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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Massachusetts State Auditor released an audit report of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, examining the organization’s safety performance and contract management.
The audit evaluated the period of time from Jan. 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2022.
“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 State Auditor Diana DiZoglio in a press release on Sunday.
The MBTA has been outsourcing certain customer service agent jobs to the company Block by Block since 2018.
The employees are responsible for answering questions, providing directions, assisting customers, and reporting maintenance hazards, safety concerns, and cleaning issues.
The audit found that the MBTA failed to ensure that the outside company, BBB, completed certain safety inspections on time for 94% of the time.
The report also said that the MBTA did not make sure BBB employees received operations and safety training before being assigned to their subway stations.
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The state auditor stated that the “ineffective management” of the contract with BBB has increased the risk of safety hazards and maintenance needs being left unidentified and unaddressed.
“Riders, taxpayers and employees deserve better management of a contract worth tens of millions of their public dollars,” said DiZoglio.
To clarify, the contract was made during a previous MBTA administration, and the current MBTA administration has said that they have been working on addressing and resolving the previous procurement process.
“The T’s new management, through their spokesperson, stated they will immediately begin incorporating audit recommendations for much needed improvements to the processes implemented by the previous administration,” explained DiZoglio.
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The MBTA said it “looks forward to reviewing the findings of the State Auditor's report and is committed to addressing the issues raised promptly and thoroughly,” according to a statement to WBZ NewsRadio.
“Since last year, the MBTA has already worked to improve the previous administration's procurement process and created the new posts of Chief and Deputy Chief of Stations to increase supervision,” they added.
“We appreciate the Office of the State Auditor's recommendations and remain dedicated to continuous improvement in safety and service quality to provide a safer, more reliable transit system for our riders and employees.”
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