THE MBTA IS offering signing bonuses and other perks to fill the many job openings at the agency. Now the transit authority is tweaking its retirement benefits to better retain existing workers, attract new ones, and even bring some out of retirement. With the T desperately short of workers, the moves represent something of a […]
Tracking Transportation
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
T says low-income fare ramp-up would be year
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MBTA OFFICIALS estimated Thursday they would need at least a year and about $5 million to get a widespread low-income fare option off the ground, plus tens of millions of dollars per year to cover its recurring costs. The startup price — which would effectively mirror money Gov. Maura Healey proposed […]
Posted inTransportation
Survey indicates dramatic demographic shift among T riders
THE NUMBER of riders taking the MBTA declined significantly during COVID, but their demographic makeup also changed, shifting far more toward minorities and people with lower incomes. A new passenger study conducted by the MBTA found that minorities, those who self-identify as Hispanic, Latino or Latina, or a race other than white, accounted for 34 […]
Posted inTransportation
Slow zones across 27% of MBTA subway system
INTERIMÂ MBTA General Manager Jeffrey Gonneville on Thursday offered no timeline on when slow zones covering 27 percent of the subway system will be lifted, and said repair work will take place at nights when the system is shut down, on weekends, and in some cases by shutting down portions of subway lines at 8 or […]
Posted inTransportation
T lifts last of universal go-slow speed restrictions
THE MBTA announced Sunday night that the universal speed restriction on the Green Line has been lifted, which means the precautionary go-slow policy the transit authority put in place across the entire subway system March 9 has finally run its course. Interim MBTA General Manager Jeff Gonneville initially ordered all subway trains to reduce their […]
Posted inOpinion
‘Outside the box’ thoughts on MBTA electrification
IN THE TRANSPORTATION SECTOR, there is an urgent need to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and to reduce inequities in access to clean, reliable and affordable transportation. To do this, we must make major improvements in the MBTA’s facilities and services, specifically by immediately building the required infrastructure for bus and rail electrification, […]
Posted inTransportation
For now, slow zones on the T the new normal
ONE-QUARTER OF the entire MBTA subway system will still be subject to more-sluggish-than-usual travel once the agency lifts end-to-end speed restrictions on the Green Line. More than a week after the T ordered trains to move slower because of failures to confirm past inspections and repairs, MBTA Interim General Manager Jeff Gonneville said Friday afternoon […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA moving slowly in lifting universal speed restrictions
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MBTA lifted an end-to-end speed restriction on the Mattapan Line trolley early Thursday morning, but there’s still no official timeline for ending mandatory slowdowns across the entire Green Line and pockets of the Red, Blue and Orange Lines. The agency announced on Twitter shortly before 7 a.m. Thursday that it […]
Posted inTransportation
More second-guessing of state’s I-90 Allston work
A correction has been added to this story. STATE TRANSPORTATION officials on Wednesday moved forward with a plan to spend nearly $86 million shoring up a crumbling elevated section of the Massachusetts Turnpike between Boston University and the Charles River before tearing it down and replacing it with a ground-level replacement. Like previous elements of […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA not susceptible to magical solutions
LAST WEEK’S NEWS regarding T safety conditions and slowdowns took most people by surprise, as the hope associated with a new gubernatorial administration and the feeling that perhaps the absolute worst was behind us gave many a false sense that a corner had been turned. The news forcefully and persuasively pushed aside those misplaced hopes. […]