THE MBTA is seeking approval from its oversight board to charge riders $3 for newly designed Charlie Cards as part of the rollout of a new fare collection system. The new fare collection system will allow payment using new or temporary Charlie Cards, a mobile Charlie Card app, as well as contactless credit cards and […]
Transportation
Posted inTransportation
Wu says 3-bus, fare free pilot to start next month
BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu said the number of fare free buses operating in Boston will be expanded from one to three next month as part of a two-year, $8 million city-funded pilot that she hopes will set the stage for making all bus routes free. While the pilot is intended to be a test of […]
Posted inOpinion
Huge upside to new MBTA upzoning guidelines
IN THE 2021 Greater Boston Housing Report Card, the Boston Foundation highlighted how the pandemic has amplified what was already one of Greater Boston’s most pressing needs – adequate housing supply in smart, sustainable, transit-accessible locations. Even before the pandemic, construction failed to keep pace with affordable housing goals set just a few years earlier. As post-pandemic […]
Posted inTransportation
T board blesses $500m transfer for capital programs
THE BOARD of the MBTA on Thursday endorsed a staff plan to transfer $500 million from the transit authority’s operating budget to its capital budget to move forward on a number of projects, but no money was set aside for testing a low-income fare program. Board members earlier had raised concerns about transferring the $500 […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Education, Transportation
Millionaire’s tax opponents sue over ballot language
OPPONENTS OF THE so-called “millionaire’s tax” filed a lawsuit Thursday asking the Supreme Judicial Court to change the summary of the constitutional amendment that will appear on the November 2022 ballot. Their lawsuit calls attention to what has been a controversial issue – whether the money raised from the income surtax will actually go toward […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA ridership down sharply over last month
MBTA RIDERSHIP across all modes took a sharp tumble in January, reversing gains made slowly over the last 10 months. MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak called the decline significant, and attributed it to a fairly typical holiday downturn in traffic and the Omicron COVID-19 surge. Poftak said he hoped the downturn would be short-lived, and […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA proposes narrowly targeted fare changes
THE MBTA and its new oversight board have shied away from broad discussions about eliminating fares or discounting fares for low-income riders, but on Thursday they set in motion an effort to make a number of narrowly targeted fare changes. Several of the proposed changes would benefit riders eligible for the MBTA’s reduced fare program, […]
Posted inOpinion
Pass the ACT rule, we need more electric trucks
SEVERAL STATES across the nation are on the verge of adopting life-saving policies that will help slash diesel truck pollution and pave the way for climate action and healthier communities. It is good news that Massachusetts is now one of them. The Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule just announced by the Baker administration, once adopted, […]
Posted inTransportation
Poll: 79% back discounts for low-income T riders
A NEW STATEWIDE poll indicates overwhelming support for offering discounts to low-income riders on public transportation and strong but less support for eliminating fares all together. The poll of 1,026 registered voters indicated 79 percent strongly support or somewhat support offering discounted fares to low-income riders. The margin of support fell to 71 percent for […]
Posted inTransportation
Regional bus ridership down 52 percent from pre-pandemic levels
LIKE MANY TRANSIT systems nationwide, ridership on the state’s regional bus systems cratered during the early days of the pandemic. Ridership has rebounded at Regional Transit Authorities, according to a new report, but ridership still remains well below normal and is spread unevenly throughout the system. The ridership loss has also affected fare collections, though RTAs have been […]