Tag Archives: MBTA

Congratulations to Jeff Gonneville on his new role at the MBTA

Several years ago, I contacted my state senator, Will Brownsberger, and asked for his help addressing a serious problem: some MBTA buses were leaking engine fumes into their passenger compartments, sickening passengers and putting their long-term health at risk. I wrote about this issue extensively here. In response, Will arranged for me to meet with… Read More »

MBTA’s “Transit Diary” a failure before it has even begun

The MBTA is currently beta-testing a project & corresponding web application called “Transit Diary“. Its purpose is to collect data directly from riders about their experiences riding the T, presumably to help the T evaluate how well it is serving riders’ needs and where service-improvement efforts should be focused. Unfortunately, Transit Diary employs obsolete, inferior… Read More »

Fumes in MBTA buses: significant progress

I met several months ago with MBTA management to present my concerns about toxic fumes in certain MBTA buses. Thank you, again, to State Senator Will Brownsberger and his  Legislative Counsel and Policy Advisor, Michael Buckley, for making that meeting happen. I am pleased to report that the MBTA took my concerns seriously, investigated them, and… Read More »

MA Supervisor of Records denies my appeal based on specious legal reasoning

To: Shawn Williams, Massachusetts Supervisor of Records Cc: Lori Sullivan,  the staff attorney in Williams’s office who research my appeal Cc: Susan Krupanski, the MBTA employee who denied my legitimate public records request Cc: Will Brownsberger, my state senator and an all-around good guy Cc: On the Media Cc: The Boston Globe Cc: The Boston… Read More »

MBTA obstructs public records request, Secretary of State drags feet

A side effect of my attempts to get information from the MBTA about toxic fumes in the passenger compartments of their buses (I will write more about that later, after a followup meeting I’ve been invited to by the MBTA) was my discovery that the MBTA is not terribly good at responding to public records… Read More »

Meeting with MBTA about bad air in buses

Today, I met with the MBTA to discuss my concerns about poor indoor air quality (IAQ) inside some T buses. I am extremely grateful to Michael Buckley, Sen. William Brownsberger’s Legislative Counsel and Policy Advisor, for arranging the meeting and attending with me. The following T employees were present: Jeffrey Gonneville, Chief Mechanical Officer; Dave… Read More »

MBTA responds to my public records request

Last month, I sent the MBTA a public records request, trying to obtain more information about how aware they are of the problem of air quality problems in the passenger compartments of their buses, and what they are doing about the problem. The Massachusetts Public Records Law requires “custodians of records” like the MBTA to… Read More »