Severance agreement turns into consulting contract

Chapman lands consulting job with Mass. Tech Collaborative

By Colman M. Herman Charlie Baker, State Government 0 Comments Jun 18, 2019

JOHN CHAPMAN, the former undersecretary of consumer affairs and business regulation in the Baker administration, seems to live a charmed life. The Republican landed his job in 2015, shortly after losing a race for Congress to Rep. William Keating. Four years later he left, with the agency issuing a press release quoting him as saying(...)

T notes: State preps for 100,000 visitors to casino on Sunday

MassDOT gathering data on shutdown of I-93 HOV lane

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 17, 2019

A correction has been added to this story. THE STATE’S HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATOR says he is preparing for 100,000 people to show up for this Sunday’s opening of the Encore Boston Harbor casino, although officials at Wynn Resorts say they are expecting far fewer guests. A spokesman for the Las Vegas-based casino company said in an(...)

Derailment probe now focused on train itself

Rail safety review planned; calls to delay fare increases rejected

By Bruce Mohl MBTA 0 Comments Jun 17, 2019

MBTA GENERAL MANAGER Steve Poftak said on Monday that the agency’s investigation of last week’s derailment on the Red Line is now focused on the train itself, having ruled out operator error, foul play, and infrastructure issues. Poftak also said he welcomed an independent broader safety review of rail operations that will be coordinated by(...)

MBTA GM apologizes, says ‘tangible benefits’ near

Poftak: Fare increases to go forward as planned

By Andy Metzger MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 14, 2019

MBTA GENERAL MANAGER STEVE POFTAK stressed Friday that T officials are working as quickly and safely as possible to assess and fix the damage to the Red Line, and he said despite the disruption to service, the July 1 fare increases will go forward as planned. “This is unacceptable and we apologize for the inconvenience(...)

Here’s what’s slowing down the Red Line now

And here’s what can be done to speed things up

By Ari Ofsevit MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 14, 2019

WHEN THE RED LINE DERAILMENT occurred, at first it seemed like it was in a relatively good location. Ashmont trains could bypass the crash site, and passengers could transfer to the Braintree branch at JFK/UMass, eliminating the need for the multiple transfers involved with a bus bridge. By Tuesday evening, the T had put this(...)

Baker: Repairs to T must not shut out riders

Walsh and Wu differ in response to guv's approach

By Andy Metzger Charlie Baker, Marty Walsh, MBTA, Michelle Wu, Steve Poftak 0 Comments Jun 13, 2019

GOV. CHARLIE BAKER says the MBTA faces real constraints on how quickly it can repair and upgrade the region’s transit system, but Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu says a historic lack of urgency is to blame for the T’s shoddiness. “We’ve reached this point of transportation crisis because of a failure to act quickly enough(...)

Mass. ride-hailing trips rise 25% in 2018

Boston, Cambridge are hot spots, but reach growing

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, ride-hailing, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 13, 2019

RIDE -HAILING APPS such as Uber and Lyft continued their strong growth in Massachusetts during 2018, boosting the number of passenger trips by 25 percent and starting to move outside the major urban centers. Ride-hailing apps handled 81.3 million trips in Massachusetts during 2018, up from 64.8 million the year before, according to a report(...)

Baker’s approach to T epitomizes his leadership style

Analytical, diligent, cautious, and at times lacking inspiration

By Bruce Mohl Charlie Baker, MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 13, 2019

GOV. CHARLIE BAKER, Beacon Hill’s Mr. Fix-it, is taking a lot of heat over the Red Line derailment on Tuesday. A Boston Globe editorial – titled “Going off the rails on Charlie Baker’s train – warns the T is his Achilles heel as he lays plans to seek a third term. Beacon Hill analyst Michael Widmer(...)

T shuttle buses couldn’t keep up

Too many passengers, gridlock hindered replacement service

By Bruce Mohl Charlie Baker, MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 12, 2019

THE MBTA DEPLOYED 94 of its own buses along with 15 supplied by the Yankee Line to shuttle the thousands of passengers stranded when a Red Line train derailed at the JFK/UMass Station Tuesday morning, but the effort was thwarted when demand for seats far exceeded the supply and many of those who did make(...)

Where is Baker’s sense of urgency on the T?

‘Headed in the right direction’ is not enough

By Michael Widmer Charlie Baker, MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 12, 2019

GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is apparently contemplating a third term in order to complete the things he’s started. It’s clear that at this pace he may need a fourth term to fix the MBTA. The two MBTA derailments in the past week dramatize the enormous challenges facing the T and the lack of meaningful progress for(...)