Tracking Transportation

Keeping track of transportation

T faces $850,000 judgment in ‘grudge’ case

Appeals Court upholds whistleblower complaint

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 26, 2020

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(...)

Are we changed forever by the pandemic?

Some impacts, only glimpsed now, could have long-term effects

By Shira Schoenberg COVID-19, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 22, 2020

WHAT IF our lives are never the same again? It took a blunt cabinet secretary at a dry state budget hearing to voice the fears of millions. For Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, the issue was, unsurprisingly, transportation. “The COVID pandemic may well have changed travel and transportation forever,” Pollack said at a hearing before the(...)

T notes: Allston I-90 throat consensus seems very iffy

Huge outpouring of opposition to service cuts at the MBTA

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 19, 2020

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(...)

T revising ridership projections downward

Assuming telecommuting will become ‘standard practice’

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 19, 2020

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(...)

Pollack urged to open up I-90 throat review process

Dimino letter cites bias, inaccuracies in spreadsheet

By Richard Dimino Transportation 0 Comments Oct 17, 2020

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(...)

Toting up how T does under Baker budget plan

New fees on Uber, Lyft are part of the mix

By Chris Lisinski Charlie Baker, MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 15, 2020

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S updated annual budget would direct less money to the MBTA’s operations than the version he filed before the pandemic hit Massachusetts, but the cash-strapped transit agency is still in line for a potential funding boost. T officials adopted a spending plan in May that made conservative estimates about(...)

Baker to MBTA riders: Get back on board

‘I can’t think of a less risky activity,’ he says

By Bruce Mohl Charlie Baker, MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 14, 2020

GOV. CHARLIE BAKER, who is apparently becoming a regular Blue Line commuter, said the MBTA is perfectly safe and urged his fellow riders to get back on board. “I’ve ridden the T since the pandemic and I believe it’s safe,” he said at a State House press conference. “There’s plenty of distance.” The MBTA has(...)

Legislature needs to act on transportation electrification

Climate goals won’t be met without quick action

By Veena Dharmaraj and Staci Rubin MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 10, 2020

NOW IS THE TIME to pass legislation in Massachusetts that protects the long-term public health of communities and acts on climate. A number of transportation electrification bills were under consideration at the beginning of the session in 2019; unfortunately, halfway through 2020, the Massachusetts Legislature still hasn’t passed any of them. These bills remain critical to(...)

MassDOT spreadsheet on throat options raises questions

Dimino says chart is full of bias and inaccuracies

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 10, 2020

A 15-page state Department of Transportation spreadsheet comparing the four options for rebuilding the roads and rail lines in the narrow throat section of the I-90 Allston interchange appears to suggest the best option would be to reconstruct the infrastructure pretty much as it is laid out right now. The spreadsheet, dated October 1 and(...)

Pollack accepts upgraded at-grade throat proposal

Secretary seems OK with incursions into Charles River

By Bruce Mohl Transportation 0 Comments Oct 6, 2020

STATE TRANSPORTATION Secretary Stephanie Pollack embraced a new all at-grade proposal for the so-called throat section of the I-90 Allston interchange that locates a bike and pedestrian path and a tiny portion of Soldiers Field Road in the Charles River. The latest at-grade proposal, backed by the city of Boston and the business group A(...)