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Audit  Audit of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority - Block by Block Contract

This is the first of a series of reports that the Office of the State Auditor will issue as part of a comprehensive performance audit of the MBTA, examining additional high-risk areas, such as Keolis contract provisions, Automated Fare Collection 2.0 contract provisions, and additional topics focused on ensuring the safety of MBTA riders, employees, and the general public. The purpose of this first report on the MBTA was to determine whether the MBTA effectively administered certain aspects of its contract with Mydatt Services, Inc., referred to in this report as Block by Block (BBB).

Organization: Office of the State Auditor
Date published: July 7, 2024

Executive Summary

In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) for the period January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022.

This is the first of a series of reports that the Office of the State Auditor will issue as part of a comprehensive performance audit of the MBTA, examining additional high-risk areas, such as Keolis1 contract provisions, Automated Fare Collection 2.02 contract provisions, and additional topics focused on ensuring the safety of MBTA riders, employees, and the general public.

The purpose of this first report on the MBTA was to determine whether the MBTA effectively administered certain aspects of its contract with Mydatt Services, Inc., referred to in this report as Block by Block (BBB). As part of this contract, BBB has employees who serve as MBTA representatives at various subway station locations throughout the MBTA system. BBB is contracted to provide directions to riders, assist riders with fare purchases and accessibility needs, and identify and report station safety hazards and maintenance needs in real time to the MBTA. BBB is also contracted to help maintain the safety and security of the MBTA’s subway station locations and assist during severe weather events, service disruptions, and emergencies.

In this first report of our MBTA performance audit, we determined the following:

  • whether the MBTA ensured that BBB employees were trained on MBTA operations and safety before being assigned to a subway station location in accordance with Sections 4.2.1 and 6.2.2 of the MBTA’s Request for Proposal No. 41-17 for In-Station Customer Service3 (see Appendix A) and Section 2.7 in the Scope of Work document of the MBTA’s Request for Proposal No. 3-22 for In-Station Customer Service Operations (see Appendix B) and
  • whether the MBTA ensured that BBB completed visual inspections (station checks) of its subway station locations at the agreed-upon frequency designed to maintain the safety of the MBTA’s riders and employees.

Although not within the scope of our original objectives, we also identified two issues that we believe warrant attention, which we outlined in the “Other Matters” section of this report. These issues relate to the MBTA’s overall monitoring of vendor performance, including BBB’s use of fare access cards.

Below is a summary of our findings and recommendations, with links to each page listed.

  
Finding 1
 		The MBTA did not ensure that BBB employees were trained on operations and safety before being assigned to subway station locations.
EffectA lack of training or untimely completion of training increases risk to the safety and operations of MBTA subway station locations. This could jeopardize the safety of riders and the general public, while putting contracted employees at risk because they are sent into the field without being properly equipped to perform their jobs safely and effectively.
Recommendations
 
  1. The MBTA should develop, document, and implement sufficient policies and procedures, including a monitoring component, to ensure that BBB employees are trained on MBTA operations and safety before being assigned to a subway station location to promote safe and effective operations for its riders and employees.
  2. The MBTA should ensure that it retains records of training assignment and completion for all employees assigned to MBTA subway station locations.
  3. The MBTA should ensure that it maintains accurate personnel and operational records (including but not limited to staffing levels per subway station, dates, and location of deployment) for employees.    
  4. The MBTA should consider collaborating with BBB to reevaluate the training curriculum for newly hired BBB employees to ensure that it is sufficient.
Finding 2
 		The MBTA did not ensure that BBB completed visual inspections (station checks) of its subway station locations at the agreed-upon frequency.
EffectA lack of regular station checks increases the risk that safety hazards and maintenance needs will not be identified in a timely manner, affecting the safety of the MBTA’s riders, employees, and subway stations.
Recommendations
 
  1. The MBTA should develop, document, and implement monitoring controls to ensure that visual inspections are completed at the agreed-upon frequency of at least twice per hour.
  2. The MBTA should establish service-level agreements and performance metrics in its contract with BBB to evaluate BBB’s performance in this area.
  3. The MBTA should ensure that BBB meets all of its contractual obligations for the entirety of its contract.


 

1.    This is the company contracted by the MBTA to operate its commuter rail services.

2.    This is the MBTA’s ongoing project to replace its automated fare collection system.

3.    The Request for Proposal number on this webpage is incorrect. The correct number (41-17) is reflected in our report and in the copies of the related documents accessible on that webpage.

Table of Contents

Appendix

Downloads

Open PDF file, 1.18 MB,  Audit of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority— Block by Block Contract (English, PDF 1.18 MB)

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