One of the leaders of the Legislature’s transportation committee said Tuesday that state law allows the MBTA to raise fares 10 percent next year, twice the level that transit advocates […]
MBTA
Deficit-ridden MBTA eyes energy savings
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BESET BY BILLIONS of dollars in unmet capital needs and persistent operating budget deficits, the MBTA is poised to save money in electricity procurement. At an […]
Baker is better barometer on MBTA fare increases
In 2013, state lawmakers gave the MBTA the go-ahead to raise fares at predictable intervals in order to boost its bottom line and put riders on notice about the timing and […]
In search of the root cause of the T’s problems
Did anyone seriously think MBTA officials would present a solution to the Green Line extension problem at Wednesday’s meeting of the Department of Transportation’s Board of Directors? Or go beyond hope […]
T eyes new revenue-raising efforts
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE GOAL OF BOOSTING its own-source revenues by about $40 million, the MBTA is looking at hiking parking fees, converting surface lots into developments, and […]
Overlords of the MBTA
Photographs by Michael Manning THE NAME JOSEPH AIELLO probably means nothing to most MBTA riders. But the first major snowstorm might change that. Â Aiello is the chairman of the five-member […]
The T’s chief tweeter
When did you start at the T and where did you come from? I started in November 2011. I came from outside the authority. I had just gotten my masters […]
MBTA’s alcohol ads trial balloon deflating fast
The MBTA needs every dollar that it can get, but probably not the ones from ads for “demon rum.” Â Several years ago, a youth-led, public health coalition lobbied MBTA general […]
Heads up, the MBTA is hurting, keep moving
The first report of the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board is a grim catalogue of the dire realities facing the transit system. Much is already known: operating expenses outstrip revenues […]
DeLeo backs north-south rail link
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SAYING IT WOULD BE A “TERRIBLE MISTAKE” for the state to embark upon an expansion of South Station at the expense of a rail tunnel linking […]
Looking beyond the Green Line extension
MUCH HAS BEEN MADE about who exactly is to blame for the failure of our rail system in Massachusetts last winter. The question is not whether or not there is […]
T begins targeting absenteeism rate
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOPING TO REDUCE ABSENTEEISM at the MBTA, transit officials have begun looking at the roots of the problem and making human resources hires. They are also […]
Funding transportation beyond state taxation
The gas tax indexing defeat left Massachusetts cities and towns scrambling to figure out where new dollars to fund roads, bridges, and mass transit repairs would come from. With state […]
Baker cautious on North-South rail link
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER told two of his predecessors on Wednesday that he and his staff would explore a proposed rail link between North and South Stations, but he appeared to […]
Once again, MBTA maps out growing budget deficits
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MBTA HAS sketched out a growing deficit within its transit system that would balloon to $427 million in four years, as expenses far outpace growth […]
T control board taking control
Joseph Aiello, the chair of the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board, is understandably nervous.The estimated cost of bringing the T into a state of good repair just increased to […]
MBTA’s ‘good repair’ cost rises to $7.3b
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE COST OF BRINGING the MBTA’s trains, stations, tracks and other assets into good working condition has only grown larger with closer scrutiny, rising to $7.3 […]
T control board may hire Green Line consultant
THE MBTA FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT CONTROL BOARD’S lack of confidence in the transit agency’s ability to build the Green Line Extension to Somerville and West Medford plunged to new lows […]
T spin on the Green Line Ext.
I heard the cost of the Green Line Extension was spinning out of control in early June, but I had no proof and ended up not writing anything. That’s my […]
Green Line extension could take a lot more green
Nearly 11 months ago, the federal government promised Massachusetts almost $1 billion to help the state extend the MBTA’s Green Line into Somerville and Medford. At the time, nearly everyone […]
Stay the course on Green Line Ext.
THE DISCLOSURE OF A BREATHTAKING potential billion-dollar cost overrun for the proposed Green Line Extension was unwelcome news. Not only did it take everyone by surprise, it undermined confidence in […]
Green Line extension endangered
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE COST SET set by the Green Line Extension contractor for the first three stations is more than double the amount state and federal transit officials […]
North-South Rail Link rides again
The dynamic duo of  Michael Dukakis and William Weld have teamed up to seize the headlines in the dog days of summer with a surefire conversation starter: building the North-South […]
It’s time for Boston 3.0
SO NOW WHAT? Our Olympic wrestling match is over. The international sports spectacle will move on to another venue, most likely in Europe, and most Bostonians (in our unerring spirit […]
