AASHTO Journal - MBTA Develops, Adopts Comprehensive Vision Statement

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority recently issued a comprehensive “vision statement” outlining the agency’s values, goals, and metrics that will help it improve safety, service, equity, sustainability, and culture.

[Above photo by MBTA]

The MBTA – a division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation – said it developed this “vision statement” via detailed collaboration with staff and stakeholders.

“Thanks to input from MBTA employees and our valued partners within transportation advocacy organizations, we have new strategic goals which underscore our commitment to improving the MBTA to make it safer, more reliable, resilient, and equitable,” said MassDOT Secretary and CEO Gina Fiandaca in a statement.

“We intend to bring a new level of transparency, public engagement, and capital investment to the MBTA, and we will succeed with workforce investments, collaboration, and decisions that prioritize safety,” she added.

[Editor’s note: Fiandaca plans to step down as MassDOT secretary and CEO in September. Monica Tibbits-Nutt, the agency’s undersecretary, will take over as acting transportation secretary.]

The main goals MBTA has incorporated within its vision statement are:

Empower and support staff to develop a culture which prioritizes and promotes safety.
Modernize assets to improve connectivity while ensuring MBTA property is maintained in a state of good repair.
Ensure transparent decision making so the experiences and perspectives of MBTA staff and riders are accounted for.
Retain, attract, and invest in a diverse and qualified workforce that represents MBTA ridership.
Support regional vitality by providing riders with dependable, frequent, and accessible service.
Increase environmental sustainability and resilience within the state’s transit systems.
Increase the percentage of transit trips in the region by attracting new riders and retaining existing riders via a dependable, frequent, and accessible service.
Communicate openly about costs and revenues needed to support current services and for future expansion.

“We are committed to providing a safe, reliable, and accessible transportation system for Massachusetts,” said MBTA General Manager Phil Eng. “We are listening to the feedback of our riders and stakeholders, and we are using that feedback to shape our vision and our roadmap. It is only with them that we can make this mission a reality. We know we sometimes face challenges, but we are confident that we can overcome them. We are committed to making the MBTA a public transportation system that everyone can rely on.”

He noted that MBTA plans to finalize metrics for tracking progress towards those goals in the coming months.

“We believe these goals will help keep us focused,” noted Lynsey Heffernan, MBTA’s assistant general manager for policy and transit planning. “We’re serving vibrant and diverse communities with rich history and culture who deserve to be able to rely on us for public transit services. The more in tune we are with our collective vision, the more likely we will be able to deliver on that vision.”