BATTERED BY A CORONAVIRUS pandemic that has slashed fare revenue and soured Beacon Hill on providing additional funding for new initiatives, the MBTA is facing a financial crisis worse than […]
Tracking Transportation
Keeping track of transportation
Posted inOpinion
Let’s move on to flattening commute into Boston
THE COMMONWEALTH of Massachusetts and the city of Boston have come together in impressive fashion to address the COVID-19 crisis and flatten the curve. As a lifelong resident of the […]
Posted inTransportation
Extend the Keolis contract another 4 years
KEOLIS’S CONTRACT to operate commuter rail for the MBTA expires in 2022, with two options to extend it for two years. It takes about two years to solicit bids and […]
Posted inTransportation
T oversight comes down to arcane question
WITH THE MBTA’S oversight board scheduled to sunset in a matter of weeks, the House and Senate are at odds over the arcane question of who should have the authority […]
Posted inTransportation
East-West rail facing big hurdles
EAST-WEST RAIL is facing a Catch-22. State Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said the proposed rail link running from Boston to Springfield and possibly as far as Pittsfield is so expensive […]
Posted inTransportation
Senate bill proposes new oversight board for T
THE SENATE IS PREPARING is preparing to take up legislation that would create a new, seven-member board to oversee the MBTA and appoint the general manager of the transit authority. […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA to stop busing police to protests
THE MBTA SAID on Friday that it will no longer use T buses to shuttle law enforcement personnel to protests, but it appears private bus operators will now take over […]
Posted inOpinion
T workers to Poftak: Stop busing police
The following is an open letter to MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak that appears on stopbusingcops.org. The Fiscal and Management Control Board told the T to stop transporting police to […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker’s 3-foot social distancing discrepancy
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER indicated on Friday that he is willing to accept the fact his administration generally advocates for six feet of social distancing in most public spaces while the […]
Posted inTransportation
How far apart should riders be on the MBTA?
THE STATE’S GUIDANCE on social distancing recommends people stay 6 feet apart, but the MBTA’s new standard for crowding on its buses and subways is 3 feet. That distance hasn’t […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: 7% increase in spending approved
THE MBTA OVERSIGHT board kept its foot on the gas Thursday, unanimously approving a 7 percent increase in spending for fiscal 2021 using $710 million in federal aid to offset […]
Posted inTransportation
T lays out passive COVID-19 strategy
AS THE STATE’S ECONOMY begins to reopen, the MBTA intends to manage COVID-19 ridership risks with policies that strongly encourage but don’t mandate social distancing and the wearing of face […]
Posted inTransportation
T union official urges enforcement of face covering mandate
THE PRESIDENT of the Boston Carmen’s Union urged MBTA officials on Wednesday to require all passengers to wear face coverings. Jim Evers issued a letter he sent to state transportation […]
Posted inTransportation
Audit: T warehouse contract doesn’t cut it
THE MBTA IS NOT GETTING the savings or the service it expected when it privatized warehouse operations in 2017, according to an audit conducted by a unit of Inspector General […]
Posted inTransportation
Groups seek more independence for T board
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A GROUP OF TRANSPORTATION advocacy groups and an MBTA watchdog suggested Monday that the successor to the Fiscal and Management Control Board should be built as […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: 19 MassDOT workers get pay equity hikes
A PAY EQUITY REVIEW at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation discovered 19 managers, including one of the top officials at the agency, were not being paid salaries equal to other […]
Posted inTransportation
Pollack floats idea of slowing commuter rail makeover
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY STEPHANIE POLLACK on Monday floated the idea of slowing down the planned upgrade of the state’s commuter rail system, given the steep downturn in ridership and the prospect […]
Posted inTransportation
Driving, transit ridership show a slight uptick
EVEN THOUGH GOV. CHARLIE BAKER still has the economy under wraps, traffic on the state’s roadways and at the MBTA picked up slightly last week, adding to confusion about what […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA treading in uncertain waters
TO HELP WITH THE STATE’S reopening, the MBTA is preparing to restore service to pre-COVID levels to accommodate social distancing but does not expect to see large numbers of riders […]
Posted inOpinion
We cannot return to pre-COVID congestion
WE HAVE BECOME ACCUSTOMED to describing 21st Century innovations as “disruptive” to established practices and behaviors. Yet in this era of disruptive technology, historic inertia has prevented or slowed the […]
Posted inTransportation
Empty roads lead to higher rate of traffic fatalities
THE COVID-19 pandemic is having another deadly side-effect – a higher rate of fatalities on the state’s roads. The shutdown of Massachusetts to reduce the spread of the virus cut […]
Posted inOpinion
To revive economy, think infrastructure
THAT WE LIVE in uncertain and unprecedented times is a fact that does not need to be impressed on anyone. Over the past six weeks, it’s been forced upon all […]
Posted inTransportation
Poftak: Federal funds may not be enough
THE MBTA, after balancing this fiscal year’s budget with $217 million in federal coronavirus funds, expects to have $610 million left over to help balance next year’s budget. But General […]
Posted inTransportation
T approves $212m hike in fare collection contract
THE MBTA OVERSIGHT BOARD on Monday unanimously approved a $212 million amendment to its contract with a pair of private vendors to develop, install, and manage a new fare collection […]