JUST BEFORE 6 p.m. on Sunday, after passing through Framingham, the train to Worcester jerked, then gently stopped. My friend and I peered outside the window. The lady opposite me looked around confused, as red lights from outside flashed across her face. The conductor’s voice crackled across the train: “This is an emergency. Stay on […]
Transportation
Posted inTransportation
Save the T’s electric trolley buses
EARLY IN 1966 I began a new job. My commute was from Boston to Watertown Square. I took the Red Line and transferred, weather protected, to the Watertown electric trolley bus. The MBTA wanted to get rid of trolley buses then. They still do. I couldn’t imagine getting rid of anything so good. I still […]
Posted inOpinion
West-East rail is what needs to happen
MASSACHUSETTS IS FACING an unprecedented moment. I’m not talking about the COVID-19 pandemic – although the shoe still fits. I’m talking about the billions of dollars in federal funding pouring into our Commonwealth, challenging lawmakers to make intentional, generational investments that will build a sound foundation for housing, healthcare, infrastructure, and transportation for centuries to […]
Posted inTransportation
Merrimack Valley RTA goes fare free for two years
THE MERRIMACK Valley Regional Transit Authority gave a big shot in the arm to the fare-free bus movement on Monday, announcing a two-year experiment where all of its buses will be free to ride. “It’s the fiscally prudent thing to do,” said Noah Berger, the administrator of the transit authority, which serves the northeast corner […]
Posted inTransportation
Fare gates coming to North Station
AFTER FIVE YEARS of stops and starts, the MBTA is planning to install fare gates for commuter rail trains at North Station sometime this spring. Fare gates at the commuter rail hubs of North, South, and Back Bay Stations have been talked about for years as a way to crack down on fare evasion on […]
Posted inTransportation
March 21 opening set for Green Line to Union Sq
MBTA GENERAL Manager Steve Poftak said the Green Line extension to Union Square in Somerville will officially open for business on March 21, while the branch to Medford is being pushed back from May to sometime in late summer. At a meeting of the MBTA board on Thursday, Poftak said the subway line opening would […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA board hears gloomy report on fare options
THE MBTA board of directors took no action Thursday on moving forward with any sort of alternative fare proposal after hearing a report from T staff that raised serious questions about the value of Boston’s fare free bus pilot and the challenges of introducing a low-income fare statewide. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is introducing a […]
Posted inTransportation
New challenges with I-90 Allston project
LAST FALL, the Baker administration achieved a major breakthrough on the $1.7 billion I-90 Allston project, embracing the idea of rebuilding the Turnpike, Soldiers Field Road, and commuter rail tracks all at ground level as they run through a narrow strip of land called the throat, which is sandwiched between Boston University and the Charles […]
Posted inTransportation
What’s better for T: No fares or low-income fare?
BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu has captured the public’s attention with her push for fare-free buses and eventually a fare-free MBTA, but now an alternative approach to fares is emerging from the MBTA itself. The alternative approach is a discounted fare for low-income riders. Its supporters say it would be better to offer discounted fares to […]
Posted inOpinion
Massachusetts citizenship and the importance of state power
WHEN THE PANDEMIC BEGAN, and the federal government failed, we quickly learned how much it mattered that we all lived in Massachusetts. Two years of state-by-state comparisons in suffering, death, vaccination, and recovery showed us that for the first time in hundreds of years, your life depended more on your state identity than your national […]