Overview
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was created in 1964, pursuant to Chapter 161A of the Massachusetts General Laws. The agency provides the following: a rapid transit system, commuter rail services, bus services, ferry routes, and transit services for people with disabilities. According to its website, the MBTA is “one of the largest public transit systems in the country, serving nearly 200 cities and towns and over 1 million daily riders.”
According to Section 7 of Chapter 161A of the General Laws, the MBTA is governed by a nine-member board of directors. This section states,
The board shall consist of: secretary [of Transportation], who shall serve ex officio; 1 person to be appointed by the mayor of the city of Boston; 1 person to be appointed by the advisory board who shall have municipal government experience in the service area constituting the authority and experience in transportation operations, transportation planning, housing policy, urban planning or public or private finance; provided, however, that said person shall not represent the city of Boston; and 6 persons to be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall have experience in safety, 1 of whom shall have experience in transportation operations, 1 of whom shall have experience in public or private finance, 1 of whom shall be a rider as defined in section 1 and a resident of an environmental justice population as defined in section 62 of chapter 30, 1 of whom shall be a municipal official representing a city or town located in the area constituting the authority representing the service area . . . and 1 of whom shall be selected from a list of 3 persons recommended by the president of the Massachusetts State Labor Council.
Not less than 2 of the appointed members shall also be members of the board of directors of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
The MBTA is also overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation board of directors, whose 11 members are appointed by the Governor. According to Section 3(d) of Chapter 161A of the General Laws, the General Manager of the MBTA is hired by the Secretary of Transportation and oversees the MBTA’s day-to-day activities.
Customer Service Contract
In 2007, the MBTA began employing internal customer service employees to serve as the initial point of contact for riders in stations throughout the MBTA system. These customer service employees performed various functions, including answering questions, providing directions, assisting customers with their fare purchases and accessibility needs, and reporting station safety hazards alongside maintenance and cleaning issues.
On April 3, 2017, the MBTA issued Request for Proposal No. 41-17 for In-Station Customer Service to transition these in-station customer service functions to a contracted service provider.4 On July 18, 2017, the MBTA entered into a one-year contract (worth $4,961,383) with Block by Block (BBB), which would provide its own employees to handle these functions for the MBTA. This initial contract covered the period July 31, 2017 through July 30, 2018, and included the option to extend the contract by up to three years. As outlined in the request for proposal, the MBTA had the ability to expand the number of subway station locations served by BBB employees and the hours of service provided by these employees throughout the duration of the contract. According to MBTA officials, BBB employees are assigned to MBTA subway station locations with high ridership volume and/or complex infrastructure designs that may create accessibility issues, especially for people with disabilities. The first three-month period of the contract was a pilot program for BBB to staff its employees at three MBTA subway station locations. After completing this pilot program, the MBTA and BBB agreed to expand BBB employee coverage to 31 subway station locations by the end of June 2018.
After extending the contract by one year three times, on July 31, 2021, the MBTA and BBB added an additional one-year extension to their contract, expiring September 30, 2022. After a public procurement,5 the MBTA and BBB executed a new, five-year contract, worth $102,036,053, effective October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2027.
The table below summarizes the agreements between the MBTA and BBB mentioned above.
| Agreement | Term | Price | Subway Station Locations Served* | Approx. BBB Employees | Approx. Weekly Service Hours | Approx. Service Hours | Estimated Cost Per Service Hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial | 7/31/2017–7/30/2018 | $4,961,383 | 3–31** | 130 | 4,600 | 239,200 | —† |
| Initial: Extension 1 | 7/31/2018–7/30/2019 | $8,200,000 | 31 | 130 | 4,600 | 239,200 | $34.28 |
| Initial: Extension 2 | 7/31/2019–7/30/2020 | $8,504,934 | 35 | 150 | 4,600 | 239,200 | $35.56 |
| Initial: Extension 3 | 7/31/2020–7/30/2021 | $11,853,827 | 59 | 200 | 6,200 | 322,400 | $36.77 |
| Initial: Added Extension | 7/31/2021–7/30/2022 | $12,067,081 | 66 | 220 | 6,200 | 322,400 | $37.43 |
| Initial: Amendment | 7/31/2022–9/30/ 2022 | $2,141,288‡ | 66 | 220 | 6,700 | 53,600 | $39.95 |
| New | 10/1/2022–9/30/2027 (Five-Year Term) | $102,036,053 | 66 | 325 | 9,000 | 2,340,000 | $43.61 |
* During special events with a high volume of ridership, the MBTA sometimes requires BBB to provide additional coverage, for a period of time, at additional subway station locations not considered in the table above.
** BBB began the initial agreement serving only 3 MBTA subway station locations and gradually expanded to 31 subway station locations by July 30, 2018. The price of the initial agreement in the table above was reflective of BBB serving 3 MBTA subway station locations.
† Due to the nature of the initial agreement, including the variable number of service hours, we were unable to estimate the cost per service hour for the initial agreement.
‡ Rather than specifying a total cost like the other contract extensions, this contract amendment only included a daily rate of $34,536.91. To calculate the total price, we multiplied this daily rate by 62, the total number of days covered by the amendment and rounded to the nearest dollar amount.
BBB’s Scope of Services
The MBTA’s Requests for Proposal No. 41-17 for In-Station Customer Service and No. 3-22 for In-Station Customer Service Operations outlined BBB’s responsibilities, which were ultimately incorporated into the executed contracts. BBB was responsible for hiring and training its own employees as well as staffing designated MBTA subway station locations. BBB was expected to ensure that MBTA stations were monitored for safety and security, informing the MBTA of safety hazards and maintenance needs. BBB was also required to implement an online reporting system for its employees to document and report on their activities.
BBB Employee Roles and Responsibilities
BBB employees often serve as the key MBTA representatives at various subway station locations throughout the MBTA system. In addition to their daily duties, BBB employees assist the MBTA and riders during severe weather events, service disruptions, and emergencies.
BBB employees use an electronic device to record their daily activities in real time in BBB’s Statistics Management and Ambassador Reporting Technology (SMART) system, an online reporting system where BBB employees document where and when they perform activities. BBB has customized the SMART system to meet the MBTA’s specific needs. During the audit period, BBB employees recorded the following types of activities in the SMART system: general customer assistance, fare vending machine assistance, accessibility assistance, maintenance and cleaning requests, incident reports, elevator operability and cleanliness checks, general checks of assigned subway station locations, fare evasion,6 courtesy taps,7 and events involving the MBTA Operations Control Center (e.g., reporting of customer-related incidents and emergencies).
The MBTA has read-only access to the data entered into the SMART system and can examine the data in real time or produce reports on activities performed by BBB employees.
BBB Employee Initial Training
The MBTA’s Request for Proposal No. 41-17 for In-Station Customer Service requires that BBB staff MBTA subway station locations with “trained and qualified individuals.” To ensure that all BBB employees safely and effectively perform their job duties, BBB developed a training curriculum for newly hired employees in collaboration with the MBTA’s Customer Experience Department. This training curriculum includes modules from both BBB and the MBTA. All newly hired BBB employees receive three days of classroom training, followed by at least two days of working at a subway station location shadowing an existing BBB employee. In an interview with our audit team, MBTA officials stated that all BBB employees must complete the initial training curriculum before being assigned to a subway station location. The MBTA determined that this training curriculum was necessary for the successful completion of the work under this contract.
The table below outlines the training modules provided by BBB and the MBTA during the audit period.
| Training Modules Provided by BBB | Training Modules Provided by MBTA |
|---|---|
| Customer Engagement | Radio Communication |
| Greeting Standards | Bridge Plate* Assistance |
| Management Expectations | Title VI** Training |
| Dress Code and Positive Imaging | Assisting Visually Impaired Customers |
| Human Resource Policies and Procedures | CharlieCard and Ticket Information |
| SMART System | Emergency Situations |
| Scheduling and Payroll | MBTA Operations and Safety† |
| Shadowing | Station Knowledge |
* A bridge plate is a mobile ramp placed over the gap between a platform and a train for greater accessibility.
** According to its website, the MBTA “complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin (including limited English proficiency).”
† These are trainings on specific MBTA policies and procedures that apply to BBB employees, including those developed to ensure employee safety while performing their work. For example, during MBTA operations training, BBB employees are instructed on how to identify and report station safety hazards and maintenance needs.
Station Checks
According to the MBTA’s Request for Proposal No. 3-22 for In-Station Customer Service Operations,
The MBTA expects all [relevant BBB employees] to be actively aware of potential safety or security risks. . . . [These BBB employees] are required to monitor the condition and operability of customer-facing features at stations, and when necessary, report, by radio or station phone and/or audit management system, the following and other matters:
a) Station maintenance issues, including but limited to, inoperable elevators and escalators, and automated door opener . . .
b) Tripping hazards and path of travel obstructions . . .
c) Cleaning needs, including elevators and restrooms . . .
d) [Automated fare collection] equipment malfunctions ([fare vending machines] and fare gates)
The MBTA refers to the above visual inspections of subway stations as station checks. In interviews with our audit team, MBTA and BBB officials stated that station checks were to be completed at least twice per hour. This expectation has been in place since the beginning of the MBTA’s contract with BBB. This expectation regarding the frequency of station checks is not documented in the contract. BBB employees record these station checks in the SMART system upon completion, which includes documenting anything of interest, such as safety hazards or maintenance needs, and routing issues to the correct departments within the MBTA for remediation.
| Date published: | July 7, 2024 |
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