Entries by Greg Sullivan

Fixing the MBTA Retirement Fund: Reforming a Pension Fund in Crisis

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This report examines the MBTA Retirement Fund’s unfunded liability and compares MBTA and state employee and employer retirement contributions. It recommends that the MBTA assess the feasibility of moving its employees out of the Social Security system and transfer investment management responsibility for its pension fund to the commonwealth’s Pension Reserves Investment Management board as initial steps toward terminating the MBTA Retirement Fund (MBTARF).

Aim High on MBTA Ridership: A big-picture take on the T’s strategic plan

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This report focuses on setting a strategic target for substantial increases in MBTA ridership. The author examines ridership trends from 2002 through the most recent available data for 20162, tracking annual growth in ridership from September through August for each year on the following six transit modes: heavy rail (the Blue, Orange and Red Lines), light rail (Green Line), commuter rail, bus, trolley bus and ferry service. The report offers projections of potential revenue the MBTA could generate in a range of scenarios.

Outsourcing bus services is—by now—conventional wisdom

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Outsourcing bus services is—by now—conventional wisdom As the Finance and Management Control Board (FMCB) considers further action to address its operating deficit, deferred maintenance backlog, and the demands from riders for higher quality performance, once again privatization of services has come center stage.  During the coming weeks, there will be ample debate on the merits of proposals to outsource ancillary services; there has also been greater focus on whether some core services of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) should be competitively bid to ensure higher quality service and lower costs. In situations when there is heated discussion due to the potential impact on the interests of labor, as evidenced by the hundreds of MBTA union members who attended a […]

Op-ed: Time for UMass system to implement needed fiscal reforms

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As University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan considers raising tuitions yet again, his institution is at a crossroads. On the one hand, the University of Massachusetts has many achievements of which to be proud. Under the leadership of Meehan and his predecessors over a quarter century, the average grade point average of entering UMass Amherst freshmen shot up from around 2.9 to 3.8. In just the last five years, the flagship Amherst campus rose more than 20 spots in U.S. News & World Report rankings. While impressive, the strategies that produced such advances have compromised the university’s financial health and its mission of serving Massachusetts students. Read the rest of this op-ed in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Salem News, […]

Inconsistencies in UMass’ Reporting of Deferred Maintenance

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In assembling the data for Pioneer’s UMass at a Crossroads series, which covers the improving academic profile of UMass students, the strategy of recruiting more out-of-state and international students to generate additional revenue, and the fiscal implications of UMass’ ambitious capital expansion, Pioneer identified inconsistencies in UMass’ reporting of deferred maintenance. Below is a brief overview of the disparate deferred maintenance numbers UMass has provided over the last several years, accompanied by discussion of the implications of these inconsistencies. (Note: endnotes/citations can be found in the papers, available here.) Disparities in UMass’ reporting of deferred maintenance Deferred maintenance refers to the postponement of maintenance of capital assets that are in need of replacement or renewal. It includes delayed repairs on […]

UMass At A Crossroads

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This paper is the first in Pioneer Institute’s UMass at a Crossroads series. In this study, Pioneer focuses on UMass’ significant growth in two areas, academic competitiveness and student enrollment, compared to other New England state universities, MA private universities, national private universities and national public universities. Pioneer raises the question of whether the continued expansion of UMass, based largely on increased enrollment of out-of-state students, is in the best interest of the commonwealth.

Are Drug Prices Driving Healthcare Cost Growth?

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This report illustrates that state policy and legislative recommendations requiring pharmaceutical companies to disclose proprietary information would discourage the development of new innovative medicines, lead to higher healthcare costs over the long term, and potentially damage a big driver of Massachusetts’ business economy.

The Real Source of UMass R&D Spending

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UMass issued a report and a press release Tuesday citing a record level of research and development spending at UMass in fiscal year 2015. “Despite the tightening of the funding environment, the University of Massachusetts saw sponsored research increase by 4.3 percent during the past year, reaching a record $629 million, President Marty Meehan announced today.” What might not be immediately evident from the UMass announcement is that all of the 4.3 percent increase in UMass R&D spending in FY2015 was attributable to funding provided by the state and UMass itself, which amounted to an increase of $26.5 million, a 14 percent increase from 2014 to 2015.  Externally-funded research, from federal, business, nonprofit, other sources, actually declined by $670,000 from […]

Driving Critical Reforms at DCF: Ideas for a Direction Forward in Massachusetts’ Child and Family Services

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This report dissects other studies and their recommendations, with additional suggestions for a direction forward for DCF in the context of a broader discussion of the agency’s recent history and issues with mission ambiguity. The first and most important recommendation is to overhaul the current two-tiered child intake system, which should be the central focus of any changes at the agency.

How to Save the MBTA Over $100 Million a Year

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The first step in reforming the MBTA has been taken by the Legislature and the Governor. It included the establishment of a Finance and Management Control Board focused on the Authority’s operations as well as the new power to contract out services over a limited period of time. The second step for the MBTA has to be addressing the issues of immediate and short-term concern such as transit safety and the maintenance, upgrade and repair of assets that will allow the MBTA to function throughout even a difficult winter. Even as the work is underway, in order to ensure that the MBTA can address operational finance issues and make further investments and progress in addressing its multi-billion maintenance backlog, the […]

How to Save the MBTA More Than $100 million a year

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This policy brief identifies three immediate measures the MBTA should be taking right now to take that third step. The suggestions are not meant to be exhaustive, but rather are suggestions to get that effort started. Cumulatively, the MBTA could garner $103 to $122 million a year in savings through these actions, even as it improves the quality of transit services. Download Report:

Guest Opinion: Reinstate the SNAP work requirement

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Massachusetts, once a national leader in welfare reform, needs to reinvigorate its commitment to helping recipients succeed in the workforce. A good first step would be for Governor Charlie Baker to instruct the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) to reinstate the work component of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the food stamp program. Under federal rules, SNAP recipients between 18 and 50 without dependent children can get benefits for only three months within a three-year period if they do not work or participate in a workfare or employment and training program. With some exceptions, able-bodied adults between 16 and 60 must register for work, accept suitable employment, and take part in an employment and training program […]

Welcome News from the New Team at the MBTA: Getting Serious About Savings

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The Boston Globe reports today that MBTA officials briefed MBTA union officials last week about their forthcoming plan to request information from outside companies on running about 30 of the T’s 170 current bus routes, representing approximately 17 percent of its total routes. This should be welcomed news to state taxpayers and local property taxpayers in the cities and towns of the MBTA district. MBTA employees unions have held a virtual monopoly on T bus operations and bus maintenance services since passage of legislation adopted in 1993 that effectively handcuffed T management from outsourcing these and other services.  The protectionist Pacheco Law was adopted five months after then-Governor William Weld proposed privatizing some of the MBTA’s bus operations and maintenance […]

Post-Olympic Real Estate Implications of the Boston 2024 Proposal

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Two weeks ago, a series of documents published by a number of sources, including the Boston Business Journal, Boston Magazine and the New York Times, revealed development plans for the Boston Olympics that give the public greater information and raise new questions about the effort to bring Boston the 2024 Olympics. Of great interest to Pioneer, the “bid book” disclosed some of the post-Olympic real estate implications of bringing the games to Boston.  What it made clear to us is that there is much more to the proposal than the Olympics—it’s also about post-Olympics real estate development rights. The Boston 2024 Olympics plan includes an expansive post-Olympics private real estate development proposal for the Olympics site, facilitated by a combination […]

There Is Little Appeal to the Current Use of Binding Arbitration at the T

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Eliminating final and binding arbitration at the MBTA is key part of Governor Baker’s reform proposal.  His bill does not call for ending collective bargaining and arbitration at the T, but instead for applying the same collective bargaining/arbitration law that applies to other public employee unions at state agencies and municipalities, including at police and fire departments. The Governor’s task force explained it this way: The MBTA has the only public union in the Commonwealth with binding arbitration settlements which are not subject to approval (i.e. by legislative, board, or municipality). The current collective bargaining process creates inefficiencies and has delayed recent legislative reforms.  Many existing labor contracts are automatically extended until a new agreement is reached (‘evergreen provisions’), exposing […]

Status Report on the Job Creation Impact of the Life Sciences Act of 2008

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This is the second in a continuing series of status reports published by Pioneer Institute on the Massachusetts Life Sciences Act of 2008 (LSA). This report presents an analysis of job growth in the life sciences industry in Massachusetts and other states utilizing data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The data presented in this report are for the 69-month period (23 quarters) beginning with the first quarter of fiscal 2009, the effective date of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Act of 2008 (LSA), through the third quarter of fiscal 2014, the most recent quarter for which BLS data are available. The LSA (Chapter 130 of the Acts of […]

Guess Who Runs the Best Paratransit System in the MBTA’s District? Hint: It’s Not the T

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This report concerns The Ride, the MBTA’s demand-response paratransit service. Using data from the National Transit Database, the primary federal repository of transit related data and statistics in the United States, and public reports of transit agencies and transportation organizations, this report compares the Ride’s cost efficiency and operating practices with those of other Massachusetts paratransit systems, including those of 13 Massachusetts regional transit systems and of the Human Services Transportation Office (HST) of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS).

What if “The Ride” operated like the best big paratransit systems in the US?

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OK, let’s cut straight to the answer.  If The Ride had operated as cost-efficiently as the ten most cost-efficient large-scale paratransit systems in FY2013, it would have saved between $48.2 million and $60.3 million in FY2013. If the MBTA can bring its costs per passenger trip going forward to the level of the average of the ten most cost efficient large scale paratransit systems in other U.S. cities, it will generate savings of $373 million between FY2016 and FY2021, the end of its current paratransit provider contract. Here’s the analysis to back up those claims. Pioneer Institute published a report yesterday concerning The Ride, the MBTA’s demand response paratransit service, comparing its cost per trip to that of other Massachusetts […]

Guess Who Runs the Best Paratransit System in the MBTA’s District? Hint: It’s Not the T

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Pioneer Institute’s ongoing analysis of the MBTA’s operations, finances, and performance aims to inform the public debate about the true problems plaguing the T and the most effective ways to improve the commuter experience for Massachusetts’ 1.2 million public transit system riders. In recent weeks and months, Pioneer has published reports using Federal Transit Data to compare the MBTA to other, similar systems across the US. Recent reports found that: Contrary to accepted wisdom, the MBTA has not been cash starved relative to its national peers, whether in terms of its capital or operating budget. The MBTA has added more commuter rail miles than any other commuter rail system operating in the nation since 1991 The often-cited notions that the MBTA commuter […]

MBTA’s Problem Is Not Lack of Funding

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This report presents a comparison of the MBTA’s capital and operating funding from 1991 to 2013 with that of five peer transit agencies identified as peers by the Integrated National Transit Database Analysis System (INTDAS). Download Report:

The MBTA Commuter Rail’s Cost Structure is Off the Rails

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This report analyzes the MBTA’s commuter rail services compared to the commuter rail system the Integrated National Transit Database Analysis System (INTDAS) rated as most similar, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). SEPTA operates 13 branches to more than 150 stations in Philadelphia and
its suburbs. This brief contains five important findings.

The MBTA’s Problem is Not Lack of Funding

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Background Since the mid-1990s, Pioneer has participated in the public debate concerning ways to improve the operations and financial footing of the MBTA through reports, events, public testimony and participation on a state-appointed commission.  Our principal interests have been the Authority’s operations, finances, pension system and governance (leadership and accountability) model.  With the crisis this winter, the Institute has redoubled its efforts to provide insights on these topics.  As part of that work, we have examined various aspects of the MBTA’s funding picture, especially as many have responded to the crisis by simply calling for more funding from the state. Even as the Institute has called for debt relief for the MBTA, we believe it is important to underscore the […]

The Myth of the Underfunded MBTA

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When the MBTA collapsed last month under the weight of snow and frigid temperatures, former General Manager Beverly Scott and countless others were quick to blame the problems on years of underinvestment in the system.  But a comparison to other large transit systems reveals that the MBTA is not underfunded.  In fact, as measured by both passenger miles traveled and vehicle revenue hours, the T received the most capital funding of any of the nation’s 10 largest transit systems between 1991 and 2013, the last year for which data are available. Previously, we demonstrated that MBTA commuter rail capital spending per 1,000 passenger miles traveled was the highest of any major American commuter rail system between 1991 and 2013.  This […]

Setting the Record Straight on MBTA Expansion

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Pioneer has previously written that rapid expansion was a major cause of the MBTA’s recent meltdown.  More recently, we wrote that MBTA is the only American commuter rail system that lost ridership between 2003 and 2013. In a recent blog post, the Frontier Group questioned Pioneer’s assertion that the MBTA “has expanded more than any other major transit system in the country over the past 25 years.” This table, which is based on National Transportation Database data, demonstrates that, since 1991, the MBTA has added more than twice as many rail miles, counting commuter rail, subway, and trolley lines, than any of the other 28 other transit systems operating at that time. FIGURE 1:  Rail miles added by transit authority, 1991-2013 The […]

MBTA is the Fastest Expanding Transit System

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Pioneer has previously written that rapid expansion was a major cause of the MBTA’s recent meltdown. More recently, we wrote that MBTA is the only American commuter rail system that lost ridership between 2003 and 2013. 

Why wasn’t the T funding snow storm preparation?

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Canceled commuter trains are becoming the norm leading to continued paralysis of our city.  It is truly a hard thing to imagine—people standing on platforms for hours, often without information.  And this in sometimes frigid temperatures. How did we get here? Between 2003 and 2013, the MBTA was the only one of 18 commuter rail transit systems in the U.S. to suffer a net decline in annual passenger trips, a drop of 5,341,272 trips per year, representing a 13% loss in annual ridership, according to data reviewed by Pioneer Institute from the National Transit Database.  The following graph compares the MBTA commuter rail loss of annual passenger trips to the commuter rail transit systems with the biggest gains in trips […]