New MBTA chief Phillip Eng kicks off work at embattled agency

• Safety precautions and slow service have alienated riders, starved the T of fare revenue and set up a looming budget crisis for the agency.

What they're saying: "To people who have lost faith in the T, I tell them, stay tuned. I know we can turn it around. I'm going to demonstrate we can turn it around," Eng said according to NBC Boston.

• The new GM said the T is going to have to balance competing priorities.
• Safety, reliability and communication are his top goals.

Background: Eng retired last year after running the New York MTA's Long Island Rail Road, the largest commuter rail line in the U.S., for four years.

• Eng led the Long Island Rail Road from some of its worst performance in decades to the best on-time performance in its history.

• He'd been an engineer with the New York state transportation department for decades before that.

What's next: Eng said that once riders start to hear the MBTA's plan to turn itself around, they'll see that the transit agency has a real strategy and will start to see meaningful improvements.

Bottom line: Eng is betting that riders will begin to trust the T if the agency is open about its problems and delivers on promises to fix them.