THE COVID-19 CRISIS has put a $600 million transportation funding package in the Massachusetts Legislature on pause. Plummeting fare and tax revenues have left lawmakers faced with a dilemma: the need […]
Tracking Transportation
Keeping track of transportation
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Feds ride to rescue of T
THE MBTA IS FACING a $231 million deficit for the fiscal year that ends June 30, but an influx of federal aid will wipe the slate clean and leave plenty […]
Posted inTransportation
T board ponders 2-year extension for Keolis
WITH ITS SUNSET DATE 2 ½ months away, the MBTA’s oversight board is trying to decide whether it has any other option than to extend its existing commuter rail contract […]
Posted inTransportation
Let’s plan for the coming ‘new normal’
THE HEALTH CRISIS that has the world in its grip presents each of us with challenges the likes of which few have known. We are all living under stressful, trying […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Concerns rise at long-term care facilities
RESIDENTS OF LONG-TERM CARE facilities across the state are testing positive for COVID-19 in growing numbers, raising concerns that the highly contagious virus could sweep through a very vulnerable population. […]
Posted inTransportation
T ridership keeps falling as staff infections rise
MBTA GENERAL MANAGER Steve Poftak disclosed on Monday that 18 employees, including 10 bus drivers, have tested positive for COVID-19. The other employees who tested positive include one subway and […]
Posted inTransportation
Virus notes: MBTA fare revenue off $35m in March
MBTA OFFICIALS SAID on Wednesday that they expect fare revenue to fall as much as $35 million short of budget targets in March, but the transit authority is also being […]
Posted inTransportation
3 T bus drivers test positive for COVID-19
THREE MBTA BUS DRIVERS operating out of the Cabot Garage in South Boston tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, but the transit authority did not disclose the information until shortly after […]
Posted inTransportation
Transportation officials struggle with the downturn
STATE TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS are starting to do financial and workforce contingency planning in case the drastic falloff in MBTA ridership and toll revenue in response to the coronavirus outbreak continues […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA ridership continues to plummet
THE MBTA estimated 106,000 people rode the subway system on Tuesday, which is about a fifth of the normal passenger level. Bus ridership was also off, with an estimated 198,000 […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA ridership plummets, service being reduced
WITH RIDERSHIP PLUMMETING, the MBTA said it would reduce most subway and bus service to Saturday levels and eliminate ferries starting on Tuesday. “These changes are being made based on […]
Posted inOpinion
New T rail cars built on backs of children
AS CO-CHAIR of the MBTA Caucus, I would like to share and expand on concerns readers may not be fully aware of involving CRRC, the Chinese state-owned enterprise that is […]
Posted inTransportation
T forgot raises for top 2 officials
THE MBTA FAILED to give its top two officials pay raises they were owed and no one, including the officials themselves, noticed the error until a reporter asked about them. […]
Posted inTransportation
Track info to disappear 1 minute before departure
SOUTH STATION commuters who leave themselves little time to get to their platforms may soon need to change their habits or risk missing their trains altogether. Starting on March 18, […]
Posted inOpinion
TCI: Meager benefits, high costs
THE TRANSPORTATION AND CLIMATE INITIATIVE (TCI) bills itself as a regional collaboration designed to improve transportation, develop clean energy sources, and reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector. To accomplish […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Boston congestion ranked worst in US again
FOR THE SECOND YEAR in a row, Boston was ranked the most congested urban area in the United States by the transportation analytics firm INRIX. The company, which relies on […]
Posted inTransportation
T budget raises sustainability questions
A KEY MEMBER of the MBTA’s oversight board raised concerns on Monday that spending at the authority is rising at an unsustainable pace. Brian Shortsleeve, a member of the Fiscal […]
Posted inTransportation
House OKs $18b transportation bond bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A DAY AFTER VOTING to raise taxes and fees by as much as $600 million per year, the Massachusetts House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a roughly […]
Posted inTransportation
House passes transportation bill with minor tweaks
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE of Representatives approved a major tax bill Wednesday night that Democratic leaders say will generate more than half a billion dollars for transportation […]
Posted inOpinion
In transportation debate, don’t forget low-income fares
IT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE to riders and elected officials alike that our public transit systems are in need of transformative change. But often lost in the conversation about fixing the […]
Posted inOpinion
Transpo answer: Regional ballot initiatives
YEARS AGO, Denny Zane was stuck on a Red Line train that stalled over the frozen Charles River. Without thinking, he began to hum “people get ready, there’s a train […]
Posted inOpinion
Cooperation key to addressing region’s transportation voids
CONGESTION IS A COMMON TOPIC of conversation these days in Eastern Massachusetts. Frustration with the transportation system is at a level rarely seen. Economic development officials are concerned that congestion […]
Posted inOpinion
Higher ride-hailing fees bad idea
THOSE OF US who live in Massachusetts can all agree that transportation across the state has been a major problem in need of serious solutions for a long time. Unfortunately, […]
Posted inTransportation
Transportation notes: Whither the control board?
THE MBTA’S OVERSIGHT BOARD, scheduled to expire at the end of June, looks like it could turn into a political football on Beacon Hill. The House’s transportation funding legislation calls […]