'Excessive' MBTA absences led to bad service during storms

BOSTON — Unscheduled absences of MBTA employees contributed to the cancellation of more than 6,400 bus trips during January and February, according to an excerpted draft of the governor's task-force report, Sentinal & Enterprise reported.

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The report, which cited "excessive absenteeism" as an example of "weak" management at the transit agency, found that 15% of all MBTA employees took at least one day of paid leave during a stretch this winter when the agency was struggling to maintain and restore services disrupted by repeated winter storms.

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Gov. Charlie Baker earlier this year convened a task force of transportation experts to look at the governance, operations and finances of the MBTA in the wake of service failures resulting from record snowfall in late January and February. The full report is expected to be released later this week, but snippets have been released by the administration, the Sentinal & Enterprise reported. For the full story, click here.