MBTA General Manager Phil Eng fields questions from the press after an event at Newton City Hall on Nov. 25, 2024. Photo by Chris Lisinski | State House News Service

MBTA budget-writers have warned the agency could run out of cash in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 amid a roughly $700 million gap, but the agency’s leader is feeling “optimism” about the prospects of addressing the shortfall.

T General Manager Phil Eng told reporters Monday that a combination of different financial maneuvers, including support from the federal government, could prove crucial to helping the agency navigate a tricky upcoming budget cycle.

Gov. Maura Healey earlier this year created a task force to examine big-picture transportation funding issues, and the group has until the end of December to submit its report. Asked what he expected the findings to entail, Eng said there’s already “a lot of dialogue going on regarding the funding task force.”

“There’s a lot of optimism from our perspective that [despite] these challenges [there] will be found a way to help us offset some of our shortcomings in 2026,” Eng said.

He added that senior MBTA officials are having “a lot of discussion” with federal government representatives. Most other transit agencies have not been able to attract back the same volume of riders as before the COVID-19 pandemic, cutting into fare revenue they use for large portions of their budgets.

“We’re not the only agency. In fact, all agencies across the country are facing these deficits. We’re learning from each of them, but no state alone can do it alone without the federal government’s support, and we’re going to continue to push for that,” Eng said. “It’s a combination of all the different fund sources, as well as the MBTA finding ways to deliver more efficiently, more cost-effectively.”

Watchdogs and transit activists have warned that the T will need significant financial assistance to close its budget gap without cutting service, especially after agency leaders worked over the last year-plus to improve reliability and eliminate slow zones.

Eng said Monday that the project to lift speed restrictions – which is set to wrap up next month – is “not only being done on schedule, but being done within our budget.”