MBTA System Condition

In accordance with the FTA, the MBTA completes annual Transit Asset Management (TAM) performance measures for Rolling Stock, Equipment, Facilities, and Infrastructure – Track to document the agency’s asset inventory and system condition. The MBTA uses FTA-defined performance measures and annual targets to monitor asset condition, determine optimum levels of asset investment (such as preventative maintenance), and develop condition goals per asset type across the agency. In moving towards a proactive “predict and prevent” asset management strategy, key future advancements will include digital tracking, automated inspections, and a transition toward predictive maintenance. FY22 performance measures and FY23 performance targets are reported for system condition.

Rolling Stock

Rolling Stock are revenue vehicles providing passenger service. This includes transit rail cars, locomotives, coaches, buses, vintage trolleys, vans, automobiles, and ferryboats. The performance measure for this asset category is the percent of active vehicles that are at or beyond their Useful Life Benchmark (ULB), which is the FTA-defined number of service years a vehicle can be expected to perform. A lower percentage for this measure reflects a newer fleet.

The percent of vehicles at or beyond their ULB remained the same for most vehicle types from FY21 to FY22—including articulated bus, trolleybus, light rail vehicle, heavy rail passenger car, and Commuter Rail passenger coach.

The RIDE fleet replacement completed in FY22, resulting in a significant improvement in performance for vans and automobiles.

The percentage of buses at or beyond their ULB increased in FY22 due to delays in the procurement of new buses and the inclusion of the now-decommissioned trolleybus fleet in the FY22 inventory. The trolleybuses will not be included in the FY23 inventory. The number of articulated buses at or beyond their ULB is expected to increase to 18% in FY23 as older fleets reach ULB

The FY23 targets account for the delivery of new Hyundai Rotem Commuter Rail coaches as well as new Orange Line and Red Line vehicles. The heavy rail passenger car and Commuter Rail passenger coach measures are expected to improve as these procurements continue to advance.

* Useful life benchmark of some fleets adjusted in FY21 due to Life-Extending Overhauls.
** The MBTA’s trolleybus fleet was retired from service in March 2022 and will not be reflected in the FY23 asset inventory.

Equipment

Equipment refers to rubber tire and steel wheel vehicles that are not used for the provision of revenue service and are instead used as support vehicles. This includes first response vehicles, tow trucks, spot tampers, crane cars, snowplows, and others. The performance measure for this asset category is the percent of vehicles that are at or beyond their Useful Life Benchmark (ULB), which is the FTA-defined number of service years a vehicle can be expected to perform. A lower percentage for this measure reflects a newer fleet, however some equipment is stored indoors and used sporadically, and can perform adequately even if well beyond the ULB.

The overall percentage of non-revenue vehicles at or beyond their ULB increased from 18% in FY21 to 22% in FY22, due to a large number of vehicles reaching their ULB and the non-cyclical nature of support vehicle retirement. This measure is expected to increase to 25% in FY23 as vehicles that are used sparingly continue to age.

Facilities

The Facilities asset category is comprised of two asset classes: passenger/parking facilities and administrative/maintenance facilities. Passenger and parking facilities include stations, stops, terminals, parking lots, and parking garages. Administrative and maintenance facilities include bus garages, layover facilities, trailers, pump rooms, office buildings, and other structures that support MBTA operations.

Per FTA requirements, each facility asset is assessed at least once every four years and receives a condition rating on the five-point FTA Transit Economic Requirements Model (TERM) scale, where a score of 5 indicates excellent condition and 1 indicates poor condition. The TERM rating is a composite score generated from an on-site assessment of multiple components: substructure, shell, interiors, conveyance, plumbing, HVAC, fire protection, electrical, equipment, fare collection, and site. This composite score is not a measure of safety or operational performance of the asset.  Due to condition assessment schedules, only a subsection of the facilities inventory will receive updated condition ratings in a given year.

The performance measure for the facilities asset category is the percent of facilities assets that were rated less than 3 on the FTA TERM scale in their last condition assessment, indicating marginal or poor condition. A lower percentage for this measure reflects facilities assets in overall better condition.

The percent of facilities below a 3 on the TERM scale decreased for admin/maintenance facilities to 35 percent in FY22 from 45 percent in FY21. Facility condition for passenger/parking facilities decreased to 6 percent in FY22 from 9 percent in FY21. Targets for FY22 facilities below a 3 on the TERM scale were 8 percent for passenger/parking facilities and 44 percent for admin/maintenance facilities; facility condition outperformed both of these targets.

The FY23 target for administrative and maintenance facilities projects no change in condition ratings for these facilities following the FY23 condition assessments. The target for passenger and parking facilities reflects the likelihood that a small number of facilities will receive lower condition ratings during this condition assessment cycle.

The MBTA is investing in State of Good Repair and modernization improvements to a number of passenger, parking, maintenance, and administrative facilities, however many of these improvements are not reflected in condition assessment data until several years after completion due to condition assessment schedules.

Infrastructure – Track

The FTA TAM performance measure for track uses the average percentage of track miles with speed restrictions as a proxy for track condition. Speed restrictions are “slow zones” where the maximum permissible speed of transit vehicles is set to a value below the guideway’s full-service speed. They can be caused by track defects, signaling issues, construction zones, maintenance work, or other causes. A lower percentage of track miles with speed restrictions reflects tracks in better condition. Reduced service speeds related to curves in the track, bridges, grade crossings, or other features are not counted in this performance measure.

The percent of track miles with speed restrictions increased for heavy rail to 7 percent in FY22 from 3 percent in FY21 and decreased for Commuter Rail to 3 percent from 4 percent in FY21. Light rail track with speed restrictions decreased from 5 percent in FY21 to 2 percent in FY22, due in part to track work associated with the Green Line Transformation project.

The MBTA has set an aggressive target of 2 percent for both heavy and light rail track as a reflection of our commitment to improving the condition of our track assets and reducing the number of speed restrictions. The Commuter Rail performance target for FY23 has been set at 4 percent based on historic performance and expected conditions this fiscal year.