Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey continues to dodge duty for the beleaguered MBTA practically a yr after she took workplace and promised to revive accountability and transparency.
The T remains to be a harmful and unreliable mess even after Healey employed a public relations savvy basic supervisor and changed a lot of the board of administrators.
Healey blamed the Republican Baker administration for the most recent embarrassment – the slender rail issues on the brand new Green Line extension. She talks a troublesome sport however hasn’t produced with outcomes.
“What’s important is that it was not disclosed, and it was really not addressed,” she mentioned of the Green Line fiasco. “That is something we’ve been really clear about. Under the prior administration, senior management at the T, for whatever poor judgment made the decision not to disclose identified failures, and then made the poor decision not to address those failures prior to the opening of the Green Line extension.”
The Union Square department of the brand new Green Line wants 50% of its monitor changed whereas the brand new Medford department, simply opened in December, wants repairs on 80% of the tracks.
Two senior administration officers who labored on the extension had been reportedly canned by Healey.
In a brand new downside, the T had to herald shuttle buses on the C department of the Green Line on Wednesday due to electrical issues on the road. This is along with different delays on Green Line which have left riders depressing and pissed off.
The Democratic governor defended her basic efficiency on the T, noting she introduced in a brand new GM and security chief who she claims have sought to be clear.
But practically a yr into her tenure, the T – together with all of the strains and branches – is not any safer or dependable than below the Baker administration or different administrations. The T has tried PR strikes like beginning a brand new podcast that includes GM Phillip Eng, however the first episode was pulled for unknown causes earlier than lastly attending to see the sunshine of day.
Starting a contented speak podcast with a softball interview with Eng doesn’t imply the T is extra accessible. When new issues crop up – like a number of close to misses between Red Line trains and T staff – Healey calls them “unacceptable” however what’s she doing to forestall them?
“I will say this, that every effort has been made to make sure that with this administration, we have a team in place that understands its responsibility, and takes that responsibility seriously,” Healey mentioned.
Those are advantageous phrases, however riders need outcomes. And thus far they’re not getting them.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”