Moving MBTA oversight from the DPU into a new independent agency holds the “greatest promise” for reforming rail transit safety, but would take much longer than shifting the responsibility to an existing state entity, a new report found.
A new agency, with limited appointing authority from the governor, was touted as the best solution for state safety oversight of the region’s embattled subway system in a 21-page report released Monday by the MBTA Advisory Board.
“The creation of a new state agency would mark a bold, new approach for oversight safety for public transportation in Massachusetts, but one that follows the model set forth by New York state and the Washington, D.C. metro area,” states the report written by Chris Dempsey, a former assistant secretary of transportation.
“An independent entity would have clear lines of responsibility, and, unlike the DPU, would be able to focus exclusively on transit safety, as both New York’s PTSB and Washington’s WMSC do,” the report stated, referencing the Public Transportation Safety Board and Washington Metrorail Safety Commission.
An “entirely new state entity” composed of members with transportation expertise could keep a narrow focus on MBTA rail safety, similar to the oversight authority for WMATA, the only other subway system to undergo a federal safety management inspection, the report said.
Or its responsibilities could be expanded to include oversight of a broader set of public transit and private passenger transportation. The Legislature could opt to transfer bus safety oversight and other transportation network companies from the Department of Public Utilities, which the feds found to be understaffed and ineffective in its oversight role, to the new agency.
According to the report, the DPU’s safety oversight program, which includes an SSO director and six full-time field staff, is funded with a $1.35 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration. The amount represents only a sliver of the department’s $21 million budget.
In comparison, WMATA’s oversight authority, WMSC, which replaced a pre-safety management inspection Tri-State Oversight Committee and has 18 full-time employees, has an annual budget of more than $5 million. The cost is split between federal grants and funding from the three governments served by the transit agency.
“While an independent entity holds perhaps the greatest promise for a durable solution to rail and transit safety, creating, staffing and resourcing this organization will require a significant effort from state leaders,” the report stated.
For example, creation of a new oversight authority for the D.C. metro system took more than a year and a half, the report said, and included a lengthy legislative process between Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, the three governments included in the system.
If a new state safety oversight entity is created, it should be one with “unquestioned” independence from the MBTA, with a minority of gubernatorial appointed members, since the majority of the T’s Board of Directors are appointed by the governor, the report states.
The only other “feasible” option for Massachusetts lawmakers, according to the report, is shifting oversight of the T from the DPU to a different, existing oversight entity, such as the state auditor, inspector general or the MBTA Advisory Board, the latter of which is composed of local mayors and other municipal officials.
State lawmakers are drafting legislation that considers both options put forward by the report, state Sen. Mike Barrett, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities & Energy, told the Herald last week.
“I’m interested in moving transportation safety out of the DPU for two reasons,” Barrett said. “First, the DPU has blown it in terms of consistently attending to its oversight responsibility, but secondly as the climate issue looms larger and larger, I don’t want to see the DPU distracted by other issues.”
A DPU spokesperson said last week that the agency is working diligently to comply with federal directives, which includes beefing up its staffing and conducting more field work and auditing to provide further oversight.
Consistent and effective independent oversight won’t just happen with a “one-time governance.” Under either option, the Legislature and Gov.-elect Maura Healey’s incoming administration must provide “sustained attention and the commitment of sufficient resources to build a best-in-class oversight entity,” the report states.
“This will take years to accomplish, and Massachusetts must avoid a repeat of the dire situation that prompted the FTA to take the nearly unprecedented steps that it did in 2022,” the report said.
Through a spokesperson, Healey declined to comment on where she stood on the two oversight options under consideration, but has stated that she will “instruct her new transportation safety chief to review” the DPU’s role in MBTA safety oversight.