IT’S A BIT of déjà vu for US Rep. Stephen Lynch. Last year, he was upset with the MBTA because it had received billions in federal aid but was nevertheless cutting service and laying off some employees in the face of a COVID-induced downturn in ridership. Lynch read the riot act to the T (Lynch […]
Tracking Transportation
Posted inTransportation
Lynch optimistic about bringing back T retirees
US REP. STEPHEN LYNCH is optimistic the MBTA and its unions can find a way to bring retired subway dispatchers back on the job to help raise staffing levels in the operations control center to a point where full service on the Red, Orange, and Blue lines can be restored. Lynch said retirees are attractive […]
Posted inTransportation
Poftak gets nearly $80,000 in bonus payments
MBTA GENERAL MANAGER Steve Poftak, who is steering the beleaguered transit authority through safety and budgetary challenges, received nearly $80,000 more in his paycheck earlier this year in the form of bonuses for 2020 and 2021. According to payroll records and state officials, Poftak received a bonus of $35,728 for 2020 and a bonus of […]
Posted inTransportation
Another agency shares blame for MBTA safety issues
THE MBTA is taking a lot of hits for its safety shortcomings, but there’s another state agency that deserves a share of the blame. The Department of Public Utilities is the state agency tasked with overseeing and monitoring subway safety initiatives at the MBTA. It investigates or oversees the investigation of accidents and assists in […]
Posted inOpinion
E. Boston-Long Wharf experiment shows potential of ferries
SCHEDULED ROAD, bridge, and transit shutdowns to improve transportation—as in the case of the Sumner Tunnel, which will be closed for four months in the summer of 2023—are a necessary evil of infrastructure maintenance, inevitably resulting in a chorus of thousands of grumbling travelers. But during recent scheduled Blue Line diversions between Maverick and Bowdoin […]
Posted inTransportation
Gas tax holiday good politics, not policy
A GAS TAX HOLIDAY may be good politics but it’s not good public policy, according to Evan Horowitz, executive director of the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University. President Biden last week proposed the temporary elimination of the 18.3-cent federal gas tax and urged states to do away with their gas taxes as […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA resumes service at Haymarket Station
THE MBTA resumed Orange and Green Line service through Haymarket Station on Sunday, three days after it was shut down when it was discovered one of the columns supporting the Government Center garage and running through the subway tunnel area had suffered significant water damage. The T issued a press release shortly before 7 p.m. […]
Posted inTransportation
More bad news for T: Haymarket shuts down
THE MBTA shut down Green and Orange Line subway service through Haymarket Station Thursday evening after HYM, the developer of the Government Center Garage, said columns supporting the garage and running through the subway tunnel area are severely deteriorated. “This service disruption as a result of HYM’s project is unacceptable and the MBTA will seek […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA outlines hybrid approach on rail electrification
THE MBTA’S current plan for electrifying its commuter rail system calls for a hybrid approach using trains that draw power from overhead wires but also have the capability of running off batteries in tunnels, bridges, or on stretches of track where overhead wires are not feasible. In a brief presentation to the MBTA board of […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA ramping up hiring efforts in control center
MBTA GENERAL MANAGER Steve Poftak said a hiring blitz, complete with the offer of $10,000 signing bonuses, has attracted roughly 30 potential job recruits for the operations control center, where a shortage of workers has triggered a reduction in service on the Red, Orange, and Blue subway lines. In a briefing for the T’s board […]