Report: MBTA's Approach To Safety Is 'Questionable'

BOSTON, MA — The MBTA's "approach to safety is questionable," with deficiencies in policies and standards in almost every area examined, according to a report released Monday. The MBTA safety review panel began work on its report in June, after a series of derailments resulted in injuries, delays, unpredictable services and millions of dollars in repair costs.

"While the agency performs the necessary core functions to be considered a relatively safe system, many aspects of the T’s approach to safety and operations need immediate attention," the panel wrote in the report's executive summary. "In almost every area we examined, deficiencies in policies, application of safety standards or industry best practices, and accountability were apparent."

In a statement, the MBTA did not dispute the report's findings, saying, for example, the report's finding of lax maintenance on Orange and Red Line cars is "alarming."

"Today’s report by the MBTA’s Safety Review Panel demonstrates how much work still needs to be done to transform Metro Boston’s transit and rail system into one that is modern, reliable, responsive and, most importantly, safe," the statement said. "The T must address the adequacy of its Operating Budget as a priority. The report exposes the danger of a mentality that prizes balanced budgets over performance."

Among the report's key findings:

• The MBTA is not conducting preventive maintenance and inspections as required. "Over the years, due to shortage of and/or inexperienced leadership, competing priorities and fiscal controls, operational managers have had difficulty identifying what maintenance and inspections need to be done, or have been dropped due to fiscal pressures or lack of staffing," the report said.
• The MBTA has "no meaningful" quality assurance and quality control program. "This is another critical function that leadership must implement to establish a sound safety culture," the report said.
• The commuter generally fared better in the report than the transit operations, in part because the commuter rail falls under Federal Railroad Administration regulations. "The one area that needs immediate attention is their fatigue management program, which does not contain an effective Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) screening program; however, their management is diligently pursuing this goal," the report said.
• Employees do not feel supported and do not trust the MBTA's current leadership. The system is also plagued by communication problems throughout its hierarchy. "The Panel also found that a current culture of blame and retaliation impede the T’s ability to achieve a greater level of risk management and safety assurance," the panel wrote.

The report, which made 34 recommendations, which contain 61 individual corrective actions,
said turnover in the T's leadership and a requirement that management meet 36 times per year has compounded the problem. "Staff preparation to meet the needs of the Board is overwhelming and leaves staff little if any time to tend to the operation or the maintenance of the system," the report said.