In March, Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick appointed Richard A. Davey as general manager of the Mass. Bay Transportation Authority, which oversees the MBTA subway system and its associated commuter-rail system. The commuter system already stops in Providence and plans call for it to extend to a new intermodal facility at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick by the end of the year. Eventually, the line from Boston will also extend to North Kingstown. Davey recently spoke with Providence Business News about the MBTA’s Rhode Island expansion and what the future could bring.
PBN: Where does the process to expand service to Warwick stand? PBN: What will the service eventually look like? PBN: Do you ever see the MBTA extending service to South Kingstown? PBN: Do you see economic growth along new rail lines? INTERVIEW
DAVEY: That will be just another great piece … for linking Massachusetts, Rhode Island and key airports we have in the area. As I understand it, the R.I. Department of Transportation (DOT) is completing the station sometime this fall, Sept. 1 I think is the approximate deadline, give or take. MBTA has been actively negotiating an extension and operating agreement with DOT. We’re calling it the Pilgrim Partnership II agreement between the commonwealth and Rhode Island to work out the legal details, liability, cost-sharing, etc. for the service that we’ll provide and that agreement is close to being completed.
I know Rhode Island’s DOT obviously has other negotiations ongoing with Amtrak for some access as well, and Amtrak is performing some signal work to accommodate a full schedule. But what we’re looking to do is implement or to launch service hopefully by the end of this year and it would be a modified service. What I mean by modified is three rounds to T.F. Green with the hope that once Amtrak has completed its track and signal work that we could run additional service. And the intent there is to extend current commuter rail service, Boston to Providence, to T.F. Green. So we would be adding no new trains, we would just be adding that stop along currently scheduled trains.
DAVEY: It’s going to be rush hour service initially. But I think from there, then we’ll gauge ridership demand. It’s sort of the build-it-and-they-will-come attitude and I think folks will. The modeling that DOT has done shows potential for some substantial growth over the next five years or so. But … I think T.F. Green’s aspiration – and I think they’ve really begun to achieve it – is to be one of the marquee airports in the New England region.
It’s an airport I think has seen growth in terms of flights, not withstanding some of the economic issues over the last 10 years. …When we opened the Silver Line to [Logan Airport] several years ago, that has really taken off as a means for passengers to … not have to pay, frankly, large taxi or parking fees but really take an inexpensive, clean, quick ride to Logan. I think the same can be said for T.F. Green Airport, whether you’re in Providence and take the train south or if you’re arriving at T.F. Green Airport and staying in Providence or … Boston, for example.
DAVEY: I think absolutely. We certainly would be open to it. Obviously, operating costs and some capital costs we would need to look at but … [Rhode Island DOT Director] Mike Lewis and the leadership in Rhode Island have been very successful tapping into federal resources, federal funds to make these kinds of investments.
If we were to go farther into the state we would need to look at how that impacts current service and if we were able to add additional trains we would have to look at what we have in terms of spares. We don’t have a lot of spare equipment. In fact, we have very little spare equipment currently and as we look to continue our growth here in the commonwealth, the South Coast rail link, we’re looking … to be in Fall River and New Bedford in a couple of years, we’re [also] talking about adding more service to Worcester [for] our passengers along that I-90 corridor and then maybe some additional service in other places.
DAVEY: I think so. I would say some of the gateway cities, Lowell for example, Worcester, where we’ve added service you’ve really seen a rebirth of some of those cities, whether it’s for reverse commutes or jobs in the cities or you see condominiums and housing going up around MBTA commuter stations, and frankly subway stations.
Brockton is a perfect example, a city that now has three commuter rail stations. Downtown Brockton now has condominiums, which when I grew up in the town next to Brockton I don’t think there was any housing in the downtown area. Certainly there is a lot of growth of development.
Transit-orientated development is certainly something the commonwealth’s been talking about. Rhode Island’s been talking about, certainly now the Obama administration has been talking about, how can we get more people out of their cars and into public transportation. But you need to make it convenient for them. I think certainly from the business perspective, transit-orientated development has worked here in the commonwealth and I’m sure can work in Rhode Island. •
RICHARD A. DAVEY
POSITION: General manager of the Mass. Bay Transportation Authority and rail and transit administrator of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
BACKGROUND: From 2003 to 2010, Davey worked for the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, the company that operates commuter-rail services for the MBTA. He served as general counsel, deputy general manager and later as general manager. Before that Davey practiced law in New York and was a prosecutor with the U.S. Justice Department.
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s in political science from the College of the Holy Cross, 1995; Juris doctorate from Gonzaga University Law School, 1999
FIRST JOB: Grocery bagger at the Sudbury Farms in Randolph, Mass., at age 14
RESIDENCE: Boston
AGE: 37
