THE MBTA is preparing to cut service levels to deal with a budget shortfall looming over next year, but the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation warned members of the Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday that even bigger problems are just around the corner. Andy Bagley, a vice president at the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said MBTA […]
Transportation
Posted inTransportation
T proposes $128m in service cuts across system
THE MBTA on Monday proposed a series of major service cuts starting next spring and summer to right-size an agency that has lost roughly three-quarters of its ridership during the pandemic and to help address a projected $579 million budget shortfall in the fiscal year that begins next July. The T is proposing to eliminate […]
Posted inTransportation
Poftak: ‘Together we will persevere’
The following is a letter from MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak to the transit authority’s customers. I hope this letter finds you healthy and safe. I would like to take this opportunity to briefly update you on the MBTA’s Forging Ahead initiative. As we all navigate the many challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA upping enforcement of face mask requirement
THE MBTA is upping enforcement of its face-mask requirement, requiring employees to confront passengers who are not wearing coverings that cover the nose and mouth. The T previously required passengers to wear masks, using frequent on-board announcements to remind them. Enforcement, however, was based primarily on the honor system, in part because anyone claiming a […]
Posted inTransportation
Walsh calls at-grade throat ‘right thing to do’
IN A LETTER to state and federal transportation officials, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he strongly favors rebuilding the elevated section of the Massachusetts Turnpike and other infrastructure located in the narrow area between Boston University and the Charles River at ground level. While the Walsh administration has previously indicated it supports the at-grade option […]
Posted inTransportation
T budget and service cuts are unwise
FOR DECADES, the MBTA has suffered from a chronic lack of investment. The bottom fell out during the record-breaking winter storms of 2015. Since then, the MBTA has carried out layoffs, service cuts, fare hikes, and misguided privatization and “public private partnership” schemes that have not solved our region’s transit problems. We have seen train […]
Posted inTransportation
T faces $850,000 judgment in ‘grudge’ case
THE STATE APPEALS COURT on Monday upheld a judgment of more than $850,000 against the MBTA for allowing a manager with a 10-year-old grudge against a fellow employee to use his connections at the agency to force the worker into retirement. According to the decision, the employee, Thomas Tryon, learned about the scheme from the […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Allston I-90 throat consensus seems very iffy
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY Stephanie Pollack has warned that the $1 billion I-90 Allston interchange could be scaled back dramatically if stakeholders are unable to reach consensus on how to rebuild the infrastructure in the narrow throat section of the project. On Monday, it seemed like that’s where the project was headed. At a meeting of the […]
Posted inTransportation
T revising ridership projections downward
This story has been updated. MBTA OFFICIALS are revising downward their ridership and revenue projections based on scenario planning that envisions telecommuting becoming “standard practice for the foreseeable future.” State transportations officials on Monday unveiled three ridership scenarios, each with a gradual increase in ridership but different expectations about telecommuting – one with only a slight […]
Posted inTransportation
Pollack urged to open up I-90 throat review process
Below is a letter sent by Rick Dimino, president and CEO of the business group A Better City, to state Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack on October 14 concerning the so-called throat of the I-90 Allston interchange project. Dear Secretary Pollack: Please accept my sincere appreciation for advancing a version of the city of Boston/A Better […]