More than eight out of 10 Boston-area registered voters say addressing problems with the beleaguered Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority should be a major priority for the administration of Governor Charlie Baker, according to a new poll.
The WBUR survey found very few blame Baker, who took office just last month, for the transportation agency’s winter shutdowns and delays. But a strong majority want the administration to focus on the issue.
The fresh numbers could give added heft to a growing sense in political circles that despite the T not really being an issue during his gubernatorial campaign, Baker’s term is now likely to include a real and sustained focus on fixing the troubled transit agency.
Speaking to the press on Wednesday morning, Baker noted his favorite finding of the poll: Only 5 percent of Boston area voters say he is most responsible for the T’s winter woes.
Twenty-seven percent think the Legislature is, while 25 percent blame previous Massachusetts governors, 19 percent blame outgoing MBTA chief Beverly Scott, and 2 percent hold Mayor Martin J. Walsh of Boston accountable.
Baker went on to say, “We’re going to work aggressively and collaboratively with the T and with the folks on the commuter rail.”
He put a finer point on it in an interview with the Globe last week.
“It’s pretty clear at this point that transportation, and especially the T, are going to end up being a pretty significant agenda item,” he said.
Still, speaking Wednesday with reporters, Baker also said he thinks it is unlikely that his soon-to-be-released state budget proposal for the next fiscal year, which begins in July, will contain anything that specifically relates to the MBTA troubles, except on “an incremental level.”
Steve Koczela, president of the MassINC Polling Group, which conducted the poll for WBUR, said, at the moment, the larger winter transportation crisis, including the T troubles, does not seem to be sticking to Baker.
“But it’s also clear that he owns it now,” Koczela said.
More broadly, the pollster added that one of the survey’s findings that struck him was “how much the perceptions have changed over the past month.”
In a January poll, only 11 percent of Boston area voters said they would rate the condition of the MBTA system as poor.
That number has now jumped to 39 percent.
The current survey also found that 66 percent of Boston area registered voters say an “out of date system that has not been maintained properly” is most responsible for the T’s recent failings, while 17 percent said “poor management by MBTA officials during the storm” is most responsible.
The WBUR survey was conducted by The MassINC Polling Group from Feb. 12-15 by live telephone interviews to landlines and cell phones.
It polled 505 registered voters in the metro Boston area, including Boston and 30 surrounding cities and towns. The survey had margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
Joshua Miller can be reached at joshua.miller@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jm_bos.