Gov. Baker Assembles Special Commission To Fix MBTA Woes
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — Gov. Charlie Baker has assembled a special commission to spearhead recovering the MBTA which has struggled to provide consistent service through the brutal stretch of winter weather.
"We haven't yet dug out from this storm, but it's time to dig in as to why this happened," Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack said at a press conference Friday.
The all-volunteer commission is tasked to provide diagnostic review of the MBTA's operations and compare them to other transit systems.
The group will spend the next several weeks trying to get a better understanding of the MBTA's management, finances and maintenance backlog, with recommendations due by the end of March, the governor said.
The commission will report its findings by March 31.
Baker said the panel's findings will help fix the MBTA's ongoing problems and create "21st-century transportation that we all deserve."
"Let me make this clear. We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect a different result," said Baker, who has seen much of his first full month in office consumed by storm response and travel chaos resulting from the transit breakdowns.
Baker said the seven-member advisory panel will be chaired by Paul Barrett, the former director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and consist of nationally known leaders in transportation policy including Jane Garvey, who led the Federal Aviation Administration for five years and served as the state's highway director.
Along with Barrett and Garvey, other members of the panel include:
- Juan Gomez-Ibanez, a Harvard University urban planning expert
- Katherine Lapp, former head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York
- Robert Gittens, vice president of public affairs at Northeastern University
- Brian McMorrrow, chief financial officer for Massport's aviation division
- Braintree Mayor Joe Sullivan, a former lawmaker and one-time chairman of the Legislature's Transportation Committee.
Baker also plans to make surprise visits to T stops to better understand the current situation.
Commuter rail remains on a "modified" weekday schedule with hefty delays and some cancellations expected.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports
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