A LIGHT WENT OUT in East Boston last week. More than a light, a beacon that guided more than one generation of local activists and civic leaders. Mary Ellen Welch died, and even typing those words seem incongruous because she was such a vibrant force of life, such a dynamic and compelling person. For decades, […]
Transportation
Posted inTransportation
The lowly bus deserves a lot more attention
EACH WEEKDAY in Greater Boston, more than 400,000 workers, students, shoppers, seniors, and visitors board an MBTA bus. Buses serve three times as many riders as the commuter rail. But despite their importance, buses remain an underappreciated and often neglected component of our region’s transportation system. The T’s own performance dashboard sets a meager on-time […]
Posted inTransportation
Senators raise concerns on T fare increase
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE SENATORS slammed the MBTA’s rollout of proposed fare hikes on Thursday, arguing that outreach about the increases was insufficient and that it was unfair to raise prices when the transit authority is letting millions of dollars in existing fares go uncollected. The criticism, including jabs from Senate budget chief Michael […]
Posted inOpinion
How to start dealing with congestion
HERE’S WHAT we know. Traffic congestion in metro Boston has grown, is worsening, and is now measured as the worst in the nation – worse even than Los Angeles. There is no strategy, no plan, to relieve this congestion in a meaningful way. Here’s what we know. Ridership on the MBTA Blue Line is skyrocketing, […]
Posted inTransportation
Walsh wants to pilot 2 more dedicated bus lanes
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH is launching two more dedicated bus lane pilots this year and plans to begin community discussions about a separate lane for buses along the length of Blue Hill Avenue. Aides to the mayor said he will announce a dedicated AM peak bus lane on Brighton Avenue in Allston and an all-day […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker, T board members at odds on revenue strategy
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER and several of his appointees to the MBTA oversight board appear to be at odds over whether a T fare increase should be accompanied by hikes in fees and charges on other forms of transportation. The issue first surfaced on Monday at a meeting of the Fiscal and Management Control Board, where […]
Posted inTransportation
Will 2019 be a turning point for the T?
THE MBTA IS MAKING PROGRESS toward achieving its strategic goals, but it’s unclear whether 2019 will be the self-proclaimed “turning point” when customers start to see tangible benefits from that effort, according to an accountability report issued Wednesday by three outside organizations. Officials from the three groups – the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the […]
Posted inTransportation
Uber, Lyft too big to ignore
IN MASSACHUSETTS TRANSPORTATION CIRCLES, Uber and Lyft are becoming simply too big to ignore. According to documents Lyft filed in preparation for its initial public stock offering, the company is growing at an astounding rate. In just the last two years, revenue jumped from $1.1 billion in 2017 to $2.2 billion in 2018. The number […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Falling behind on own-source revenues
THE MBTA, which is seeking a 6.3 percent average fare increase, is failing to meet its goals for generating own-source revenue from advertising, parking, and real estate. During a revenue presentation to the Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday, Evan Rowe, the T’s director of revenue, portrayed the agency’s so-called own-source revenue in a […]
Posted inTransportation
T board wary of go-it-alone fare hike
FACING PUSHBACK FROM THE PUBLIC and transportation advocates on a proposed 6.3 percent average MBTA fare increase, some members of the transit agency’s oversight board signaled on Monday that they may not rubber-stamp the increase. Brian Lang, a director of the Fiscal and Management Control Board, said the T shouldn’t be raising its fares in […]