MBTA general manager Phil Eng stepped in as interim Department of Transportation secretary nine months ago. He has “no timeline” as to when his double duty will come to an end.
Transportation
Posted inState Government
A climate chief in an era of Trump and energy affordability: Does Melissa Hoffer still get a say?
Given how dramatically the landscape has changed around climate change since Hoffer took office, an obvious question emerges: What exactly is her job? And what kind of influence does she hold within the Healey administration?
Posted inTransportation
Springfield mayor calls for ending regional fare-free bus program, drawing criticism from state transit advocates
Officials and transit advocates have criticized the mayor’s approach and questioned whether the youth disturbances at Union Station can be attributed to the availability of free bus rides. Some have cited the success of the fare-free program and instead called for more policing.
Posted inThe Saturday Send
Natural gas is hard to kick and four more stories: Saturday Send – June 13, 2026
The Saturday Send Welcome back to the Saturday Send, a weekly digest of stories from CommonWealth Beacon that you may have missed. This week, Jordan Wolman dives into recent snafus […]
Posted inThe Download
Gateway City leaders celebrate one year of South Coast Rail, but final phase remains in limbo
New from CommonWealth Beacon OPINION: Gov. Maura Healey and some business leaders are proposing a new set of state standardized end-of-course tests that would count toward graduation. State Sen. Patricia […]
Posted inTransportation
Gateway City leaders celebrate one year of South Coast Rail, but final phase remains in limbo
Getting Phase 1 across the finish line was no easy feat. And just over a year later, state officials still have not rolled out a plan to finance and finish the second phase — also called the “full build” — that was proposed nearly a decade ago.
Posted inTransportation
MBTA eyes another spending boost as ‘austerity’ approach fades
Transit agency leaders will seek approval Thursday on a $3.4 billion budget that would add another 550 positions, embracing an eager-to-spend approach that supporters say has improved service and safety.
Posted inThe Codcast
The World Cup has arrived, but how are the vibes?
Matches in the world’s biggest sports spectacle will kick off this week across North America. With Boston as one of the host cities — seven matches will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, which will be renamed Boston Stadium for the World Cup tournament — Massachusetts will be in the spotlight as it hosts thousands of international fans and will need to safely move people between the city and a stadium some 22 miles away by rail. Are we ready? And is hosting these sorts of mega-events even worth it? This week on The Codcast, Chris Dempsey, the former co-chair of “No Boston Olympics” joins CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jordan Wolman to discuss whether this time is any different from more than a decade ago when Dempsey successfully fought against Boston’s bid to play home base for the 2024 Olympics.
Posted inTransportation
Lawmakers preserve 20-cent rideshare fee in surtax deal
The per-ride fee established in a 2016 law regulating transportation network companies is set to sunset in January 2027. The Senate quietly voted in April to extend the fee tacked onto all rideshares in its version of the surtax bill, and that language survived into the bill released Tuesday.
Posted inEnvironment
Massachusetts’s slow adoption of EV chargers through federal program is ‘mystifying’ to transit advocates
While Massachusetts ranks fourth in the country for charging ports per capita after a sharp increase in installments over the past few years, the state is still about 2,000 charging ports short of what it estimates it needs.
Posted inTransportation
Anxious Cape leaders worried about funding for Bourne Bridge replacement
The Sagamore Bridge replacement project is fully funded, but barely any money has been committed to its partner, and some local officials think it’s time for Beacon Hill to start committing additional resources to guarantee success.
Posted inState Government
Massachusetts continues to flout a nearly decade-old climate regulation to track state vehicle emissions
The state’s interpretation that a later executive order from Baker supersedes this regulation isn’t sitting well with advocates and legal experts — and risks leaving the public in the dark about the actual pollution stemming from state vehicles.
Posted inTransportation
Where the rubber meets the road: MBTA questions if electric bus mandate is worth the tradeoffs
State law requires the MBTA to purchase only zero-emissions buses starting in 2031 and to have the entire fleet transitioned by 2041. Now, to the ire of a key lawmaker, agency leaders want to kickstart a public discussion about whether that hard-to-accomplish change is still in the state’s best interest.
Posted inThe Codcast
‘Administrative fat’ or ‘amnesia’: How much should we spend on the MBTA?
This week on The Codcast, we dive into a long-running debate: is the significant growth in state funding for the T an acknowledgment that good public transit requires big public investment, or is it a reflection of out-of-control spending? CommonWealth Beacon senior reporter Chris Lisinski moderates a discussion with former Transportation Secretary Jim Aloisi and Pioneer Institute senior fellow Charlie Chieppo.
Posted inEnvironment
Mass. falling short of key climate targets, with some bright spots, after one year of Trump attacks
The state’s self-assessment comes as it races to reduce its carbon pollution to 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and produce no new net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 — all while confronting a hostile federal government and an affordability crisis sweeping the state.
Posted inEducation
From T support to school aid, surtax emerges as crutch for state budgeting
Gov. Maura Healey’s spending proposals has reopened debate about whether voters intended for the surtax on high earners to fund only new investments or anything related to transportation and education.
Posted inTransportation
Another MBTA deficit is on the horizon. Did the state miss its chance for a more permanent fix?
The T is once again warning of a financial shortfall on the horizon, but this time around, its push for more state funding will bump up against a tighter economic environment and a series of federal cuts affecting every corner.
Posted inTransportation
Keolis was once on thin ice over commuter rail concerns. Now, it’s a finalist for another lucrative MBTA contract.
Better on-time performance and major ridership milestones have boosted the outlook for commuter rail operator Keolis, which early in its tenure faced major scrutiny from Beacon Hill.
Posted inTransportation
Talk of new transportation dollars? Bring it on, says Senate chair
Brendan Crighton, the Senate’s point person on transportation issues, wants his colleagues to have hard conversations about new transportation-related levies even if the topic might be politically fraught.
Posted inTransportation
T says weekend ridership nearly back to 2019 levels
Chief Operating Officer Ryan Coholan said weekend ridership is nearly back to 2019 levels.
Posted inTransportation
Phil Eng earns rave reviews for simultaneous MBTA, transportation chief jobs
The Healey administration seems content to have Phil Eng continue to work as both T general manager and interim transportation secretary for the foreseeable future, and Eng himself is warming up to the idea of holding both roles for a longer period of time.
Posted inTransportation
The T will soon roll out Green Line trolleys with anti-collision tech
More than 16 years after federal overseers recommended it, the MBTA is on the verge of deploying anti-collision technology on the Green Line, even though the timeline has slipped later than officials last promised.
Posted inEnvironment
Massachusetts agencies never followed a 2017 rule to cut emissions from state vehicles, court documents show
The rule was issued under Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and followed a landmark court ruling that found the state needed to issue more specific and stringent regulations in order to meet the 2050 climate commitment.
