State House News Service

It wasn’t a fluke, an infrastructure issue, sabotage, or terrorism, according to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. Nor did it have anything to do with the T’s debt issues or the coming fiscal 2010 budget implosion. Yet the entire subway system from Alewife to Ashmont from Malden to Forest Hills to the Green Line and the […]

The transportation reform debate has gone quiet since the hand-wringing over the wider fiscal crisis pushed state government’s most troubled sector out of the headlines. But expect "reform before revenue" to jump back into the news when Senate unveils its budget in the next week. From a fiscal standpoint, there is an overwhelming need for […]

In a predictable coda to the Mother of All Traffic Jams, Massachusetts Turnpike Executive Director Alan LeBovidge politely told Gov. Deval Patrick to take this job and shove it. "Given today’s circumstances, I cannot in good conscience say to the members of the Board, or more importantly our toll payers, that my daily contribution to […]

Genuine public interest in real, comprehensive solutions to the Bay State's transportation troubles is low. Commuters worry about their own pocketbooks and no one else's. The prospect of a higher gas tax has plenty of drivers in a snit. If you rely on public transportation, you are likely to be worried about MBTA fare increases […]

Rep. Joseph Wagner, the House transportation committee chairman, competed with chattering colleagues as work began on the transportation reform bill in the House chamber Tuesday afternoon. Wagner opened the session with praise for the Senate's insistence on reform before revenue.  “The public requires that,” he said, referring to reform, “if not demands it at this […]

If MBTA benefits aren't really in play in the great state transportation bureaucracy overhaul, where does that leave reform before revenue? This week, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation published a study containing six recommendations that the group says would save more than $1 billion on MBTA health care costs. The foundation argues that its proposals – including […]

The MBTA isn’t the only cash-strapped transit agency looking for relief — and getting zilch — from state lawmakers. New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority board voted overwhelmingly last week to approve what transit officials called its “doomsday budget.”  Under that scenario, subway fares shoot up from $2 to $2.50. Two subway lines and 35 […]