An Expert’s Take on Eng, and the MBTA

Mike Martello, PhD., is a civil engineer and MIT-affiliated researcher, who’s studied climate change’s challenges to the MBTA and other transit systems. We spoke to Martello about the Massachusetts Bay Transportation System’s Phillip Eng and the challenges facing the T.

Sampan: I can’t remember a general manager of the T who seemed as popular as Eng. What are your general thoughts about his performance over the past couple of years and the obstacles in front of him?

Martello: I think Phil Eng has been a breath of fresh air for the T. Hiring someone with his credentials and competencies from an outside peer agency was a smart move, as he’s proven to be untethered to some of the T’s institutional inertia. Overall, I think he’s doing a great job. It’s hard to say what the future will bring, though I think funding is always a pervasive challenge for the MBTA. Depending on how federal funding shakes out over the next few years, the MBTA budget may end up in a serious pinch and would be a serious challenge to navigate.

Sampan: When I interviewed him, he seemed to believe the T could really become a first-class system one day, modern and not the patchwork that it seems like it is today…. Given the challenges that Greater Boston faces — geological, geographical, political and historical — do you see this as a real possibility?

Martello: Anything is possible with enough political and financial capital. That said, I think truly modernizing the T would require some unpopular decisions that would likely end up leaving behind winners and losers. On top of a blank check, I think serious changes to the system will require real political support and serious public engagement that may never fully materialize. I also think it depends on what you consider to be world class. In a lot of ways, the MBTA is already there, though if you’re thinking of a system designed with tomorrow’s mobility needs and travel patterns in mind, there’s a lot of work left to be done.

Sampan: …What, if anything, can we take away from the Blue line evacuation? On the one hand, it seems like a glaring example of the problems that have been plaguing the T for years, but on the other hand, everyone was apparently safely evacuated, which seems like an amazing feat. Is this both a sign of the problems we have and the responsiveness of our T and emergency systems? Or something else?

Martello: Unfortunately, with a system as old as the T, these type of events are inevitable. From what I’ve read, the emergency response was a great example of the T operating well under pressure. Hard to say if this will be a harbinger of similar problems in future, though I personally would not bet on that being the case.

Sampan: One thing that comes up time and again is how old our system is and how that’s why it’s the way it is. But I think many other systems are old, such as Tokyo’s metro system, but they don’t look like ours, and function much better. Do you have any thoughts about that excuse?

Martello: Age is likely a limiting factor, though I think funding is still the greatest hurdle. Transit systems are quite expensive to modernize, especially in the U.S., relative to peer agencies abroad. There are some aspects of the MBTA system, such as the geometry of the tunnels, thinking of sharp turns on the Green Line, like at Boylston for instance, that will inherently impinge upon any modernization efforts. In that sense, the age of the T is a bit of a unique obstacle, insofar as many of the existing tunnels were designed for service standards of a different era.

Sampan: Finally, climate change. How big of an impact will be climate change, do you think, on the T in the coming years? Not only on the subway lines that run through downtown and their structural integrity, but on the demand for power, and the rising sea levels?

Martello: … I’m cautiously optimistic that the impact of climate change on the T will be minimal, given their focus on the issue and organizational capabilities. That said, funding for climate resilience measures over the coming years will be key to minimizing the impact of climate change. Sea level rise, particularly in the latter half of this century, may yet well pose an existential issue for some of the coastal communities the MBTA serves, thinking specifically of the portions of Revere serviced by the Blue Line for instance, though that’s still a pretty distant issue, at least for the moment.

— Adam Smith