How are new capital improvements prioritized for transit?
The Program for Mass Transportation (PMT) is the MBTA´s long-range plan for major projects. It defines the 25-year vision for public transportation in eastern Massachusetts. The PMT is updated every five years and is not restricted by already-identified sources of funding (in other words, it is “fiscally unconstrained”). The PMT determines which projects—expansion, enhancement, and system-preservation projects—would be needed to achieve the MBTA´s vision for the future, regardless of the expected funding levels, and it lists and describes those projects. The PMT is implemented through the MBTA´s Capital Investment Program (CIP), a rolling five-year plan that is updated annually, which authorizes funding for specific projects. Unlike the PMT, the CIP is restricted to already-defined sources of funding (it is “fiscally constrained”), so only capital projects that the MBTA can afford are advanced to the CIP. These projects are selected and prioritized for funding based on the impact of ea
