In MBTA's $2.7B budget: Safety investments, more hiring, Red

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Safety plans, additional hiring and further expansion all factor prominently in the newly approved $2.7 billion budget for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's next fiscal year.

Members of the MBTA Board of Directors voted to approve the fiscal year 2024 operating budget on Thursday.

"More than half of all new spending for FY24 is directly related to safety-related positions and represents an increase of more than four times over prior years’ average," a spokesperson said.

"This budget reflects a series of investments that sharpen our focus on enhancing safety for our customers, workforce, contractors, and vendors," MBTA general manager Phillip Eng said in a statement. "The T plays a vital role in connecting people to work, school, family, and friends, and I thank the Board of Directors for approving the FY24 budget. The priorities outlined here provide the means to make progress toward delivering the service our customers deserve and the level of safety – across the entire system – they expect."

Video below: Gov. Healey discusses safety plan