Lawmakers file bills to address Sumner Tunnel congestion

Back congestion pricing and highest fees on ride-hailing usage in the country

By Chris Lisinski Transportation 0 Comments Feb 20, 2019

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE VEHICLES ARE ENTERING the Sumner Tunnel at “unprecedented levels,” thousands of rides on services such as Uber and Lyft head to and from Logan Airport each day, and on residential streets, traffic backs up for hours on end. Residents, lawmakers, and transit officials agree: thanks to several compounding factors, the congestion(...)

A rural take on climate change

We travel long distances but we care about reducing emissions

By Stephen Kulik Climate change, Transportation 0 Comments Feb 19, 2019

AS A STATE REPRESENTATIVE, I routinely drove 125 miles between my home in the Western Massachusetts Hilltown of Worthington and Beacon Hill. This makes it all the more remarkable that during my 25 years in the Legislature, I probably logged the majority of my driving miles within my far-flung rural district, serving my constituency in(...)

Five transportation assignments for Legislature

Now is the time to start planning for a very different future

By Eileen McAnneny Transportation 0 Comments Feb 19, 2019

MASSACHUSETTS IS IN THE MIDDLE of a transportation revolution. Uber and Lyft vehicles are as ubiquitous as Dunkins; connected and autonomous vehicles no longer seem futuristic; and Boeing is testing air taxis for deployment within the next five years. All of these developments are fundamentally changing transportation as we know and consume it. Transportation’s transformation(...)

Examining the safe in safe, reliable transit

MBTA needs to prioritize needs of most at-risk riders

By Rachel Adele Dec MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Feb 15, 2019

LAST DECEMBER, a report by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security concluded that bias-motivated incidents (hate crimes) in Massachusetts are at an all-time high in the last decade. Unsurprisingly, individuals of color and young women (statistically) face increased threats, particularly when traveling alone and/or late at night. It is typical for society to(...)

MassDOT’s ramp proposal is a poor excuse for a plan

If state officials have concerns, go ride the 111 bus from Chelsea

By Ari Ofsevit MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Feb 13, 2019

EVERY MORNING, at 4:57, the first 111 bus leaves Chelsea and makes its way up the ramp from Everett Avenue to the upper deck of the Tobin Bridge, before merging left and joining the bridge traffic for the trip to Haymarket. Seven minutes later, the next bus follows. By the last trip at 12:48 the(...)

T notes: Fare gates left open at many stations on Patriots parade day

Power cable outage caused Friday meltdown

By Bruce Mohl MBTA 0 Comments Feb 11, 2019

THE CITY OF BOSTON estimated 1.5 million people came to the New England Patriots championship parade last week, but MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak says he still doesn’t know how many of them rode public transit. Poftak, speaking after a meeting of the Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday, said it takes time to(...)

DOT notes: Get ready for Pike delays

Sumner Tunnel traffic way, way up

By Bruce Mohl Transportation 0 Comments Feb 11, 2019

NEW DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS over the Massachusetts Turnpike near where Boylston Street and Massachusetts Avenue intersect will result in lane closures starting later this year and last for a total of 16 months, state transportation officials said on Monday. Looming in the future is an even more disruptive project on the Turnpike. The state is replacing(...)

Central Mass. lawmakers oppose commuter rail fare hike

Say size of increase is too high for riders from Worcester area

By Katie Lannan Gateway Cities, Massachusetts Legislature, MBTA 0 Comments Feb 7, 2019

FIFTEEN CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS lawmakers are asking transportation officials to scrap a proposed increase in commuter rail fares, saying it will “result in a disparate financial burden” on people in their part of the state. The MBTA on Jan. 28 announced a proposal to raise more than $32 million in new revenues by hiking bus, subway,(...)

Rosa Parks resonates for the MBTA today

Bus system often doesn’t work for low-income people

By Sarah Betancourt Transportation 0 Comments Feb 7, 2019

THANKS TO A BILL signed in January, the MBTA is displaying a permanent decal or utilizing LED boards on buses to recognize civil rights activist Rosa Parks. Parks was arrested when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. Her actions inspired a year-long boycott of(...)

Weekday sports victory parades have to stop

If the Patriots want to celebrate, let the team foot the bill

By James Aloisi Transportation 0 Comments Feb 6, 2019

LET THE DAY be encapsulated by this message posted from the MBTA Commuter Rail’s twitter account at 8:10 p.m. on Tuesday, February 5: Update: Worcester Train 522 (5:20 pm inbound) is stopped at Boston Landing due to an unruly passenger and is currently 90-100 minutes behind schedule. You read that right – 90-100 minutes behind(...)