Moulton Statement on Federal Transit Administration Report on MBTA Safety Issues
SALEM, Mass.– Congressman Seth Moulton gave the following statement in response to a 90-page report released this morning by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) outlining MBTA safety and staffing issues:
“The MBTA needs top-to-bottom changes that affect everything from hiring to vision and culture. If we only fix the immediate maintenance and safety concerns, we will be right back here with the same problems in four or five years.
The new report published by FTA details a perfect storm of systemic failures -- inadequate staffing, ineffective communication, noncompliance with safety and maintenance standards -- that have led to the situation the MBTA is in today.
It is still hard to understand why the system is failing at the most basic maintenance measures when our peers across the globe are able to keep their own systems updated and running safely.
What we need now is a path forward that involves collaboration at the federal, state, and city levels and to pursue transformative improvements, including a huge infusion of workforce hiring and training, so that we are never in this situation again.”
We now need to see a detailed plan from the MBTA that goes far beyond the necessary catch-up repairs. We need a wholesale culture shift at the MBTA.”
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