Says woes deeper than was thought
The board that oversees the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority says the agency’s problems are even more “serious and deep-seated” than a previous panel had discovered earlier this year, according to the board’s first report to the Legislature.
The report released on Tuesday is a bleak assessment of the T, summarizing the board’s findings since it first began meeting in July. Those disclosures, many of which were previously made public, include:
- The T’s annual operating budget is “unsustainable,” and could lead to a $427 million budget gap by 2020 if officials do not address the rate of growth.
- T officials say they would need nearly $7.3 billion to fully upgrade its infrastructure to good working order. The T should have been spending about $472 million on upgrades to its vehicles, tracks and other infrastructure. But since 2009, the T has only been spending an average of about $389 million a year.
- Absences by drivers are the leading reason for lost bus, subway, and trolley trips. Absences also account for $14 million of $53 million in overtime spent during the 2015 fiscal year.
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