Recent debates about whose subway is worse, Boston or DC, got me thinking about Moscow’s subway. Moscow’s metro stations are palaces for the people, actual palaces. They are filled with […]
Tracking Transportation
Keeping track of transportation
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
T: Service cuts still an option
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MBTA, which recently voted to raise fares and made significant headway on its structural deficit this year, could look to service cuts in fiscal 2017 […]
Posted inTransportation
T discovers parking fee discrepancies
THE MBTA SAID IN A STATEMENT that it has uncovered discrepancies in parking fees collected at the North Quincy Red Line Station, and asked the private operator of the parking […]
Posted inTransportation
T approves N. Quincy real estate deal
THE MBTA’S OVERSIGHT BOARD on Monday approved a transit-oriented development deal in North Quincy and rejected as too expensive a proposal to test daily commuter rail service to Cape Cod. […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Our plan for late-night MBTA service
WE BELIEVE THERE is an affordable pathway toward establishment of a robust late-night transit service on the MBTA, building on the T’s existing early morning bus service. Our plan would not just offer service on […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
We need some Frank Sargent political courage
We can learn from our history. Forty-six years ago the Republican governor of Massachusetts, Frank Sargent, made a valiant effort to change the course of Massachusetts’s transportation policy. It was […]
Posted inTransportation
T eager to shift to cashless fares
THE MBTA IS MOVING AGGRESSIVELY to install a largely cashless fare system that would allow riders to pay with their phones, credit cards, or newly designed Charlie cards and allow […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
New Government Center T stop opens
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE OPENING ITS DOORS FOR THE FIRST TIME to the public Monday afternoon, the rebuilt Government Center MBTA station is newly accessible to people in wheelchairs, capping […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
DOT capital plan earmarks most money to improvements
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE’S TRANSPORTATION department would devote 80 percent of its more than $14.3 billion capital dollars to system improvement and modernization with roughly equal investments in […]
Posted inTransportation
T looks to ride-sharing apps to fill gaps
THE MBTA, SLASHING its operating budget after years of bloat, is looking to the emerging ride-sharing industry to fill the gaps caused by service reductions as well as to gobble […]
Posted inTransportation
T overtime, unscheduled absences declining
MBTA OFFICIALS reported on Monday they are having success reducing overtime and unscheduled absences by employees. Brian Shortsleeve, the T’s chief administrative officer, said the authority is on track to […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
House passes ride-sharing legislation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Despite concerns raised by both taxi drivers and the newer app-based ride companies competing with them for passengers, the Massachusetts House on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Claims on T retirement fund ‘lack merit’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A forensic accounting firm hired by the MBTA Retirement Fund in the wake of a report alleging significant inaccuracies in the fund’s financial reporting has concluded […]
Posted inTransportation
T hikes fares despite angry takeover
THE MBTA OVERSIGHT BOARD ON MONDAY approved a fare increase of more than 9 percent starting July 1 despite angry, vocal protests that disrupted the hearing and forced board members to […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Uber offers temporary $5 late-night fare
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Uber plans to offer its pool car service at reduced fares on early-morning weekend hours to help people “transition” out of extended-hours MBTA weekend service, which […]
Posted inTransportation
T board to unveil new online dashboard
THE FIVE MEMBERS of the MBTA Fiscal Management and Control Board on Monday briefed state lawmakers on their progress, offering a glimpse of a new online dashboard that will chart […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Don’t regulate Uber out of existence
EVERYONE LIKES TO HAVE OPTIONS. Massachusetts certainly has plenty of them. Hundreds of colleges and universities, some of the best sports teams in the country, and countless lively bars and […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
House bill: No fingerprinting for Uber drivers
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE DRIVERS FOR RIDE-FOR-HIRE SERVICES such as Uber would have to undergo a two-step background check process, but would not be required to submit to fingerprinting under a […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Walsh backs MBTA fare hike
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH A VOTE ON FARE HIKES expected Monday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh on Wednesday gave general support to the idea of charging riders more for MBTA […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Stagger the fare increase on T passes
ON MONDAY, MARCH 7, the MBTA Fiscal Management & Control Board (FMCB) is scheduled to vote on a specific fare increase plan that would take effect this July. The MBTA […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Pike open-road tolling moving into place
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Massachusetts drivers can expect to see a lot more technology on the roads later this year when the Department of Transportation begins to roll out its […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Transit once again taking back seat to car
How strong is the grip of auto-centric thinking in the “progressive” state of Massachusetts? Pretty strong. Stronger, in fact, than you might think. In the state whose voters rejected increasing […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
T oversight board hears cons, pros on fare hike
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Public comments skewed heavily against fare hikes ahead of an MBTA control board discussion on proposals that would raise rider fares an average of either 6.7 […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
MBTA cancels late-night service
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER NO DISCUSSION at Monday’s public meeting, the MBTA control board canceled extended-hours weekend service, authorizing the transit agency to terminate it by March 19. MBTA […]