Out-of-Control Administrative Staffing Budget Increases at the MBTA

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With talk of fare hikes and ongoing performance problems, Pioneer has released a timely new report on the MBTA’s skyrocketing administrative costs:

In Data Reveals Out of Control Administrative Staffing Budget Increases at MBTAauthors Greg Sullivan, Research Director, and Michael Weiner, Research Assistant, both at Pioneer Institute, analyze data from the National Transit Database (NTD) to show that the T far exceeds peer agencies in terms of expenditures on administrative personnel over the past several years.

Some key findings:

  • The T’s general administration employee count increased by more than 79% between FY08-14, from 279 to 481
  • The T’s budget (including salaries and fringe benefits) increased by 120.5% ($27 million to more than $60 million in 6 years
  • Over the same time period, one of the T’s peer agencies, SEPTA, actually lowered its GA personnel budget

As this new brief shows, the T’s spending is out of control at the agency’s highest level.

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