Uber, Lyft riders subsidize taxi, livery firms

Latest round of MassDevelopment grants totals $7m

By Bruce Mohl Transportation 0 Comments Nov 29, 2022

FOR EVERY Uber and Lyft ride in Massachusetts, the state collects an extra 20 cents. Half of the 20-cent fee is split among municipalities based on where the rides originate, 5 cents goes to a state transportation fund, and 5 cents goes to MassDevelopment for a program to support taxi and livery services across the(...)

Digging into safety oversight options for MBTA

Status quo is not working, change is needed

By Brian Kane and Chris Dempsey MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 28, 2022

WITH HIGH-PROFILE MISHAPS and equipment failures in recent months, the MBTA is under unprecedented scrutiny for its recent safety record. The Federal Transit Administration’s Safety Management Inspection (SMI) report released in August is just the latest independent assessment to determine that the MBTA is falling short on basic safety measures, putting riders at risk and(...)

Five steps for turning the MBTA around

Agency must address safety, service at the same time

By Caitlin Allen-Connelly MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 24, 2022

IN THE WAKE of safety concerns, the unprecedented complete shutdown of the Orange Line, opaque and untimely communications, and service delivery obstacles, the MBTA continues to make quasi-daily headlines for all the wrong reasons. The performance of the MBTA directly impacts the quality of life and business climate in our region. No one disagrees that(...)

GLX manager Dalton gets 6-month contract extension

Deal would give Healey administration options

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 22, 2022

THE MBTA has extended until mid-2023 the contract of the manager overseeing the Green Line extension into Somerville and Medford. The move appears designed to keep John Dalton under contract during the upcoming change in administrations so that he can be redeployed on another project or assignment if that’s what Gov.-elect Maura Healey decides to(...)

Don’t break up the T, expand it statewide

Treat public transit like a utility, paid for with property taxes

By Paul Schlichtman MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 19, 2022

FOR AT LEAST seven years, state Rep. William Straus has been shopping the idea that we should abolish the MBTA. Rep. Straus, who is chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation, told CommonWealth magazine (May 18, 2015) that “we should be talking about a third way: getting rid of the MBTA as a stand-alone authority.” Great(...)

Green Line to Medford opening Dec. 12

Launch should be a sort of farewell for Poftak, Baker

By Chris Lisinski MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 17, 2022

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ONE FINAL DELAY of a couple of weeks looms, and then the long-awaited second and final Green Line extension branch will open to riders on December 12, MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak announced Thursday. All five new stations along the new stretch will come online at the start of service that(...)

MBTA board ends 2-year hiatus on fare enforcement

New regulations contain no penalties for ignoring fines

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 17, 2022

THE MBTA board of directors on Thursday voted unanimously to end a two-year hiatus on issuing fines for fare evasion, but most of the members were skeptical the T’s “non-punitive” approach to enforcement would actually stop riders from jumping turnstiles and sneaking on board buses and Green Line trains for free. The new fare evasion(...)

MBTA says ridership won’t be back to normal in 5 years

Fare revenues likely to hit only 78% of pre-COVID levels

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 16, 2022

THE MBTA is not expecting ridership to return to pre-COVID levels within the next five years, even with the addition of new services like the Green Line extension and South Coast Rail. Under the T’s most optimistic ridership scenario, fare revenue will only reach 93 percent of pre-COVID levels by the end of fiscal 2028.(...)

Are T fare evasion regs tough enough?

No mechanism in place to require fines be paid

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 16, 2022

MBTA OFFICIALS on Wednesday pleaded with transit authority board members to quickly approve regulations dealing with fare evasion so the T will no longer be forced to turn a blind eye to passengers jumping turnstiles and boarding buses and trolleys without paying. Lynsey Heffernan, the MBTA’s assistant general manager for policy and transit planning, said the(...)

MBTA fare enforcement in ‘legal vacuum’

New ‘non-punitive’ regs would allow fines to resume

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 15, 2022

TWO YEARS AGO, the Legislature amended the MBTA’s fare evasion statute, decriminalizing the offense and lowering the range of possible fines. The Legislature left the details to the T, but those details, in the form of new regulations, never got approved, leaving the MBTA with no legal authority to enforce any fare evasion penalties since(...)