STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. MAURA HEALEY on Monday appointed veteran transit official Patrick Lavin, who worked on a 2019 independent report highlighting widespread safety problems at the MBTA, to […]
Tracking Transportation
Keeping track of transportation
Posted inTransportation
MBTA schedules slow zone work on Red Line
THE MBTA on Monday announced new steps to address slow zones caused by subway track defects that were apparently identified by routine rail scans but for some reason never addressed […]
Posted inState Government, Transportation
Taking a long view of the MBTA
NICHOLAS DAGEN BLOOM, the author of The Great American Transit Disaster, takes a long view of the current problems at the MBTA. In a new episode of the Codcast, Bloom, […]
Posted inOpinion
Free public transit is not the solution
PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEMS face daunting challenges across the US, from pandemic ridership losses to traffic congestion, fare evasion and pressure to keep rides affordable. In some cities, including Boston, Kansas […]
Posted inOpinion
Let’s make free fares in Worcester permanent
A correction has been added to the commentary. THE WORCESTER Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) has solidified its place as a leader in the fare-free public transportation movement, with the WRTA […]
Posted inTransportation
Healey shaking up MBTA oversight board
JUST WEEKS after appointing a new general manager at the MBTA, Gov. Maura Healey is shaking up the transit authority’s oversight board. Thomas Glynn, MBTA general manager under former governor […]
Posted inTransportation
Boston, Harvard, BU negotiating I-90 Allston funding
STATE TRANSPORTATION officials say they are working with the city of Boston, Harvard University, and Boston University on a finance plan for the Allston I-90 project that should be ready […]
Posted inTransportation
More near-miss incidents reported at the T
NEAR-MISS incidents at the MBTA between maintenance staff and vehicles keep on coming. At a meeting of a safety subcommittee of the MBTA board last Thursday, T staff disclosed there had […]
Posted inTransportation
Addressing T slow zones will take much of this year
THE MBTA’S new general manager on Wednesday outlined initial plans for removing slow zones on the Blue Line that suggest track defects went unaddressed for a long time and that […]
Posted inTransportation
Moulton’s ambitious, expensive, and enthralling transportation vision
AT A TIME when roughly a quarter of the MBTA subway system is crawling along at a safety-induced snail’s pace, US Rep. Seth Moulton is pushing an ambitious expansion of […]
Posted inOpinion
Is transit a public good?
A RECENT Bloomberg City Lab article by the highly regarded transportation thought leader David Zipper used recent statements by proponents of free public bus transit in Boston and Washington, DC, to […]
Posted inTransportation
T officials disclose 4 ‘near misses’ in subway
MBTA OFFICIALS on Thursday disclosed a series of safety incidents over the last month, including four “near misses” involving subway trains and track repair workers and a commuter rail train […]
Posted inTransportation
Ex-Keolis official accused in $8m commuter rail fraud
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A FORMER TOP OFFICIAL at Keolis Commuter Services pleaded not guilty to a slew of federal charges Wednesday after prosecutors alleged that he and another man […]
Posted inTransportation
Is there a finance plan for the I-90 Allston project?
THERE’S BEEN A lot of talk over the last five years about how to design the I-90 Allston project, but very little discussion about how to pay for it. The […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA ups sign-on bonuses by $3,000
THE MBTA said on Monday that it is increasing its sign-on bonus for new employees and expanding its reach beyond bus operators. The T said the previous sign-on bonus of […]
Posted inTransportation
Hiring may be the MBTA’s biggest challenge
THE MBTA’S subway operations control center is a microcosm of the challenges facing the transit authority. Last June, the Federal Transit Administration issued an initial safety report that said the […]
Posted inOpinion
The dirty secret about ‘clean’ electric vehicles
AUTOMOBILES EMIT tailpipe carbon emissions, we all know that, and these emissions in the aggregate are now the largest single source of carbon emissions in Massachusetts and many other states, […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA subway ridership takes hit with slow zones
THE BOTTOM FELL out of the public transit industry at the start of COVID, and it’s been a slow slog back for every agency – not just the MBTA. According […]
Posted inTransportation
Is scrapping of bus service bad sign for South Coast rail?
THE SOUTH COAST’S only bus link to Boston is shutting down next month because ridership is so low, which is raising questions about the viability of commuter rail service to […]
Posted inTransportation
Eng will be one of highest-paid transit execs in country
PHILLIP ENG, the new general manager and CEO at the MBTA, will be one of the highest paid transit authority executives in the country. Eng, who is starting his new […]
Posted inTransportation
Healey brings in a transit professional to run the T
NEARLY FOUR MONTHS into her term, Gov. Maura Healey made what she described as the most important appointment of her time in office, naming Phillip Eng as the new general […]
Posted inTransportation
Healey about to name new MBTA GM
GOV. MAURA HEALEY on Monday is expected to tap the retired president of the Long Island Rail Road as the MBTA’s next general manager. Phillip Eng left the commuter rail […]
Posted inOpinion
Pause the search for a new GM at the MBTA
THE SEARCH for a new MBTA general manager and all the hype around it is at best a distraction and, at worst, obscures the difficult work needed to turn around […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA pension benefits tweaked to attract, retain workers
THE MBTA IS offering signing bonuses and other perks to fill the many job openings at the agency. Now the transit authority is tweaking its retirement benefits to better retain […]