The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently returned direct supervision of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) safety equipment and management back to the state after four years.
The step follows the conclusion of a review of the Department of Public Utilities’ (DPU) safety oversight of the MBTA.
“We made a commitment to invest in the Rail Transit Safety Division, strengthen technical expertise, and build more rigorous oversight processes — and we delivered,” DPU Commissioner Staci Rubin, who oversees the DPU’s transportation divisions, said. “The DPU is well positioned to ensure safer T operations in the years to come.”
The DPU is Massachusetts’ state safety oversight agency. After several major safety incidents at the MBTA, the FTA directed DPU’s Rail Transit Safety Division in 2022 to make significant changes to its operations, safety practices, funding and staffing. It also ordered the DPU to increase its oversight of MBTA’s safety protocols.
The DPU took significant steps to overhaul its MBTA oversight, and the FTA gave the agency a satisfactory report for its triennial audit in 2024 and closed the special directive. The FTA did not formally close the final special directive until this month, returning direct responsibility of the remaining safety actions to the DPU.
“When I took office, the T was in a dire state,” said Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey. “After years of underinvestment, workers and passengers alike didn’t feel safe on the rails. Today, the T is safer, more reliable, and more affordable for the riders who use it every day.”