Project 2
Student id: d13
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<DOC>
<docHead>
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<title>Writing Project 2</title>
<author xml:id="d13">Daniel Doherty</author>
<version n="2" date="2016-08-09"/>
</docHead>
<pub_init_proposal>
<cover_page>
<title>Improving the MBTA</title>
<author>Daniel Doherty</author>
<submit_date>August 9, 2016</submit_date>
<audience>The City of Boston </audience>
</cover_page>
<tbl_cont>
<section n="1">1.0 Introduction</section>
<section n="2">2.0 Background</section>
<section n="3">3.0 Purpose</section>
<section n="4">3.1 Scope</section>
<section n="5">3.2 Objectives</section>
<section n="6">4.0 Approach</section>
<section n="7">5.0 Feasibility</section>
<section n="8">6.0 Conclusion</section>
<section n="9">7.0 References </section>
</tbl_cont>
<intro type="abstract">
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<p>The MBTA was created in 1964 to replace the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). The
MBTA is the fourth largest public transportation system in the country, averaging
1.3 million riders on a weekday, and is responsible for operating the commuter rail,
subway and bus systems in Boston. The Green Line is the single busiest subway system
in the country and averages over 250,000 riders a day. The MBTA is the single
largest consumer of electricity in the state and is used by 33% of workers in the
city proper as their primary method of commuting. Given Boston's high dependence on
the public transportation system, it is essential for the subway to operate
efficiently for commuters to reach their place of work and for the economic success
of the city of Boston. However, in recent years the MBTA has suffered a variety of
incidents that highlight the major problems with the system and show that
improvements must be made. The MBTA is $8 billion dollars in debt and has put off
much needed maintenance due to budget concerns. As a result, the MBTA has become a
poorly run organization has numerous issues with all aspects of their operation<note type="instructor" resp="#kgs">wow, this feels like a strong assertion; will the people reading your proposal be part of MBTA or know people in it? Are there reasons you wouldn't want to be so accusatory here?</note>.
However, the most frequent complaints about the MBTA are centered around the subway
system and rightly so. The subway system is outdated, overcrowded and often delayed
due to technical issues. If Boston is going to continue to be a modern city that
seeks to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels by supporting public transportation,
the subway system must be updated<note type="instructor" resp="#kgs">I really like this formulation--in some ways it creates a situation to which they must respond (in the way that you want them to).</note>.</p>
</intro>
<background>
<p>
<crnt_cond> The Boston subway system can only be described as old. The four main
lines in the city, the Red Line, Green Line, Orange Line and Blue Line all use
cars that were constructed prior to 1990. While all the lines use older subway
cars, the Red Line is the worst as, <q>"Out of the MBTA's 218 Red Line cars, 132
are over 25 years old." (Annear)</q>. The Orange Line cars were all
implemented between 1979-1981 and have not undergone any major upgrades since,
and a majority the of Green Line fleet has been in operation since the 1980's.
These cars were never meant to accommodate the heavy commuter traffic they
support daily and depend on outdated forms of technology that often fail and
create delays, interrupting the city's economy. </crnt_cond>
<subj_hist> The problems of the MBTA subway system were especially apparent during
the winter of 2014-2015, when Boston received record snowfall levels that
paralyzed the city. The frequent storms resulted in massive subway delays and
the complete closure of the sections of the Red, Orange and Green lines that
were above ground. These delays were mainly caused by engine failure, as the
older cars utilize Direct Current (DC) systems that struggle in the snow and
freezing temperatures. Cities such as New York have resolved this problem by
implementing cars using Alternating Current systems, which are more capable of
handling inclement weather. Furthermore, the state of the subway system was a
major reason that the citizens of Boston rejected consideration to host the 2024
Summer Olympics as it was widely believed the MBTA was incapable of handling the
surge of riders in its current state and incapable of securing the funding for
the necessary improvements if the Olympic bid progressed (Manning).<note type="instructor" resp="#kgs">this is an excellent source to use here</note> The state of
the subway system in Boston negatively impacts the economy, environment and the
society in which we live and must be provided with significant investment to
allow Boston to continue to develop into a truly modern and green city.
</subj_hist>
</p>
</background>
<purpose>
<p>
<scope type="what"> Massachusetts must provide the MBTA with significant funding to
completely overhaul the subway system to implement much needed improvements that
will allow the subway to operate efficiently.</scope>
<scope type="who"> The Massachusetts legislature has consistently left the MBTA
underfunded since 2000 when it imposed a cap on their budget due to serious
concerns about financial mismanagement at the MBTA. As a result, the MBTA has
been forced to delay major improvements until such time when they receive the
necessary funding, causing the subway's infrastructure to fall into
disrepair.<note type="instructor" resp="#kgs">but does the City of Boston have any control over this? How does this align with your audience?</note></scope>
<scope type="when">The MBTA has maintained the subway system with small projects
meant to improve one or two stations at a time and make temporary fixes to the
outdated rail cars. However, this cannot continue indefinitely and the State
Legislature must allocate the appropriate funding to modernize the subway system
as soon as possible.</scope>
<!--attribute options: what, who, when, where-->
<objective> The main objectives of this project are to replace all cars constructed
prior to 1990 with modern cars, repair the subway tracks and stations, and
extend the subway lines to accommodate additional riders once the system is
capable of handling the increase in traffic. </objective>
<goal> By improving the efficiency and service of the MBTA subway system, more
commuters will choose to use public transportation as their primary means of
transportation. The subsequent reduction of the amount of cars driving into the
city each days will make Boston a greener, more environmentally friendly city as
it will reduce the amount of fossil fuels required for the city to function.
Increased use of an efficient subway system that gets workers to their places of
business on time will improve the standard of living in the city and reduce the
anger caused daily by traffic delays.
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</goal>
</p>
</purpose>
<approach>
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<p>
<action>To modernize the subway system, the MBTA must first be granted the necessary
funds to purchase modern cars that are better suited for Boston's harsh winter
conditions and can accommodate more passengers. Boston has purchased 284
replacement cars for the Red and Orange lines from a Chinese company but this
deal now faces scrutiny and an investigation following accusations of unfair
business practices as CRRC, a Chinese State-subsidized company, was able to
undercut their American competitors (Metzger). Even if this deal is allowed to
proceed, there is still a large portion of the subway system that has not yet
received funding for renovations. The State Legislature must be petitioned to
allocate $3.2 billion in funding to the MBTA to implement the necessary repairs
and improvements to the subway system (Vaccaro). Approval of this funding may
require a public marketing campaign to persuade the residents of the greater
Boston area that the benefits from improving of the subway system outweigh the
costs.<note type="instructor" resp="#kgs">OK, this makes sense</note> Once funding has been secured, new cars using modern AC technology will
be purchased from a reliable company with a proven record and implemented as
soon as they are constructed. While the cars are being built, the subway
stations and lines should undergo renovations and extensions to be finished
prior to the delivery of the new subway cars. When the cars are completed,
Boston will have a fully functional, modern and reliable subway system, capable
of handling a greater capacity of riders and inclement weather.</action>
</p>
</approach>
<feasibility>
<!--attribute options: economic, social, environmental, cannot add more than 1 feasbility section?-->
<p>
<economic>In the 2016 Capital Investment Report, the MBTA had programmed $1.05
billion towards their Capital Investment Program (MBTA 2016 CIP). However, over
63% of this funding or $666 million is allocated to State of Good Repair costs,
or the cost to maintain the current state of the MBTA. Only 10% has been
designated for the modernization and expansion of the MBTA system, most of which
is meant for the subway system. With such a low percentage of the funding
allocated towards modernization, the MBTA will consistently lag behind modern
technology. Additional funding must be granted to the MBTA through the increased
allocation of taxpayer money and revenue collection. This will meet significant
resistance due to the MBTA's past financial mismanagement and fundamental ethics
issues involving huge pension payments, absenteeism and corruption. However,
these fears can be mitigated by Gov. Charlie Baker's recent overhaul of the
MBTA's Governing Board that involves increased oversight from Beacon Hill. The
MBTA has also raised fares and is enforcing the collection of them more
consistently on the commuter rails, increasing their revenues. The economic
benefits of an upgraded subway system are numerous. Most importantly, an
efficient transportation system that does not suffer from frequent delays will
not interrupt the business of the city. During the winter of 2015, it was
estimated the a statewide travel ban would result in a loss of $265 million a
day, and the complete shutdown of the MBTA several times that winter resulted in
the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in profits for businesses in Boston.
The estimated total loss in business revenues of over $1 billion during the
winter of 2014 justifies the allocation of $3.2 billion over the next seven
years for the modernization and expansion of the subway system. An overhaul of
the T system would result in fewer economic interruptions and make Boston a more
attractive location for economic development, which would provide more jobs and
opportunity for the citizens of Boston.<note type="instructor" resp="#kgs">this is compelling</note></economic></p>
</feasibility>
<conclu>
<p> Funding the suggested repairs in this proposal will greatly benefit the citizens,
businesses and culture of the City of Boston in the years to come. By improving the
efficiency of the subway by funding modern technology, the T's capacity and
reliability will be increased, resulting in more commuters utilizing its services.
This will reduce the amount of cars traveling into the city each day and lower the
amount of carbon pollutants released by cars. This will make Boston an
environmentally friendly city capable of accommodating larger crowds such as those
seen during the Olympics, which would provide further economic opportunity to the
city.</p>
</conclu>
<references>
<citation n="1" style="APA">
<author>Andy Metzger</author> Published July 19, 2016. <title level="a">US urged to
probe Chinese company building MBTA subway cars</title> [Online] Available:
<ref>https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/07/19/urged-probe-chinese-company-building-mbta-subway-cars/wRTd80HIyx3oDxT1o2KheK/story.html</ref>
[July 28, 2016] </citation>
<citation n="2" style="APA">
<author>Allison Manning</author> Published June 30, 2015. <title level="a">Boston
2024 has no budget to fix MBTA</title> [Online] Available:
<ref>https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2015/06/30/boston2024-has-no-budget-to-fix-mbta</ref>
[August 6, 2016] </citation>
<citation n="3" style="APA">
<author>Adam Vaccaro</author> Published August 31, 2015 <title level="a">Fixing the
MBTA will now cost more than $7 Billion</title> [Online] Available:
<ref>https://www.boston.com/news/business/2015/08/31/fixing-the-mbta-will-now-cost-more-than-7-billion</ref>
Accessed: [August 8, 2016] </citation>
<citation n="4" style="APA">
<author>MBTA</author>
<title>Capital Investment Program 2016 FY2016</title>
<ref>http://www.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/About_the_T/Financials/FY16CIP.pdf</ref>
</citation>
<citation n="5" style="APA">
<author>Steve Annear</author>
<title level="a">The MBTA Will Replace Orange and Red Line Trains, Offering More
Space for Riders</title>
<ref>http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2013/10/22/mbta-ornage-line-trains-upgrades-red-line-governor-patrick/</ref>
</citation>
</references>
</pub_init_proposal>
<docReview>
<reviewer type="peer" xml:id="peer_id_here"/>
<report type="peer" resp="#peer_id_here">
<p>Peer review report will appear here.</p>
</report>
<reviewer type="instructor" xml:id="kgs"/>
<report type="instructor" resp="#kgs">
<p>I like the thread of exigence you pull through the proposal: i.e. that in order to continue to be considered a modern city, Boston *must* respond to this public transportation issue. I also particularly enjoyed the economic argument that drew on the amount lost/spent during the snow storm and the economic development opportunities lost as a result of the inefficient system. My one major question is your audience--if MA controls funding to the MBTA, then why is your audience the City of Boston? Even if you convince them to replace the cars as you want, they may not control the capital required to udertake this project. I could imagine a proposal to the Commonwealth, but that would change a lot of the exigence you create.</p>
</report>
</docReview>
</DOC>