Tracking Transportation

Keeping track of transportation

MBTA board member raises safety questions

McCready cites disconnect between safety hires, outcomes

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments May 12, 2022

A MEMBER of the MBTA’s oversight board on Thursday questioned whether all of the people being hired by the transit authority to address safety issues are actually improving safety. At a meeting of an MBTA subcommittee that oversees workforce development, T staff rattled off numbers about the large number of planned safety hires over the(...)

Tool cart derailment delays Blue Line reopening 2d time

Airport-Bowdoin subway service to resume Wednesday

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments May 12, 2022

THE MBTA said on Thursday that it needs to extend the shutdown of service on a portion of the Blue Line a second time because a tool cart being used to lay 1,800 feet of new track derailed near Airport station earlier this week. The T said the shutdown between Airport and Bowdoin stations is(...)

Toll, gas tax revenues at 95% of pre-COVID levels

High gas prices don't seem to be deterring drivers

By Chris Lisinski Transportation 0 Comments May 11, 2022

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE ROBUST RETURN of crunching highway traffic to the greater Boston area might have made drivers miserable, but there’s a silver lining for transportation officials: many of those motorists are pouring money into the state’s coffers. Through the first three quarters of fiscal year 2022, the Department of Transportation hauled in(...)

Poftak confirms FTA safety investigation at MBTA

T didn't disclose investigation until letter leaked to Globe

By Chris Lisinski MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments May 10, 2022

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FEDERAL TRANSIT officials will meet with T leaders this week to kick off a safety investigation into the agency, MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said Tuesday, amid heightened scrutiny following a series of high-profile and sometimes fatal incidents. A day after the Boston Globe reported that the Federal Transit Administration sent(...)

MBTA is extending Blue Line shutdown 5 more days

Work proves challenging, delay announced to assure safety

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments May 9, 2022

THE MBTA is extending the shutdown of a portion of the Blue Line for another five days to make sure the track being installed is safe. The T announced on Sunday that it was extending the original 14-day shutdown until Friday “to complete additional work and finish scheduled work.” On Monday, asked about reports that(...)

Wu calls MGH project a ‘catalytic investment’

Says hospital buildout could be key to Red-Blue connector

By Bruce Mohl Health Care, MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments May 5, 2022

BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu is calling the construction of two connected towers at Massachusetts General Hospital a “catalytic investment” that could not only boost health care in the city but transform public transportation. As expected, Mass General Brigham won state regulatory approval on Wednesday for the addition of 78 inpatient beds at Brigham and Women’s(...)

Two MBTA bus routes back to pre-COVID ridership levels

Even with no fares, 3 routes in city pilot not there yet

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments May 3, 2022

FREE FARES have a way of drawing riders to a bus route, but there are other ways to attract passengers as well. In a presentation to the MBTA board last week, General Manager Steve Poftak said two of the transit authority’s 25 busiest routes are now exceeding their pre-COVID ridership levels. Two others are getting(...)

Mass. should seek fed grants on I-90 Allston this month

Project is exactly the type Biden, Buttigieg are looking for

By Richard Dimino and James Aloisi Transportation 0 Comments May 2, 2022

WHEN OPPORTUNITY knocks, it’s a good idea to open the door. The federal government, thanks to underappreciated efforts by Congressional Democrats and strong presidential leadership, is now accepting applications for transportation projects that will receive funding from last year’s historic bi-partisan infrastructure bill. This time, the federal government is looking for large scale highway or(...)

Faulty equipment blamed for Red Line passenger death

Preliminary report identifies ‘fault’ in door control system

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments May 2, 2022

A PRELIMINARY REPORT released by the National Transportation Safety Board indicates a “fault in a local door control system” was likely the cause of an April 10 accident on the MBTA’s Red Line that resulted in the death of 39-year-old Robinson Lalin of Boston. The preliminary report, released Monday morning, said Lalin was fatally injured(...)

Calculating the right price for commuter rail

My approach will get more people to board the trains

By Ben Chase MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Apr 30, 2022

RIDERS ON THE MBTA commuter rail know that the network is significantly more expensive than the T’s local bus and subway service. It’s due for a change now. For any trip on the Commuter Rail within I-95, local bus and subway service is often cheaper. It costs $7 to travel from Needham Heights to South(...)