Tracking Transportation

Keeping track of transportation

T notes: Keolis posts best on-time month

MBTA revenues lagging behind forecasts; Should T police handle fare checks?

By Bruce Mohl MBTA 0 Comments Jan 14, 2019

THE MBTA’S COMMUTER RAIL rail system in December posted its best on-time performance month in the last 4½ years, with trains delivering passengers within five minutes of the scheduled arrival time an average of 93.2 percent of the time. The Fairmount and Greenbush lines had the highest on-time performance, averaging 98.3 and 98 percent, respectively,(...)

New Orange Line cars to be delayed

Signal system check spawns 8 to 10 week delay

By Bruce Mohl MBTA 0 Comments Jan 14, 2019

A HOLDUP IN THE TESTING of a new vehicle signal system will delay the introduction of new Orange Line cars by at least eight to 10 weeks, MBTA officials said on Monday. The MBTA had hoped to begin introducing the new vehicles into passenger service this month, but Jeffrey Gonneville, the T’s deputy general manager,(...)

Rethinking a very unacceptable roadway

Are we serious about prioritizing person-throughput?

By Andy Monat Transportation 0 Comments Jan 14, 2019

TAKE A WALK with me. Let’s start at the exit from the Science Park Green Line station in Boston. Wait for the pedestrian signal to go west, then cross two lanes of Nashua Street to a small concrete island. Wait for another signal, then cross the right turn lane from Nashua Street. Keep going west(...)

Big increase suggests increase in fare revenue is due to more users

By Bruce Mohl MBTA 0 Comments Jan 11, 2019

PASSENGER TRAFFIC on the MBTA’s commuter rail system grew by more than 20 percent between 2012 and 2018, with nearly all lines posting increases, according to sources familiar with the data. At a time when subway and bus passenger counts are trending down, the uptick in commuter rail traffic is a positive sign for the(...)

Pollack’s Allston decision: Pike at grade, Soldiers Field Rd. elevated

Decision will allow enough room for separate bike, pedestrian paths along Charles

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Jan 10, 2019

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY Stephanie Pollack announced on Thursday that she intends to replace the deteriorating, elevated portion of the Massachusetts Turnpike near Boston University with an at-grade highway and make room for the roadway by elevating Soldier’s Field Road above it. The highway arrangement, with commuter rail tracks alongside, is expected to allow enough room for(...)

Bostonians clinging to their cars

Household vehicles growing much faster than population

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Jan 8, 2019

MOST BOSTONIANS have more and more ways of getting around town – bikes, scooters, ride-hailing apps, and car shares – but it seems their love of car ownership is not fading away. According to Census data compiled by New York transportation consultant Bruce Schaller, the number of households in Boston owning vehicles rose faster between(...)

Poftak outlines his priorities for MBTA

‘I think I’m a little more interactive than Bill Belichick’

By Bruce Mohl MBTA 0 Comments Jan 7, 2019

STEVE POFTAK, the MBTA’s new general manager, started to put his imprint on the transit authority on Monday, outlining five priorities for the agency that include recruiting high-quality employees and keeping the T on track to meet its capital spending targets. “I look forward to bringing stability and continuity to this role,” said Poftak, who(...)

T notes: $10 weekend fare didn’t need to go away

Control board member skeptical parking fee hikes working as planned

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Jan 7, 2019

MBTA OFFICIALS WERE mistaken last month when they said the transit authority needed to discontinue its special $10 weekend commuter rail fare to prepare an equity analysis of its impact. The special fare, which offered unlimited commuter rail rides on Saturdays and Sundays for $10, shut down on December 15 and resumed this past weekend(...)

T to relaunch $10 weekend commuter rail fare

Feds OK a six-month extension of the pilot

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jan 2, 2019

AFTER NEARLY A ONE-MONTH hiatus, the MBTA plans to resume its $10 ride-all-you-want weekend commuter rail fare this coming weekend. The special fare was suspended, much to the disappointment of the T’s oversight board, after the weekend of December 8-9. T officials told the Fiscal and Management Control Board on December 10 that they needed(...)

Problems on Mattapan line extend beyond trolleys

Redacted report indicates bridges, stations are in rough shape

By Colman M. Herman MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Dec 30, 2018

A HEAVILY REDACTED study on the future of the MBTA’s rail link between the Red Line’s Ashmont Station and Mattapan indicates problems associated with the line are not confined to the 75-year-old trolleys themselves. The study suggests many of the infrastructure components of the so-called Mattapan High Speed Line are in rough shape. Various elements(...)