Mass. Gov. Baker: MBTA must prove it doesn't need federal takeover

Source: Axios

August 10, 2022 - News

Baker: MBTA must prove it doesn't need federal takeover

Mike Deehan

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker does not want federal transit officials to take over the MBTA while the agency works through a litany of emergency safety fixes and service closures.

The latest: Instead of the feds putting the T into a kind of receivership to directly control the agency's repairs, Baker would prefer that federal officials continue to provide mandated safety directives while the T makes the fixes itself, he told reporters yesterday.

The backdrop: House Transportation Committee co-chair William Straus told Axios last week that the Federal Transit Administration should consider putting the agency in temporary receivership.

What they're saying: The T needs to follow through on its repair agenda so federal authorities don't have a reason to take over, Baker said.

• "It's incumbent on us to prove to them that that's a better way to go."

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Read more: https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2022/08/10/mtba-federal-takeover-baker