STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS MOMENTUM GROWS around the country for the suspension of state gas taxes, the state Senate on Thursday rejected a Republican-led push to pause gas tax […]
Tracking Transportation
Posted inTransportation
T needs to step up its game on ‘diversions’
TWO WEEKENDS AGO the MBTA did something previously unthinkable. It closed half of a major subway line, through downtown Boston, on a game day, with shuttle buses running from Back […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA shutting down chunk of Blue Line 13 days
THE MBTA is preparing to take a large chunk of its busiest subway line out of service for 13 days starting April 2 to replace 1,800 feet of track and […]
Posted inOpinion
A low-income fare would make a real difference
TWO MONTHS before my daughter was due to be born, I developed preeclampsia and had to be rushed from Brockton to Tufts Medical Center to give birth. My baby was […]
Posted inTransportation
Capuano praises Baker on GLX — and says he voted for him
FORMER CONGRESSMAN Michael Capuano paid tribute to Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday at an event marking the launch of service on the Green Line extension to Somerville — and the […]
Posted inTransportation
GLX opening a major achievement for the T
THE MBTA on Monday opens the Green Line extension to Somerville, a milestone for the T’s riders but perhaps an even greater achievement for the T itself. Six years ago, […]
Posted inTransportation
Different fare payment approach at new GLX stops
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WHEN MBTA riders begin Monday to hop onto Green Line trolleys at a pair of brand-new stations, they will also experience another first: a different way […]
Posted inTransportation
Wu, MBTA each put own spin on fare-free bus results
IN THE POLICY BATTLE over fare-free transit service, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and the MBTA are portraying the same data in very different ways. The T kicked off the discussion […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker proposes $9.7b infrastructure bond bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE EFFORTS TO REPLACE the MBTA’s entire Green Line trolley fleet, a statewide move toward electric vehicle adoption, and projects to make infrastructure more resilient in the […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service, Transportation
Senate seeks fixed date for bus electrification
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WARNING THAT the pace of electrification underway for the MBTA’s bus fleet is “too slow for the Legislature,” a top senator is newly forecasting that his […]
Posted inTransportation
Poftak says show me the money
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A GROWING CHORUS of officials and activists have been pushing for the MBTA to roll out a reduced-price option for low-income riders, but launching that kind […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA nearing a financial cliff
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MBTA might inch to the edge of a financial “cliff” as soon as fiscal year 2024, when the agency will have exhausted all of the […]
Posted inTransportation
Lawmakers are revising road funding formula
THE HOUSE’S TRANSPORTATION policy leader pledged Wednesday that lawmakers will consider revising the state’s road and bridge funding formula, an indication that years of complaints by rural lawmakers may finally […]
Posted inTransportation
E-bikes, electric vehicles focus of clean transportation grants
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION on Tuesday awarded $5 million for “equitable clean transportation projects,” with a heavy focus on the deployment of electric bicycles in low-income communities and electrification of rideshare […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA not among transit agencies splitting $2.2b in fed aid
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT on Monday announced $2.2 billion in aid to states to preserve transit jobs and pay for daily train and bus operations, but Massachusetts […]
Posted inTransportation
Hyde Park’s quirky commuter rail fare structure
THE FAIRMOUNT, Readville, and Hyde Park commuter rail stations are all within roughly two miles of each other, yet the price to travel into Boston from each station varies dramatically. […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Record gas prices spur calls for tax relief
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE COST OF GAS in Massachusetts set a record Monday as the average price per gallon soared to $4.16, with drivers on the Cape and islands […]
Posted inOpinion
A breakdown provides lessons on reliable train service
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
