Boards give yellow light to Green Line Ext.

Skeptics, led by Pollack, say many hurdles remain

By Bruce Mohl MBTA 0 Comments May 9, 2016

TWO STATE TRANSPORTATION BOARDS on Monday gave what might be called a yellow light to the Green Line Extension, essentially allowing a scaled-back version of the project to proceed on the condition that it be scrapped if costs rise, a competent management team cannot be assembled, or the MBTA’s core services are compromised. The iffy(...)

T takes risk with new construction method

Agency targets alternative process for Green Line extension but has little experience with it

By Jack Sullivan Green Line extension, Massachusetts Legislature, MBTA, Taxes and Budget Issues, Transportation 1 Comment May 9, 2016

IN AN ECHO of the recent debacle over ballooning costs for the Green Line extension, the MBTA is eyeing yet another public construction method the agency has little experience with to salvage a scaled-back version of the project. A report by the interim project management team tasked with presenting options for building the stalled extension(...)

T cuts Green Line Ext. costs $622m

But funding gap, ‘substantial risks’ remain

By Bruce Mohl MBTA 1 Comment May 9, 2016

THE MBTA REVEALED ON MONDAY that it has pared back the cost of the proposed Green Line Extension by $622 million, but Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said it’s still unclear whether the project can or should proceed. “There are substantial risks that remain,” she said during a briefing for reporters several hours before the state(...)

For the greater economic good, project must be completed

By Emily Reichert MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments May 6, 2016

WHAT DO ALTAEROS ENERGIES, Voxel8, and Autonomous Marine Systems have in common? For starters, they’re all startup companies developing “firsts” in their respective fields: the world’s first fully-functional airborne wind turbine, the world’s first 3D electronics printer, and the world’s first self-righting catamaran with networking capabilities. Each company is well on its way to developing(...)

Are Green Line trains getting less crowded?

T’s numbers suggest they are, but officials don’t believe it

By Bruce Mohl MBTA 5 Comments May 2, 2016

THE MBTA’S OWN DATA indicate passenger traffic on the Green Line is declining, but agency officials say they don’t believe the numbers. Jeffrey Gonneville, the T’s chief operating officer, told the Fiscal Management and Control Board on Monday that the Green Line is the nation’s busiest light rail line, providing more than 200,000 trips each(...)

Cost of all-night bus service put at $5.8m

Despite higher pricetag, T board still interested

By Bruce Mohl MBTA 1 Comment May 2, 2016

THE MBTA ESTIMATED on Monday that a proposal for all-night bus service in metropolitan Boston was three to four times more expensive than the $1 to $1.4 million estimated by a trio of transportation advocates, but the higher price tag didn’t automatically deter members of the agency’s oversight board. It was the second time the(...)

Whither Boston?

IndyCar didn’t reflect the city’s values

By James Aloisi Civic engagement, Growth and Development, Transportation 5 Comments May 2, 2016

THE RECENT DECISION of the IndyCar promoters to pull out of Boston was met by some with relief, by others with dismay. I was not a fan, and I was particularly concerned about its potential negative impacts on the Silver Line in the Seaport District. Some of the reaction I received on Twitter from IndyCar(...)

The T wants you – to snitch

Officials look for ways to recover $42 million in lost fare collections

By Jack Sullivan MBTA, Taxes and Budget Issues, Transportation 0 Comments Apr 25, 2016

THE MBTA’s COMMUTER RAIL operator thinks it has a secret weapon in the effort to recoup as much as $35 million in lost revenues from fare evasion – snitches. That was among several plans presented by Peter Williams, who is heading up an initiative by rail operator Keolis to recover the lost revenue, to the(...)

Head of fund takes questions from authority's oversight board on returns, transparency

By Andy Metzger MBTA, State Government, Taxes and Budget Issues, Transportation 0 Comments Apr 25, 2016

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MBTA RETIREMENT FUND, which set its assumed annual rate of return on investments at 7.75 percent, will probably earn about a half-percent of return in 2015, according to its executive director. Executive Director Michael Mulhern on Monday announced completion of the fund’s 2014 audit, which has delayed the finalization of the(...)

T parking fee probe expands to 3 stations

Letter cites doctored reports, shortages, fired worker

By Bruce Mohl MBTA 0 Comments Apr 19, 2016

AN INTERNAL MBTA DOCUMENT indicates a probe of parking fee losses now extends to more than one station and refers to a terminated employee who had been working for the private parking lot operator. CommonWealth first reported on the parking fee discrepancies on April 6. At the time, T officials issued a statement saying discrepancies(...)