A suggestion to privatize the T is up on Blue Mass Group. It's an interesting idea but I don't buy the argument presented.

...by privatizing the T we can ensure that a private company, motivated by a need to make a profit will actually have an incentive to have faster trains come on time, professional and courteous staff, better service AND cheaper fares, increase ridership, and have a more comfortable better quality ride. Yet there are some downsides...

Complacency, government involvement in regulation, monopoly profits over the public good are among the downsides. A proposed solution involves re-bidding the contract every four years. That raises more issues than it addresses. For one, I don't think we'd get high quality employees in an environment where things change that often.

I also agree with the commenter who says:

...It seems very clear to me that "privatizing" functions of the government does *not* lead to better service, but does create a new class of parasitic entities that are every bit as prone to hackery and corruption as anyone else. And the profit motive does not magically lead to better service -- it can lead to crappier service as they pare down "unnecessary" lines, routes, and maintenance. Hrm, sound familiar?

What we really need to do is to make a stink...

Indeed. With the T, a government agency controlled by elected politicians, we get the system that we deserve, just like we got the Turnpike Authority that we deserved. Things don't change until we make a stink, and we usually don't make a stink until things get really bad. But having the discussion is a step in the right direction.

Jay has some thoughts on this as well.