Tracking Transportation

Keeping track of transportation

Pollack: HOV lanes aren’t working

Transpo secretary says most of the users are single people in cars

By Colin A. Young Transportation 0 Comments Sep 12, 2019

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE HIGH-OCCUPANCY VEHICLE lanes, or carpool lanes, north and south of Boston are not really what they’re cracked up to be. The HOV lanes, which are intended to give vehicles with at least two occupants a more efficient travel lane, are overwhelmingly used by cars with only a driver, Transportation Secretary(...)

Congestion may be bad, but commute times changing little

Workers and employers find a way to keep trips to work reasonable

By Bruce Mohl Transportation 0 Comments Sep 10, 2019

BOSTON IS STRUGGLING with the worst congestion in the nation, but drivers surprisingly say they haven’t seen a big increase in their commuting time over the last decade. According to US Census data, the average travel time to work for Bostonians was 27.5 minutes in 2007. In 2017, the travel time was up only 2.3(...)

Congestion may be bad, but commute times changing little

By CommonWealth Staff Transportation 0 Comments Sep 10, 2019

Boston is struggling with the worst congestion in the nation, but drivers surprisingly say they haven’t seen a big increase in their commuting time over the last decade. According to US Census data, the average travel time to work for Bostonians was 27.5 minutes in 2007. In 2017, the travel time was up only 2.3(...)

Baker rides the T

After taking heat for avoiding it, gov gets on the Red Line

By Andy Metzger Charlie Baker, MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Sep 9, 2019

GOV. CHARLIE BAKER boarded a southbound Red Line train on Monday morning, putting behind him years of refusal to ride the transit system he oversees. The visit from Park Street to the newly revamped Wollaston Station in Quincy, where he participated in a press conference, was uneventful, but it represented a symbolic break from the(...)

Back Bay-Logan bus is a big hit

Lower price, special perk have doubled ridership

By Bruce Mohl Transportation 0 Comments Sep 5, 2019

A SPECIAL PERK and a much lower price have transformed the Massport bus operating between Back Bay and Logan International Airport into a hit with travelers. In the first four months of its reconfigured operation, ridership more than doubled, rising from 45,864 in 2018 to 97,963 this year. On a month-by-month basis, passenger traffic has(...)

T urged to experiment with income-based commuter rail fares

MassINC also backs lower prices for reverse commuting, off-peak travel

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Sep 4, 2019

THE MBTA SHOULD EXPERIMENT with income-based fares and cut charges for reverse-commuting and off-peak travel, the think tank MassINC argues in a new policy brief. The brief doesn’t advocate for specific commuter rail fares, but notes that the cost of travel between most Gateway Cities and Boston is way too high. The fare cost as(...)

An action plan to address the Mass. transportation crisis

Incremental repairs of an out-of-date system simply don’t cut it

By Douglas McGarrah MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Sep 3, 2019

THE RECENT REPORTS on the New England governors meeting to discuss the crisis in transportation in the region gives us some hope that Gov. Charlie Baker is now open to new investments in our transportation system. But what is needed now is a comprehensive action plan to address the frustrating state of congestion on our(...)

SL3 could be solution to Logan’s access issues

Bus could provide service in early morning, late at night

By Ari Ofsevit MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Aug 31, 2019

THE MBTA HAS ADDRESSED some of the most pressing needs for more transit service at times of day when people need to travel by making early-morning and late-night service permanent. Significant gaps remain, not least those related to access to and from Logan International Airport. Logan is one of the region’s greatest trip generators, a(...)

Baker admin. looks to lease electric trains from Amtrak

Could improve commuter rail service on Providence line

By Andy Metzger Commuter rail, Providence liine 0 Comments Aug 27, 2019

MASSACHUSETTS AND RHODE ISLAND might lease electric locomotives to provide quicker, cleaner service along the MBTA commuter rail line connecting the two states. The potential small step towards electrification, for which there is no timetable, came up during a discussion at the National Governors Association in Boston on Tuesday, where Gov. Charlie Baker played host(...)

1,000 UMass Boston students get big T discount

Savings provided courtesy of their fellow students

By Bruce Mohl Higher Education and Adult Learning, MBTA 0 Comments Aug 26, 2019

NEARLY A THOUSAND students at UMass Boston are receiving a significant discount on their MBTA passes this semester, thanks largely to subsidies provided by their classmates. Students voted in April to hike the mandatory student activity fee by $20 a semester ($40 for the year), with the directive that the money be used to reduce(...)