THE MBTA is offering another enticement to drivers to get out of their cars during the Sumner Tunnel closure – free access to digital newspapers, magazines, audiobooks, and e-books at […]
Tracking Transportation
Keeping track of transportation
Posted inTransportation
Healey backtracks on Green Line extension closure
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE GREEN LINE’S Union Square stop will remain open this summer after all. State officials on Wednesday announced they will postpone a Somerville bridge construction project […]
Posted inOpinion
Despite improvement, roads and bridges need more funding
AS THE HOUSE AND SENATE conference committee begins its work on the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, the Construction Industries of Massachusetts respectfully asks the conferees to maintain the 50/50 split […]
Posted inTransportation
Short circuit blamed for 2022 passenger death at Broadway Station
FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS have concluded that a short circuit on a Red Line train set off a chain of events in April 2022 that allowed a passenger trying to exit the […]
Posted inTransportation
Eng mum on cause of slow zones, timetable for elimination
MBTA GENERAL MANAGER Phillip Eng on Monday touted progress in addressing slow zones on the subway system, but he declined to explain how the problem surfaced or provide a timeline […]
Posted inState Government, Transportation
2 lawmakers urge Healey to focus now on next commuter rail contract
TWO KEY state lawmakers are urging Gov. Maura Healey to set in motion now the process for selecting the next operator of the state’s commuter rail system even though the contract […]
Posted inTransportation
Blue Line to be free during Sumner Tunnel closure
This story has been updated. WITH THE SUMNER Tunnel scheduled to close for most of July and August, state transportation officials are trying to reduce car travel in the area […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA ridership hits highest level since pandemic began
RIDERSHIP ON THE MBTA in March reached its highest level since the pandemic began, with the slow-zone-plagued subway system the laggard among the various modes of travel. Total ridership reached […]
Posted inTransportation
With GLX a wrap, Dalton eyes Hudson River tunnel
JOHN DALTON, the man who steered the very challenging Green Line extension to the finish line in Boston, is taking his talents to New York City and one of the biggest […]
Posted inTransportation
T officials urge riders to be patient
THE GENERAL MANAGER of the MBTA and two members of the agency’s board of directors indicated on Thursday that positive change is coming at the transit authority but it won’t […]
Posted inTransportation
Eng sees FTA letter as no big deal
ON MAY 19, the Federal Transit Administration emailed a letter to top officials at the MBTA telling them a plan the agency developed for addressing the safety of workers performing […]
Posted inTransportation
Eng touts ‘forward progress’ in removing MBTA slow zones
THE MBTA IS targeting slow zones that would most impact daily commutes as it chugs along on completing track replacements and lifting speed restrictions. General Manager Phillip Eng touted “forward […]
Posted inTransportation
Like Goldilocks, Glynn trying to fashion ‘just right’ T board
WHEN “SNOWMAGEDDON,” an unprecedented succession of blizzards, shut the MBTA down in 2015, Beacon Hill created a five-person Fiscal and Management Control Board to right the organization. Control was the operative […]
Posted inTransportation
‘Red flags’ in budget worry MBTA Advisory Board
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CITIES AND TOWNS that help fund the MBTA are concerned it will be “impossible” to restore pre-pandemic service levels and that the agency might need to […]
Posted inTransportation
Commuter rail ridership, once dismal, continues to grow
COMMUTER RAIL ridership continues to grow, suggesting more people are returning to work downtown and finding on-time rail service an attractive option. Average weekday ridership on the commuter rail system […]
Posted inTransportation
New T board members set different tone
THE MBTA BOARD under new chair Tom Glynn is going to be different, judging from the way three subcommittees of the board handled themselves on Thursday. Right from the start, […]
Posted inTransportation
Tired of waiting for MBTA, lawmakers push Fairmount changes
ADVOCATES SAY the commuter rail’s Fairmount Line is low-hanging fruit for electrification, service improvement, and fare equity. But it’s been low-hanging fruit for many years, and some lawmakers are tired […]
Posted inTransportation
Woman struck by utility box to sue MBTA
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE 28-YEAR-OLD WOMAN who suffered injuries when she was struck by a falling utility box at the MBTA’s Harvard station this month is now suing the […]
Posted inState Government, Transportation
Senate budget boosts RTA funding, backs fare-free buses
THE STATE’S 15 regional transit authorities, long considered a transportation afterthought on Beacon Hill, are suddenly all the rage. RTAs, which operate local bus networks across the state outside the […]
Posted inTransportation
Stop the deaths at MBTA, parents tell lawmakers
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CALLING FOR ACTION to “stop the pain and suffering,” the parents of a Boston University professor who died when he fell through a broken MBTA station […]
Posted inTransportation
New Bedford says MBTA is shortchanging the city
THE BOSTON GLOBE reported on Sunday that New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell could derail the long-awaited South Coast Rail project by threatening to file a lawsuit challenging the legality of an […]
Posted inOpinion
Fare debate: Make buses free to all
WHEN IT COMES to fare-free transit, there are endless opinions. The concept is often assumed to be a fringe idea or not viable in the long-term. Detractors question its benefits […]
Posted inOpinion
Fare debate: Give low-income riders a break
EVERY DAY, hardworking Massachusetts residents face a difficult dilemma: pay for transportation to get to work or afford basic necessities. This is an unfair and unnecessary burden on those who […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA addressing slow zones with track replacement
THE MBTA says it expects to replace 10,700 feet of rail by the end of May on portions of the Blue, Red, and Green lines to address slow zones. The raw […]