An internal MBTA audit of 30 buses found a high failure rate for covert microphones, according to emails obtained by the Herald. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
The MBTA is in the process of auditing its fleet of buses after a review of 30 across three garages found issues with emergency communication equipment, including a covert microphone drivers can use to talk to dispatchers, according to internal emails obtained by the Herald.
The emails show top safety officials acknowledging the issue this week, coming up with a workaround for the covert microphone problem, pledging to continue auditing a sample of buses this weekend before turning to a larger fleetwide review next week, and saying they communicated the issue with dispatchers.
Deputy Chief Safety Officer Dennis Lytton told MBTA officials about the emergency communication equipment failure rates on the 30 buses in a Friday email that mentioned the covert microphones and other safety features like an interior camera.
“Besides a much larger audit of the fleet as a first step, I think there needs to be a discussion about how we communicate this to bus operators, bus dispatchers, and others in the meantime…
