MBTA announces 3-year safety improvement plan

04/04/2023 By Meghan O’Brien

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority released a 63-page document Tuesday, detailing its new plans to improve the safety of Boston’s transit system. The new safety improvement plan includes highly specific timelines, promising to bring trains up to federal standards within the next three years.

Courtesy of Michael Day/Creative Commons

After a not-so-positive report from the Federal Transit Administration last year, the MBTA has been working towards making the safety of their workers and customers their top priority. In response to the FTA’s directives, the T created 518 corrective action items, 36 percent of which have been completed as of February 2023. 

The $212 million project intends to continue this momentum by reducing speed restrictions and decreasing the number of disabled trains currently in use. 

In order to support this ambitious project, the MBTA intends to close the gap in their worker shortage. According to the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation, the company is highly understaffed and may require nearly 2,800 within the next few years in order to be deemed fully operational. In light of this report, the MBTA recently raised the signing bonus to $7,500 for any new hires.

The MBTA intends to annually update its safety plan to show both progress as well as any changes that may affect the people of Boston.