Ex-Planning Director: MBTA Prioritized Expansion Over Maintenance
BOSTON (CBS) -- A history of prioritizing expansion over maintenance is a big reason for the MBTA's current failures, according to a former T official.
Geoff Slater, the MBTA's former director of planning in the mid-1990s, told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Joe Mathieu that many people working for the transit system back then believed there was an "overemphasis" on expansion.
"We had a tremendous focus on expansion, and I think that focus on expansion continued," Slater said. "That was at the expense of the state of good repair, maintaining the core system, and that's what you're seeing the impacts of now."
The MBTA has filed for federal disaster assistance after weeks of extreme cold and snow that have completely shut the system down on some days. General Manager Beverly Scott, who announced that she will step down in April, said it may take 30 days to get things back on track and has blamed the T's problems on poor funding and aging infrastructure.
READ: General Public, Inmates Helping To Shovel T Tracks
Slater said that much of the equipment the MBTA is running is very old, including "buses you associate more with Detroit than places like Boston."
"You've got to really put an emphasis back on the state of good repair and get the core system back under control," he said.
That doesn't necessarily mean buying all new vehicles and equipment, Slater said.
"You can replace things that need to be replaced, but a lot of things can be maintained better, you can rehab things, you can rebuild them," he said. "It's basically a great system but it needs the attention it deserves."
Despite all its winter woes, Slater says the MBTA is still a world-class system that just needs to get better. But the question of how to pay for necessary improvements remains.
"Fares cover only a small percentage of what it costs to operate the system," Slater said. "There's only a limited amount of what you can do with fares. .. it could be part of the solution but it's certainly not the largest part of the solution."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens Reports
