MBTA Expands Privatization

Plans are underway to outsource MBTA call center operations. According to Commonwealth, "Earlier this fall the T received an unsolicited proposal from Ameridial, an Ohio company, that claimed it could run the call center for half of its current cost. MBTA Chief Administrator Brian Shortsleeve, who is also its acting general manager, said the T has received a 'couple' of different unsolicited offers." Political Research Associates recently released a report entitled "Privatizing Massachusetts: The Right-Wing’s Blue State Game Plan," which details the forces behind many of the privatization efforts in the Commonwealth. According to the report, privatizing the MBTA is part of a larger agenda being pushed by Charlie Baker and others: "Shrinking government itself is a major goal, perhaps even bigger than fixing public transit...and that is the stated goal of The Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, the right-leaning think tank that seems to be everywhere these days—including on the MBTA control board."