Public transportation is on the verge of an “existential crisis,” cities and towns that help fund the system warned, as the MBTA moves ahead with a budget plan that drains its reserves in the face of a looming deficit.
Transportation
Posted inOpinion
State should increase funding for micro-transit services
When people don’t have access to transportation, getting to medical appointments or the grocery store can become close to, or truly, impossible.
Posted inTransportation
South Coast Rail coming to New Bedford, but not with MBTA assessments
Under state law, communities that are members of both the MBTA and a regional transportation authority can deduct their assessment by the regional transit authority from the assessment of the T. In New Bedford’s case, the city’s $1.4 million assessment by the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority surpasses the MBTA assessment of $750,000, so New Bedford won’t have to pay the T anything.
Posted inTransportation
Beacon Park Yard back in operation
Harvard’s rail venture isn’t about transporting people; it’s about hauling dirt away that has been excavated during the construction of the university’s so-called Enterprise Research Campus.
Posted inOpinion
Troubling signs at Healey’s transportation funding task force
Virtually every piece of news since the launch has been more disappointing than the last. The commission may not even issue any recommendations and important tools (some might call them essential) are reportedly being taken off the table.
Posted inTransportation
Political Notebook: Current and former transit chiefs on comeback trail
We live and work in communities that are just crippled by the congestion on the roads,” said Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt. “It is actually getting worse. People talk a lot about it. Is this a perception thing? No. It’s actually getting worse. And May has been one of the worst months for congestion in a very long time.”
Posted inTransportation
Tibbits-Nutt seems more like her old self in Chamber talk
She engaged in what amounts to a transportation standup routine, blending personal and sometimes funny observations with policy commentary on a wide range of issues.
Posted inState Government
Senate budget plan makes community college free, eliminates RTA fares
Sen. Michael Rodrigues of Westport, the chair of the Senate’s budget-writing Ways and Means Committee, said the budget plan also provides $10 million to launch bus routes connecting regional transit authorities.
Posted inOpinion
Look what other states are doing on transportation funding
Decades of underinvestment in public transportation has not only left us with crumbling infrastructure and excessive greenhouse gas emissions, it’s also contributing to poor health outcomes. In fact, Springfield, Worcester, and Boston are among the 100 worst cities in the country for asthma rates.
Posted inTransportation
Aloisi comes to defense of Tibbits-Nutt
“I understand why there’s a kerfuffle because I’ve been in that position,” said Aloisi, a former transportation secretary himself under Gov. Deval Patrick. “It did remind me a little bit of me.”