Tracking Transportation

Keeping track of transportation

T buys hybrid buses after assurances on Chelsea

Officials say vehicles will go electric through community

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 23, 2020

THE MBTA’S Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday unanimously approved an $89 million contract for 45 new Silver Line buses after receiving assurances from staff members that the diesel hybrid vehicles would be able to operate on electric power as they navigate through the environmental justice community of Chelsea. The 60-foot New Flyer buses,(...)

Baker vows TCI decision by end of year

Gov says underlying assumptions in flux due to COVID

By Bruce Mohl Charlie Baker, Climate change, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 23, 2020

GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said the underlying assumptions about a proposal to assess a price on the carbon contained in automobile fuels are in flux, but he still intends to make a decision on whether to push ahead with the high-profile regional initiative by the end of the year. At a State House press conference on(...)

Greenwashing the MBTA’s hybrid buses

New vehicles will shift pollution burden to Chelsea, East Boston

By Ari Ofsevit MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 21, 2020

“At Silver Line Way, you will hear the bus’s engine shut down for just a moment, as it converts to diesel power for the rest of the trip to Logan Airport.” These words have been repeated on every Silver Line trip since 2004, as buses have transported millions of passengers between South Station, Logan Airport,(...)

With travel way down, Massport to cut workforce 25%

Officials grapple with $400m budget gap over 3 years

By Chris Lisinski Transportation 0 Comments Nov 19, 2020

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FACING MASSIVE financial strain inflicted by the pandemic, the Massachusetts Port Authority plans to slash its workforce by about 25 percent through a combination of voluntary retirements, buyouts, furloughs, and layoffs. The cost-cutting effort comes as Massport officials grapple with a $400 million budget gap projected over the next three fiscal(...)

Climate initiative could push gas prices higher than forecast

Analysis projects increase of between 13 and 24 cents a gallon

By Bruce Mohl Charlie Baker, Climate change, Energy 0 Comments Nov 19, 2020

A REGIONAL EFFORT led by Gov. Charlie Baker to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by putting a price on the carbon in vehicle fuels is likely to drive up the price of gasoline higher than earlier projected, according to a report by the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University. Under the so-called transportation climate initiative,(...)

Pollack punts on Allston I-90 project

Puts off 'throat' decision until summer; raises plan B

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 18, 2020

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY Stephanie Pollack said she intends to postpone until next summer the selection of a preferred design for the so-called throat section of the I-90 Allston interchange, and may decide to rebuild a deteriorating stretch of the elevated Turnpike in the area and put off action on the larger highway project for at least(...)

Eliminating MBTA ferries called ‘terrible idea’

Hull, Hingham residents say lives would be disrupted

By Sarah Betancourt MBTA 0 Comments Nov 11, 2020

MICHELE O’LEARY says the MBTA’s proposal to eliminate ferry service to deal with a COVID-inducted budget shortfall would turn her life upside down. Currently, O’Leary takes the ferry from Hull to the Seaport in Boston every morning at 6 a.m. She arrives at 6:22, leaving plenty of time for her to make her shift at(...)

T capital funding sources projected to fall off cliff

Taxpayers Foundation lays out gloomy future at T board hearing

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 9, 2020

THE MBTA is preparing to cut service levels to deal with a budget shortfall looming over next year, but the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation warned members of the Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday that even bigger problems are just around the corner. Andy Bagley, a vice president at the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said MBTA(...)

T proposes $128m in service cuts across system

Ferries eliminated, commuter rail shut down weeknights, weekends

By Bruce Mohl MBTA 0 Comments Nov 9, 2020

THE MBTA on Monday proposed a series of major service cuts starting next spring and summer to right-size an agency that has lost roughly three-quarters of its ridership during the pandemic and to help address a projected $579 million budget shortfall in the fiscal year that begins next July. The T is proposing to eliminate(...)

Poftak: ‘Together we will persevere’

Appeals for input from riders and the public

By Steve Poftak MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 9, 2020

The following is a letter from MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak to the transit authority’s customers. I hope this letter finds you healthy and safe. I would like to take this opportunity to briefly update you on the MBTA’s Forging Ahead initiative. As we all navigate the many challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the(...)