Tracking Transportation

Keeping track of transportation

Crumbling roads, bridges are in need of ARPA funding

Repairs are a wise use of the one-time federal funds

By John Pourbaix Transportation 0 Comments Sep 11, 2021

ROADS AND BRIDGES in Massachusetts are crumbling. The result of decades of deferred maintenance and failing infrastructure has led to traffic and safety concerns, and significant increases in costs by requiring emergency repairs to roads and bridges, such as expending $75 million in Allston on immediate temporary safety repairs to an elevated section of the(...)

School bus company pays $165,000 to settle idling charges

Diesel engines ran for 20 minutes outside New Bedford schools

By Bruce Mohl Elementary and Secondary Education, Transportation 0 Comments Sep 9, 2021

A SCHOOL BUS company agreed to pay $165,000 in fines and court costs to settle charges that its drivers routinely allowed their diesel-powered buses to idle for as much as 20 minutes outside schools in New Bedford in violation of several anti-idling statutes. Attorney General Maura Healey’s office, which negotiated the settlement with Tremblay’s Bus(...)

Rural transportation article fell short

I-90 Allston is about fixing it first – and better

By James Aloisi Transportation 0 Comments Sep 6, 2021

A recent article in Commonwealth that undertook to advance the worthy goal of transportation investment equity for rural counties and communities in Massachusetts fell so far short of making its case persuasively that it requires a response. I’d like to focus this response on three specific points. First, the authors would find widespread agreement among(...)

Rural transportation can’t be left behind

Fix it first should take precedence over new urban highways

By Natalie Blais and John Stout Transportation 0 Comments Sep 4, 2021

FOR THE PAST several decades, the federal government has chronically underfunded rural transportation. Facing severe budget shortfalls, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 health crisis, rural counties across the country have been forced to remove pavement from their roads because they lack funds to address potholes and cracks. Similarly, cash-strapped rural transit providers have(...)

Wooing back riders: A tale of 2 transit agencies

Metro in DC adding service -- and cutting fares

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Aug 26, 2021

THE MBTA and the Washington, DC, transit systems are trying to woo back riders as the summer comes to an end, but they are taking slightly different approaches. Both systems have suffered a COVID-induced falloff in ridership that is likely to continue as many employees continue to work (at least some of the time) from(...)

#111 bus now getting attention from the MBTA

Route now has most bus-only lanes in system

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Aug 24, 2021

THE MBTA’S 111 bus is one of the transit authority’s busiest routes. It runs from Everett through Revere and into Chelsea, where it picks up most of its passengers. It continues over the Tobin Bridge into Charlestown before heading to the T’s Haymarket Station via the North Washington Street Bridge. For years, passengers have complained about(...)

Fed support for transit operations needed

Without aid, maintenance problems will keep recurring

By James Aloisi MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Aug 23, 2021

AS CONGRESS SLOWLY advances what will become a complete package of transportation funding and policy decisions that define the federal role for at least the next decade, it may be a good time to renew the call for transformative change in federal participation in transit operating costs. Without a change in federal policy, all of(...)

EJ communities need rep on new T board

Baker should choose one of two candidates

By Adrian Madaro, Karen Y. Chen and Maria Belén Power MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Aug 18, 2021

DUE TO STRONG support from transit riders and workers, the Massachusetts Legislature recently took a huge step forward to ensure racial equity and environmental justice in the Commonwealth’s largest transit authority — and now Gov. Charlie Baker has an opportunity to listen to communities of color and do the right thing. For months, riders and workers(...)

Weekend commuter rail off to good start

Unlike weekdays, weekend ridership near pre-pandemic levels

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Aug 16, 2021

WEEKEND SERVICE on all of the MBTA’s commuter rail lines returned on July 3, and already ridership is back close to pre-COVID levels. Saturday ridership is roughly 77 percent of what it was during the summer of 2019, while Sunday ridership is 100 percent, according to Justin Thompson, a spokesman for Keolis Commuter Services, the(...)

New Orange Line cars being tested

Cause(s) of March derailment still unclear

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Aug 10, 2021

THE MBTA has begun testing its new Orange Line cars with the goal of returning them to active service in the coming weeks, a move that suggests the transit authority is finally closing in on the cause of a derailment nearly six months ago. The Orange Line derailment – not to be confused with the(...)