RIDERSHIP ON THE MBTA in March reached its highest level since the pandemic began, with the slow-zone-plagued subway system the laggard among the various modes of travel. Total ridership reached 68 percent of pre-pandemic levels in March, led by commuter rail (80 percent of pre-pandemic levels), bus (79 percent), and ferry (64 percent). Ridership on […]
Tracking Transportation
Posted inTransportation
With GLX a wrap, Dalton eyes Hudson River tunnel
JOHN DALTON, the man who steered the very challenging Green Line extension to the finish line in Boston, is taking his talents to New York City and one of the biggest and most important infrastructure projects in the country. Dalton has been named senior project director for the Gateway Trans-Hudson Partnership, which seeks to build a […]
Posted inTransportation
T officials urge riders to be patient
THE GENERAL MANAGER of the MBTA and two members of the agency’s board of directors indicated on Thursday that positive change is coming at the transit authority but it won’t be visible to riders any time soon. In a virtual Q&A session, MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng, T board chair Thomas Glynn, and T board […]
Posted inTransportation
Eng sees FTA letter as no big deal
ON MAY 19, the Federal Transit Administration emailed a letter to top officials at the MBTA telling them a plan the agency developed for addressing the safety of workers performing repairs in and around subway tracks was “insufficient” and had to be redone. The letter was sent to MBTA General Manager Phillips Eng, six of […]
Posted inTransportation
Eng touts ‘forward progress’ in removing MBTA slow zones
THE MBTA IS targeting slow zones that would most impact daily commutes as it chugs along on completing track replacements and lifting speed restrictions. General Manager Phillip Eng touted “forward progress” at an MBTA board meeting on Thursday, saying 66 speed restrictions across the system have been lifted in April and May. That leaves 204 […]
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Like Goldilocks, Glynn trying to fashion ‘just right’ T board
WHEN “SNOWMAGEDDON,” an unprecedented succession of blizzards, shut the MBTA down in 2015, Beacon Hill created a five-person Fiscal and Management Control Board to right the organization. Control was the operative word in the board’s name, and led, at least initially, to long, weekly meetings delving into all aspects of the organization. The board brought badly […]
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‘Red flags’ in budget worry MBTA Advisory Board
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CITIES AND TOWNS that help fund the MBTA are concerned it will be “impossible” to restore pre-pandemic service levels and that the agency might need to hike fares given the growing shadow of a budget shortfall that officials so far have failed to address. The MBTA Advisory Board, a group that […]
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Commuter rail ridership, once dismal, continues to grow
COMMUTER RAIL ridership continues to grow, suggesting more people are returning to work downtown and finding on-time rail service an attractive option. Average weekday ridership on the commuter rail system at the start of the pandemic in May 2020 fell to a ghost-train level of 2,724 passengers. It started an upward trend a year later […]
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New T board members set different tone
THE MBTA BOARD under new chair Tom Glynn is going to be different, judging from the way three subcommittees of the board handled themselves on Thursday. Right from the start, board members were peppering T staffers with questions, demanding more information, and offering suggestions on ways to improve operations. It was a marked contrast from […]
Posted inTransportation
Tired of waiting for MBTA, lawmakers push Fairmount changes
ADVOCATES SAY the commuter rail’s Fairmount Line is low-hanging fruit for electrification, service improvement, and fare equity. But it’s been low-hanging fruit for many years, and some lawmakers are tired of the slow pace of action at the T. The Fairmount Line is the only commuter rail line to sit entirely within Boston, traveling between […]