Tuesday’s outcome places Marblehead among the 38 communities that have not yet achieved compliance with state law, risking loss of eligibility for competitive state grant programs potentially worth over $10 million.
MBTA
Posted inTransportation
MBTA commuter rail operator’s CEO heads back to France
The change at the top of Keolis Commuter Services comes as the contract, held by the company since July 2014, is set to expire June 2027.
Posted inTransportation
The next MBTA commuter rail contract is likely to look similar to the current one
Details of the decision will be rolled out at a downtown Boston meeting later this month.
Posted inState Government
MBTA zoning law targeted by GOP budget amendments
Even following a Supreme Judicial Court ruling in January against Milton that deemed the law constitutional and gave the attorney general’s office the ability to enforce it with legal action, unrest remains in other communities — many of which are using Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s contention that the law is an “unfunded mandate” to pursue further legal action.
Posted inTransportation
Meet Beacon Hill’s new top House lawmaker on transportation
Colleagues call Arciero a pragmatist who’s willing to listen, while Beacon Hill observers note that he was already a key player who helped shepherd Gov. Maura Healey’s multibillion housing bill.
Posted inHousing
A new wrinkle in MBTA Communities rebellion, courtesy of DiZoglio
Responding to a request from Wrentham officials, Auditor Diana DiZoglio waded into a local battle over the controversial MBTA Communities law, finding that the law is an “unfunded mandate” handed down by state officials.
Posted inTransportation
This is one of the biggest decisions the MBTA will make in the next five years
The commuter rail system sees 550,000 weekly passengers and the MBTA officials want to see even higher numbers, part of an effort to ease traffic congestion by making the commuter rail a more attractive alternative.
Posted inTransportation
Suburban commuter rail stations need more housing density, new report says
“For Greater Boston, leveraging the vast, underdeveloped land around commuter rail stations represents a crucial opportunity to address housing shortages, reduce car dependency, and better utilize existing transit infrastructure,” the report said.
Posted inPolitics
Political Notebook: Maura Healey’s echo | Bitcoin strategic reserve?
There was talk of no new taxes, fixing the MBTA, and cutting red tape, all while avoiding direct references to Donald Trump.
Posted inTransportation
Healey task force turns to existing tax to boost MBTA, transportation infrastructure
Healey administration officials are attempting to deploy millionaires tax revenue in a way that was first tested on a smaller scale last year.
Posted inEducation
The dividing line on millionaires tax money
One of the main backers of the 2022 ballot question says a split between education and transportation shouldn’t be locked in.
Posted inTransportation
Healey huddles with her transportation task force ahead of report’s release
The governor met with her transportation funding task force as its members convened their final session and prepared to submit a final draft of a report expected to be released in the coming days.
Posted inOpinion
Transportation funding task force nears finish line
The governor’s task force on transportation funding is scheduled to hold its final meeting with both Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll in attendance.
Posted inTransportation
Healey task force on transportation funding will miss its December 31 deadline
The task force Gov. Maura Healey created to propose a new funding model for transportation in Massachusetts is going to miss its end-of-2024 deadline.
Posted inGovernment
Political Notebook: Lack of roadmap riles some on transportation task force
Members of Gov. Maura Healey’s transportation funding task force gathered this week in downtown Boston. But whether they’ll get to where they’re supposed to go is in the eye of the commuter.
Posted inOpinion
The Allston I-90 project: once again off the rails
It was disappointing when Secretary of Transportation Monica Tibbits-Nutt announced that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation was embarking on a path forward for Allston Landing that backtracked on prior commitments to the impacted communities and may jeopardize (and in some ways reverse) the project’s commitment to providing important environmental, economic, and social justice outcomes.
Posted inTransportation
Regional transit agencies are getting state funding to go fare-free. The T won’t be on the list.
Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt said while 13 of the 15 Massachusetts regional transit authorities can now provide year-round fare-free bus service, thanks to state grants, that won’t be happening anytime soon at the MBTA, the state’s largest transit agency.
Posted inOpinion
Always broke: The MBTA’s long-running theme
History offers important lessons to learn, or at least not repeat, as the T approaches yet another budget year with a projected deficit looming.
Posted inTransportation
More MBTA shutdowns expected in 2025
MBTA riders who slogged through this year’s shutdowns should brace themselves for more next year, though they’ll be more limited in scope and duration, according to transit officials.
Posted inTransportation
State officials must ‘repent’ for MBTA’s ‘crippling debts,’ watchdog says
An independent group took a deep dive through the history of public transit in Boston for its latest report about funding woes.
Posted inTransportation
Unions representing MBTA’s commuter rail workers feeling left out
Of the 14 Keolis unions, only one has agreed to new contract amendments. The rest have all been without new language since their contracts could be updated in July 2022. Under federal laws, railroad contracts technically never expire and remain in place until they are amended.
Posted inTransportation
MBTA backs away from commuter rail fare loss estimate
The MBTA is backing away from a statement made last Thursday by the agency’s senior manager of fare policy and analysis, who estimated 25 percent of fares on the south side of the commuter rail system are not being collected.
Posted inTransportation
MBTA estimates 25% of south-side commuter rail fares not being collected
“That’s a lot – 25 percent,” Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt said. “That’s a really big loss of revenue.”
Posted inTransportation
McGee to lead MBTA board as Glynn steps aside
McGee, a former state lawmaker and mayor of Lynn, is very similar to Glynn in a policy sense. But the two men have very different leadership styles.