“Given that the MBTA lacks sufficient resources to even manage the previous $10 billion SGR Index, let alone the projects in the unconstrained 10-year spending framework, an additional $2 billion in capital needs puts the capital gap at near unsurmountable levels … climbing to an average of $3 billion annually for FY 2025 through FY 2031,” the foundation wrote.

The implications of the repair backlog and how it affects public transit service through and around the largest city in New England are gigantic.

“If the MBTA cannot return to safe and reliable service, the Boston economy cannot recover,” MTF wrote. The brief also declared that the consequences of continuing with a majority of MBTA assets out of repair “would be catastrophic to the regional economy and the impacts would fall on transit-dependent communities and those who have few affordable transportation alternatives.”