GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S order requiring all passengers on the MBTA to wear face masks or face coverings took effect last week, but don’t expect strict enforcement by the state’s transit authority. […]
Transportation
Posted inThe Download
Poftak wary of taking hard policy stances at T
Gov. Charlie Baker’s order requiring all passengers on the MBTA to wear face masks or face coverings took effect last week, but don’t expect strict enforcement by the state’s transit authority. […]
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
Baker issues new order on face coverings
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER issued an executive order on Friday directing Massachusetts residents to wear face masks in stores, on public transit, and in public places – anywhere it might be […]
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 […]
Posted inOpinion
Post-COVID reimaginings
IN THIS GRIM TIME of a worldwide pandemic, while properly preoccupied by the present crisis, government leaders and leaders of major institutions must also look to the future. As we […]
Posted inOpinion
Use debt to build out transportation infrastructure
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 […]
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 inTransportation
Union: Registry worker in Boston likely had COVID-19
THE REGISTRY OF MOTOR VEHICLES shut its Haymarket branch in Boston for the past week after an employee exhibited COVID-19 symptoms, according to union officials. An official with the National […]
Posted inTransportation
Do we still need transportation legislation?
STATE LAWMAKERS ARE starting over from scratch this week with the state budget, and many are wondering whether issues such as education and transportation that seemed so urgent just a […]
Posted inThe Download
Do we still need transportation legislation?
State lawmakers are starting over from scratch this week with the state budget, and many are wondering whether issues such as education and transportation that seemed so urgent just a […]
Posted inThe Download
Do we still need transportation legislation?
State lawmakers are starting over from scratch this week with the state budget, and many are wondering whether issues such as education and transportation that seemed so urgent just a […]
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
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 inTransportation
Virus notes: At Logan, no chaos, but uneven screening measures
THE SITUATION AT Logan International Airport’s Terminal E on Sunday stood in sharp contrast to the mayhem that unfolded at Chicago’s O’ Hare Airport and at New York City’s John […]