The MBTA is not working and it needs to be reset.
Former U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Raymond LaHood recommended sweeping changes for the T during a legislative hearing Tuesday, including stripping the DPU of its oversight authority and creating an independent safety management agency.
Now is the time to think about starting from scratch, he said, as a new governor will soon take over and collective efforts to get the T back on track have failed.
“The current system is not working,” LaHood told the Joint Committee on Transportation. “It simply is not. The FTA said that. We said it, and the people who are riding the trains have said it over and over again.
“So, if you want to start from ground zero, the timing is perfect for that right now, politically because you’re going to have new people in these chairs. And if I was in your chair, I’d think very seriously about doing that,” he added.
LaHood was the lead author of the 2019 Safety Review Panel report, which provided a roadmap for the Federal Transit Administration’s investigation into the MBTA earlier this year.
Both reports concluded that the T has a lax safety culture and was prioritizing capital projects at the expense of day-to-day operations.
LaHood suggested four changes to improve public transit in Boston. The most pressing need, he said, is for state lawmakers to remove the state’s safety oversight function from the Department of Public Utilities.
Where it goes is up to the Legislature or next administration, he said, but whatever entity gets that responsibility should be transparent, and take a proactive, rather than reactive approach to preventing safety incidents.
LaHood suggested creating an independent safety management agency that would be focused on attracting and retaining top talent for the short-staffed MBTA, and ensuring leadership implements its federally-required safety plans.
He said the agency should have regular meetings and report its findings to the MBTA, but it would have the authority to oversee all elements of safety at the T.
LaHood also said the T’s chief safety officer should be tasked with certifying all staff department-submitted budgets, to ensure that they reflect plans toward implementing directives outlined in the FTA report.
Finally, he said the MBTA should compare the findings of both reports to work toward identifying measurable safety performance goals and tracking annual progress toward meeting those benchmarks.
LaHood said a positive safety culture starts at the top, and has to be preached every day until it becomes ingrained in the system.
“Safety has to be embedded in every person who works for the organization,” he said. “Unless that culture exists, no matter how much money is spent, there are going to be problems.”
To measure progress toward reaching that safety culture, LaHood said the MBTA needs to start with taking a “zero tolerance” approach toward accidents and deaths.
“You just have to say we’re going to have zero tolerance,” he said. “That’s our baseline and we measure it from there. Then you hold people accountable.”
Meanwhile, the Herald has learned that slow zones on the Orange Line won’t be lifted until December.
Read More: The MBTA is ‘not working’ and needs a ‘ground zero’ rebuild, ex-transit leader says