The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's fiscal oversight board unanimously approved a five-year, $28 million contract with Management Consulting Inc. of Virginia Beach, Va., to manage MBTA warehouse operations.
MBTA officials project $64.2 million in total savings and avoided costs over five years, including an estimated $16 million upgrade to the authority's central warehouse in Everett, just north of Boston.
"The MBTA should and will continue to be in the business of moving our customers more efficiently, and modernized warehouse and logistics operations will both reduce costs and wait times for servicing our fleets," MBTA Acting General Manager Brian Shortsleeve said after the Jan. 9 Fiscal and Management Control Board meeting in Boston.
The contract is the MBTA's largest outsourcing deal since state lawmakers suspended the anti-privatization Pacheco Law for three years. That law requires the state auditor to screen any privatization proposal.
Officials said they chose Mancon, which contracts with transit agencies in Virginia, Ohio and London, based on its performance in managing spare parts operations for public sector organizations, including bus and train operations.
Gov. Charlie Baker and the legislature created the oversight board, which meets weekly, after frequent breakdowns of trains and other equipment occurred during the 2014-15 winter.
