BOSTON — Many observers have wondered why Phillip Eng, who recently retired as president of the Long Island Railroad, would want to take on the job of leading the problem-plagued Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
While the question is still worth considering, it should be noted he will be well compensated for the large task at hand.
CommonWealth Magazine reports Eng received five-year contract with a base salary of $470,000 and an “annual retention payment” of $30,000, plus a 1.5% increase of base salary each year beginning Sept. 1, 2024. He will also be eligible for “success bonuses” of up to $47,000 in 2024, $70,500 in 2025, and $94,000 in the three subsequent years. The exact bonus will be determined by state Transportation Secretary Gina Fiancada based on criteria agreed on by Fiancada and Eng.
The salary is $130,000 more than that of former MBTA general manager Steve Poftak, and near the top of a salary survey conducted by a firm hired by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
The Boston Herald reports that Eng is also receiving a $184,288 pension from New York in addition to his MBTA salary. Eng currently lives in New York but is receiving $80,000 in relocation funds.
In other MBTA news, the head of the Massachusetts House Transportation Committee has filed legislation that would remove Boston-area commuter rail operations from the management of the MBTA and place them under the state Department of Transportation.
State House News Service reports that H3452, by Rep. William Straus (D-Mattapoisett), includes the provision moving oversight of commuter rail from the MBTA to MassDOT as part of a series of public transportation reforms. Another seeks to move oversight of MBTA safety from the state’s Department of Public Utilities to the Department of the Inspector General [see “Legislators seek new safety oversight …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 8, 2023].
But Jarred Johnson, executive director of advocacy group Transit Matters, called Straus’ plan “a very expensive deck chair-moving operation,” saying it went against efforts the MBTA had made to improve commuter-rail service. Schedule changes have helped the MBTA commuter rail system reach nearly 70% of pre-pandemic ridership in the first half of fiscal 2023, well ahead of the subway system.
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