MBTA should put the brakes on expansions, Harvard fellow says

A research fellow at Harvard University has called for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to put its expansion projects on hold as the agency works through its financial difficulties.

In a report released last week, Senior Fellow Charles Chieppo noted that the agency's expenses are expected to outpace revenue growth in the coming years. Without reform, MBTA's financial issues will become worse, according to the report.

As a result, MBTA should halt plans for further expansion — including the Green Line extension project — until the agency's current state-of-good-repair backlog is eliminated, Chieppo said in the report.

The agency will need to spend $472 million annually on state-of-good-repair efforts to keep its $7.3 billion maintenance backlog from growing, Chieppo said in the report.

Additionally, the agency should establish a set of customer service metrics to increase ridership and focus on recuperating a greater share of operating costs through fares.

"Providing excellent customer service increases ridership, which provides desperately needed revenue," he wrote. "Customer service should be the MBTA's top priority."

Chieppo's call for additional reform comes at the same time changes are being made under a plan spearheaded by Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker, who helped establish a fiscal management and control board to oversee MBTA in May.

Earlier this month, that board directed the agency to terminate all contracts for the Green Line Extension.