TWO KEY Beacon Hill lawmakers on Thursday questioned whether the Department of Public Utilities is the right agency to hold the MBTA’s feet to the fire on safety issues. At a legislative oversight hearing, the chair of the DPU and the head of the agency’s transportation oversight division acknowledged the arm of the agency that […]
Tracking Transportation
Posted inTransportation
Bluebikes ridership soared during Orange Line shutdown
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE DURING THE 30 DAYS that the Orange Line and Green Line extension were closed, a record number of people turned to Bluebikes to get around the greater Boston area. Ridership during the shutdown smashed prior Bluebikes records, according to a recent report. Going into 2022, the most trips in a single […]
Posted inTransportation
Commuter rail making comeback with riders
THE MBTA’S commuter rail trains, which ran nearly empty during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, are starting to fill up. Ridership isn’t back to prepandemic levels, but it has returned to around 76 percent of what it was before COVID. That’s a big jump. A system that used to be a laggard among […]
Posted inOpinion
A roadmap for fixing the MBTA
THERE’S NOTHING complicated, surprising, or even new about what ails our metro Boston public transportation system. The task may seem daunting (it is), and the troubles may seem to be mounting (they are), and progress appears to come in slow motion (indeed it does). But none of this means it’s complicated to understand, and then […]
Posted inTransportation
More delays for new Orange and Red line cars
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE OUTLOOK FOR the already-delayed transition to entirely new Orange and Red line fleets continues to grow worse. After previously delaying the project’s targeted end date by at least a year, Chinese firm CRRC now expects it will need several more months to finish manufacturing subway cars for the MBTA’s Red […]
Posted inOpinion
Overextended MBTA is moving in right direction
ONLY A GOVERNOR not seeking re-election could close the Orange Line for a month. We need further bold steps like that — further bold steps to simplify the challenges that the men and women working for the T are facing. And I say that as a regular rider of the T. I have long believed […]
Posted inTransportation
Mass. misses on one bid for Cape bridge replacement
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE PUBLIC OFFICIALS fell short in one of two bids to secure more than $1 billion in federal funding toward replacement of the Bourne and Sagamore bridges, a blow that left them “disappointed” as they wrangle with questions over how to pay for the critical infrastructure project. The US Army Corps of […]
Posted inTransportation
New fare gates open Oct. 1 at North Station
STARTING OCTOBER 1, commuter rail passengers will be required to tap, scan, or swipe their tickets or passes at 30 newly installed fare gates before boarding or exiting trains at North Station. Currently, commuter rail passengers show their tickets or buy them from conductors on board trains. The T has also experimented with having staff […]
Posted inTransportation
Poftak sees T turning corner with Orange Line reopening
MBTA GENERAL Manager Steven Poftak said on Sunday that he believes the successful refresh of the Orange Line over the last 30 days could be a turning point for the transit authority. With the MBTA preparing to reopen the Orange Line to the public on Monday for the first time since August 19, Poftak said […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA board eyeing possible new revenue streams
THE MBTA board, nervous about looming budget shortfalls, is starting to look at developing some new revenue streams. Betsy Taylor, the chair of the MBTA board who earlier this week indicated to lawmakers that the transit authority needs additional funding, said on Thursday at a T finance subcommittee meeting that the agency has to come […]