Beverly Scott: The New MBTA GM

Yesterday's announcement of a new MBTA general manager brings with it not only a new era but also many challenges.

At a publicly held interview and meeting, state transportation officials chose Dr. Beverly Scott, previously the General Manager of Atlanta's transportation system, to be the new head of the MBTA. As stated in my previous article, Dr. Scott was one of two finalists chosen for the position, both of whom were from Atlanta's Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA).

The national search for a new general manager took a little over a year to complete. The MBTA received over 100 applications for the job and eventually narrowed it down to the two finalists this past week.

Dr. Scott has been the GM of MARTA for the past five years. Scott also held a GM position at the Transportation system of Sacramento, and has also held various positions at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York and Philadelphia. Dr. Scott will also be the first female GM at the MBTA, similar to the ground that she broke when she started her position in Atlanta.

I have no doubt that having a new GM --especially one from out of state-- will help the MBTA during their transitioning phase. However, I am a bit spectacle on how Dr. Scott is going to transition from running the ninth largest transportation system in the nation to running the fifth largest.

The MBTA is a much different beast than most transportation systems in this country -- plagued by outdated equipment, constant financial struggles and rough winters.

Here's a quick look at the differences between the MBTA and MARTA:

As you can see, both systems are similar in a few ways but also very different. Dr. Scott headed an agency that was not only significantly smaller and in a much different climate, but also one that has far less debt and financial troubles. Although Dr. Scott has over 30 years of experience in the public transportation field, I don't believe that she has ever had to deal with as many hardships as the MBTA faces.