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More than 100 Green Line passengers walking through a darkened tunnel after their train got stuck. More frustrating delays in getting new Red and Orange Line trains. More diversions and shutdowns coming soon on the Green, Red and Orange Lines.
These are now Gov. Maura Healey’s problems.
No more blaming Charlie Baker or the previous MBTA board.
The clock is ticking on Healey’s search for a new MBTA general manager and her plan to restructure T leadership.
Change couldn’t come soon enough.
If Healey is too cautious to take bold action like putting the T in state receivership, she should at least put the agency under her office’s control.
It would be risky but a dramatic statement that the T will no longer be held unaccountable.
Healey should also be more visible on the T. She obviously can’t take the train every day because of security concerns but how about a few surprise inspections once in a while? Maybe send Kim Driscoll on the commuter rail.
Nearly three months after Healey was elected, there are just too many signs that the T is still being run by the same incompetent team that Baker assembled.
The interim T manager — a holdover from Baker’s administration — continues to run the besieged agency and it could be months before the new search for a GM is finished.
There are still other holdovers on the T board, which sits by and does and says nothing about the agency’s mounting problems.
It should be an embarrassment to Healey that the T’s communications team continues to lie and obfuscate, like insisting that South Station is open all night to accommodate the homeless.
Why should it take months for Healey to install her own team at the T, which should be the top priority of her administration?
Healey knew for a year that she was going to be governor in 2023. She had plenty of time to plan. She should have replaced the old guard on day one.
Healey’s pick for Secretary of Transportation, Gina Fiandaca, is just now starting her job three weeks after Healey’s inauguration. She needs to move quickly to establish her presence and begin to turn around the agency. Every week that goes by is a week wasted.
The T’s apologetic tone and mistake-ridden track record are now on Fiandaca and Healey’s plate.
“Riders are advised that due to the complexity of the continued demolition of the Government Center Garage by HYM Construction, additional weekend diversions will be necessary in the coming months to accommodate the ongoing work,” MBTA spokesperson Lisa Battiston said this week. “The MBTA apologizes for this inconvenience.”
Apologies aren’t enough. Riders are fed up with those. Time for Healey to reestablish credibility.
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