Press Release  Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Safety Audit Identifies Gaps in Safety Training and Contract Management

Boston — Today, State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s Office released an audit of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)’s performance under an outsourced contract for customer safety and service, for the period from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022.

This report is the first in a series of reports that the OSA will be releasing to examine safety and performance at the MBTA.

In 2017, the MBTA began employing internal customer service agents to serve as the initial points of contact within the MBTA system. These employees were responsible for answering questions, providing directions, assisting customers, and reporting maintenance hazards, safety concerns, and cleaning issues. Since 2018, customer service ambassadors, commonly found wearing red shirts in the stations, no longer work directly for the MBTA. This work is outsourced to the company Block by Block (BBB).

The audit revealed the MBTA failed to ensure that BBB completed visual station checks (safety inspections) on time, 94% of the time. Furthermore, the MBTA did not ensure that all appropriate BBB employees received training on operations and safety before being assigned to subway station locations.

Ineffective management of this contract increases the risk that safety hazards and maintenance needs will not be identified in a timely manner, affecting the safety of the MBTA’s riders, employees, and subway stations. Sending employees into the field without proper training increases safety risks for the public, stations, and the employees themselves.

“Our audit of the MBTA has revealed significant gaps in safety training and contract management, which puts riders, employees and the public at risk,” said Auditor DiZoglio. “The Taxpayer Protection Act (TPA) requires that before outsourcing public work, as was done in this case, evidence must be provided that services will be of the same or better quality, at a savings to the taxpayer. This contract, however, was executed by the prior Administration during a loophole period in which the TPA did not apply. Our audit found a number of issues and, while the T indicated interest in “moving towards active contract management,”[1] there is little evidence the T adequately improved contract management or performance in service to the public. Riders, taxpayers and employees deserve better management of a contract worth tens of millions of their public dollars.”

The Office of the State Auditor will follow up in six months and encourages MBTA management to expeditiously take corrective measures.

[1] Appendix N of the MBTA’s Request or Proposals No. 41-17 for In-Station Customer Service stated the MBTA’s interest in “moving towards active contract management” and developing service-level agreements with its vendor for this service. However, no service-level agreements were developed, as confirmed to us by MBTA officials.

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