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MBTA board approves 5-year elevator and escalator contract with Schindler; adds 24/7 technicians
Summary
MBTA Systemwide Accessibility staff said the board approved a five-year contract with Schindler Elevator Corporation to replace longtime contractor KONE on Sept. 1; the deal adds 25 full-time technicians, keeps a 99.4% elevator uptime standard and introduces remote monitoring and enhanced reporting.
MBTA Systemwide Accessibility announced that the MBTA board has approved a five-year contract awarding elevator and escalator maintenance services to Schindler Elevator Corporation, a change scheduled to take effect Sept. 1.
"This is really a very big transition for us," said Laura Brailsford, the MBTA's assistant general manager for systemwide accessibility, who told the RTAG meeting that the contract will bring 25 full-time technicians providing 24-hour service. Brailsford said the agency will continue to hold the contractor to the system-wide minimum elevator uptime standard of 99.4% and plans to test remote elevator-monitoring technology to automatically notify the control center when a unit has a problem.
MBTA staff said Schindler's proposal includes new reporting and monitoring tools intended to shorten the time between an outage and repair. "We are still gonna be holding them accountable for our minimum elevator uptime standard, which is 99.4% system wide," Brailsford said during the presentation.
The agency framed the award as an operational step to reduce long outages and improve rider experience; staff said the contract includes performance reporting and additional staffing to support continuous coverage. KONE, which has provided these services for more than two decades, will be replaced at the start of the contract term.
MBTA staff said they will update RTAG periodically on the transition and invited riders and advocates to request more detail about the contract. The transcript did not provide a contract number or vote tally; MBTA staff offered to share additional information on request.
