Despite the fact that the T is knee-deep in debt and plagued by an ailing infrastructure, MBTA Advisory Board members don’t think it will be too hard to find a new general manager to steer the sinking ship.
“Boston’s transit system is one of the top five in the nation,” said the Board’s Executive Director Paul Regan. “Anyone that wants to work in one of the top five agencies will have to address those issues.”
Regan said the Hub’s transit problems mirror those in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.
“Avoiding Boston won’t get you out of the trouble,” he said.
Calls for a new GM went online last week and were advertised in various publications, according to a T spokesperson.
In September, a three-person preliminary search committee was tasked with developing a job description, soliciting resumes and posting the job opening with plans to pick a new GM by Dec. 7.
But a week into the search, there haven’t been any interested applicants — which surprised Regan.
“Part of it might be the money, other major transit properties pay more,” he said of the undisclosed salary. “But this is a place where [someone] can make a reputation.”
Regan said the new GM shouldn’t expect to turn the T around without a “boatload of money,” or help from the state legislature, because the T’s problems are beyond any manager’s control.
“I don’t think it’s impossible to succeed, though. There is still plenty to do.”
Follow Steve Annear on Twitter @steveannear.
