The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board voted unanimously yesterday - with one abstention and little debate - to pay a private contractor about $700 million to continue running its troubled commuter rail service for another three years.
The MBTA staff said that the contractor, Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co., has been working diligently to improve service and agreed to make quarterly reports on its progress running trains on time, hiring more minorities, and refurbishing old coaches.
Only one MBTA board member raised significant reservations about extending the company's current five-year, $1.07 billion contract, which was scheduled to expire July 1, 2008.
"Isn't that the same thing they agreed to in the beginning? They didn't do it," said Baron H. Martin, a retired judge who sits on the board and, despite concerns, voted to renew the contract. "What's changed?"
Noticeably absent from the 15-minute debate were any of the system's 72,000 daily commuters, many of whom have been fuming over the frequency of train delays. The meeting was held on a Monday afternoon, when most passengers were at work.
"I'm finding the whole situation appalling," Wilma Stahura, a Harvard Medical School employee, said in a phone interview after the meeting. She stood on a damp and chilly West Natick platform during a 30-minute delay yesterday morning. "I'm distressed that they don't have another option in place."
Stephen Wagner, who rides the Fitchburg line, said the contractor did not earn three more years: "I suppose they're trying, but the results haven't been satisfactory."
The commuter company had its worst service to date in October and November; 3 in 10 trains were at least five minutes late. The company weathered another crisis in summer 2006, when canceled trains and coaches without air conditioning left passengers steamed.
The four other large American commuter rail systems - New York's Metro-North, Chicago's Metra, New Jersey Transit, and the Long Island Rail Road - each posted better on-time performance during the last four years. Over that time, nearly 1 in 10 trains in and out of Boston was counted late.
"No excuses. It's our responsibility," James F. O'Leary, general manager of Mass. Bay Commuter, said after the meeting as he vowed better service.
The company also faced questions about the contractor's treatment of minorities. A group of black employees sued the contractor this fall, alleging racial discrimination; another employee was suspended for 10 days recently for writing what was described as a racially offensive e-mail.
O'Leary said the company, which took over Amtrak's contract and workforce in 2003, is making efforts to diversify. Since winning the contract, O'Leary said, 29 percent of the company's hires have been minorities.
The contract extension will pay the company about $224 million a year, plus a yet-to-be negotiated inflation adjustment - a scale comparable to the current annual payment.
The MBTA board had the option of a two-, three- or five-year extension. It could not have ended the contract at its July expiration date because MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas has not taken any action to solicit competitive bids and has said there is not enough time before July to bring in a new operator.
John D. Ray, director of railroad operations for the MBTA, told board members that the contractor has faced challenges but has worked hard and should get more time "to continue their efforts to improve the delivery of the service." The board can decide before 2011 either to solicit new bids or to extend the contract for an additional two years.
"I have a lot of faith in the people MBCR [the contractor] has in place," Ray said.
Bernard Cohen, the transportation secretary who chairs the MBTA board, left the room during yesterday's debate and did not vote because he worked for Mass. Bay Commuter in 2003, just after it took over the service. He also worked for O'Leary in the 1980s, when O'Leary was general manager of the MBTA.
Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.
