Strong public transit system, safety and infrastructure among Healey’s top focuses for Massachusetts

BOSTON — A strong public transit system is a focus for Gov. Maura Healey, who said Monday that she is “weeks” away from naming a new general manager for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

“The key is how to get this right, to make sure that we have somebody in charge who is focused on safety, on reliability, on making sure that projects are delivered on time,” said Healey while speaking via Skype with Boston 25 anchor Gene Lavanchy on Monday morning.

“We know how important this is to people,” she added of a safe and properly functioning public transit system.

Healey, who previously served as the state’s attorney general, said she is also planning the creation of a new position of transportation safety chief, and that person would oversee safety operations for the state.

Healey, who was inaugurated as the 73rd governor of Massachusetts last month, spoke about her goals for the state after her recent trip to Washington, D.C., where she attended the State of the Union address and the National Governor’s Association meeting.

The MBTA has been plagued by accidents, delays and other issues for some time. In August, the Federal Transit Administration issued a scathing report on the MBTA that indicates the “overwhelmed” and “overworked” agency prioritized long-term projects at the expense of day-to-day operations, putting thousands of riders at risk.

Last week, officials announced that two Green Line operators were placed on paid leave in connection with an MBTA trolley incident that left a Boston college student without a leg.

Healey told Boston 25 that while in the nation’s Capitol, she spoke with officials from the Federal Transit Administration regarding the MBTA and what she termed “a significant workforce shortage” there.

“We think we have a handle on the problem and the scope of the problem and really, now it’s about matching up the talent and the resources to address that. We do not have a choice, and we take this responsibility very, very seriously,” she said.

Healey said Massachusetts will look to how public transit systems are operated in other areas of the country for guidance.

“We’re not going to be the kind of competitive state we need to be, we’re not going to be a place where people want to come here, stay here, grow families, grow business here, unless we have a public transit system -- regionally -- it’s not just the T, either. It’s commuter rail, it’s regional buses, it’s ferries, it’s all modes of transportation, and we will look to other examples across the country and not be afraid, where others are doing it better or differently.”

Healey also said her administration will focus on the state’s energy needs and “support for funding for infrastructure, for our grid, for transmission.”

“I couldn’t be more excited about the potential, the future for our state,” she said.

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