Elected officials and community groups came out in force to testify against privatizing core services like bus maintenance at the MBTA and voice concern about First Transit’s poor track record.
Use the form here to write to the FMCB to tell them to reject First Transit.
Since the beginning, Charlie Baker has never been a friend of working families. Now he’s attacking jobs in multiple industries, including the jobs of teachers and blue collar mechanics at the MBTA.
He’s trying to give control of the MBTA to an unqualified vendor, First Transit, despite their troubling track record of service problems, safety violations, broken contracts, and history of cheating Massachusetts riders and taxpayers. We must take action now to tell legislators and the MBTA board that First Transit is an unacceptable option for the MBTA. MBTA mechanics have launched a massive public information campaign including radio, print, television, and online ads warning riders and taxpayers about the poor track record of for-profit transportation vendor First Transit. The unqualified First Transit was the only vendor to participate in a failed RFP process aimed at giving away control of core MBTA safety and maintenance services to a for-profit company. To learn more, check out this blog post on Invest Now.
Send a letter to your legislator and the FMCB to make your voice heard!
Charlie Baker is waging a war on the middle class.
Hurting Families.
Meet Meghan, a working mom and mechanic at the Charlestown Garage.
Baker’s attacks on jobs are hurting families, including mothers like Meghan, who’s worked as a mechanic for the past 11 years. She’s worried she’ll have to find multiple jobs just to support herself and her son, Ryan.
Hurting Veterans.
Many of the mechanics at the MBTA are veterans.
“I voted for Charlie Baker and I’m very disappointed in the fact that now he’s trying to take my job.” — Nate DuBois, Marine veteran and mechanic at the Arborway Garage
Hurting communities.
Charlie Baker is rigging the rules to hurt working people and their families, which hurts all of us.
Working people are the backbone of our country and by taking away good jobs, Governor Baker is taking away the freedom of our communities to prosper.
Who’s bidding for control of our public transit?
Private company, First Transit is the sole bidder for bus maintenance at the MBTA, despite their severely troubling track records of service problems, as well as a host of health and safety violations. TransDev and MV Transportation are other vendors with bad track records who were rumored to bid for the core MBTA bus safety and maintenance services.
First Transit
First Transit is the North American subsidiary of FirstGroup, a UK-based company that is the largest international surface transportation group in the world. The company has a history of contract, service and maintenance issues both in Massachusetts and with other transit agencies across the country. In 2009, First Transit illegally walked away from a contract to operate the MBTA’s The Ride service at the last minute, leaving the transportation agency to fill in a $66 million funding gap; First Transit later settled with the Attorney General’s office for $7.3 million. First Transit has a history of service issues outside Massachusetts; specifically, a history of bus maintenance issues that have led to complaints from bus drivers and patrons.
(Rotate phone horizontally to see timeline of incidents.)