Six of the seven members of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation board, which governs the MBTA, have resigned, heeding a call from Gov. Charlie Baker. A Baker spokesperson confirmed the resignations to Boston.com.

Baker asked for the board—excluding his own representative on it, Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack—to step down last week. The resignations were a recommendation of a recent report by a panel appointed by Baker, focused on the poor state of the T and how to improve it. The report, which was deeply critical of MBTA management, called for the formation of a new “Fiscal and Management Control Board’’ to be a temporary governing body for the transit system.


Some MassDOT board members had seemed like they may be reluctant to follow Baker’s request that they resign as recently as late last week. Overall, though, things seem to have gone according to plan. Upon the release of the critical report, Baker said the board members were aware it asked them to resign, but that they would first focus on the MBTA’s budget for the next fiscal year. The board agreed on a budget last week, and the resignations followed within a few days.

The T is estimated to be about $6.7 billion behind in needed upgrades and repairs. It struggled throughout the winter, as the system faced widespread service delays and cancellations during a series of blizzards. The troubles ultimately led to the resignation of former MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott. The recent report laid the blame for the system’s issues on fiscal mismanagement and called for several reforms, such as the new oversight board.

Baker will now be able to appoint his own representatives to the MassDOT board. The six board members to resign had all been appointees of former Gov. Deval Patrick. They were: Chairman John Jenkins, Andrew Whittle, Janice Loux, Robin Chase, Joseph Bonfiglio, and Dominic Blue.


Baker spokesperson Tim Buckley issued a statement saying the governor was thankful for the departing board members’ service, and that he “looks forward to assembling a new team of transportation experts to assist MassDOT.’’

A poll last week from MassINC/WBUR found that 57 percent of voters approved of how Baker, a Republican, has handled of the MBTA in light of its winter struggles, compared to 23 percent who were opposed. That included 53 percent approval from Democrats compared to 30 percent disapproval.