!!
MSP definitely participates in MSERS (MA State Employees Retirement System), even if their rate is different from other classifications of state employees. That's fairly common though. The MBTA retirement system is independent courtesy of the legislation that created it - its largely because, unlike most state employees including MSP where the rate is generally set by statute & legislation, the MBTA's retirement plan contributions and benefits are set purely by the collective bargaining agreements between it and its unions.
Given they just had a severe driver shortage (are we even out of that?) and were throwing out bonuses and increased pay to attract anyone to be a driver, I'd wager that is part of it. That said: it's just supply and demand and capitalism, you got to pay a wage that people will do the job for, no one is altruistically taking below market wages to be an MBTA bus driver.
The T and the MSP having better benefits is partially the power of labor unions - but - I also think this is also an acknowledgement that the frontlines of their work are likely to be more injurious and as a result may require more financial resources to enjoy what years they may have in retirement. On the other hand, I do think that administrative and managerial workers in both organizations should be on different schedules in the state pension system.
whdh.com
The Haymarket North extension has (in my opinion) the worst stations on the entire system, only the Braintree branch but its close. Seriously, look at the pre 1975 Sullivan Square station to understand just how much of a downgrade it was.
