THE MBTA is resuming service on all commuter rail lines this weekend, and even launching trains to Needham on Sundays in a way the community opposes. The T suspended weekend commuter rail service in January on the Fitchburg, Franklin, Greenbush, Haverhill, Kingston, Lowell, and Needham lines because of reduced demand caused by COVID. Weekend service […]
MBTA
Posted inOpinion
Bus is finally getting the respect it deserves
A FEW YEARS AGO I started dating someone who joked that if she ever asked me to marry her it would have to be on the 111 bus because I talked about it so much. She knew I worked for the MBTA, and it didn’t take long for her to realize it was buses that […]
Posted inOpinion
Low-income commuter rail fares are a no-brainer
LAST MONTH, members of the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board took one last stand to advance a low-income fare program before their tenure over the agency expired. The board has valiantly prodded the agency to provide discounts to low-income riders for a number of years, but progress remained elusive. In a final vote, board […]
Posted inThe Download
Worcester commuter rail line targeted for upgrades
The Framingham-Worcester commuter rail line, which could become a lifeline into Boston if the I-90 Allston project gets launched, is getting some major improvements. The MBTA is planning two major projects on the line from Newton to Framingham – adding handicap accessible, double-sided platforms at the Newtonville, Newton, and Auburndale stations and a third track […]
Posted inTransportation
Worcester commuter rail line targeted for upgrades
THE FRAMINGHAM-WORCESTER commuter rail line, which could become a lifeline into Boston if the I-90 Allston project gets launched, is getting some major improvements. The MBTA is planning two major projects on the line from Newton to Framingham – adding handicap accessible, double-sided platforms at the Newtonville, Newton, and Auburndale stations and a third track […]
Posted inOpinion
5 ways to make buses more reliable
THE REMARKABLE RESILIENCE of bus ridership through even the worst months of the pandemic has underscored the critical importance of this surface transportation mode to provide access to jobs and opportunities, especially for those not privileged to be able to work from home. Buses disproportionately carry low-income, essential workers who tend to have inflexible work […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: New subway cars still in limbo
MBTA GENERAL MANAGER Steve Poftak said the new Orange and Red Line cars will remain in limbo for the time being as the T continues to try to reach consensus on what caused a derailment in March and what can be done to remedy the problem or problems. Two weeks ago the deputy general manager, […]
Posted inTransportation
Members of T control board say goodbye
THE MEMBERS of the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board bid a final farewell on Monday as lawmakers on Beacon Hill continued to trade proposals about what a successor board should look like and how it should operate. The current five board members, including three who have held their voluntary positions for the past six […]
Posted inTransportation
GLX to come in under budget, opening slightly delayed
MBTA OFFICIALS say the $2.3 billion project extending the Green Line into Somerville and Medford will come in under budget and be finished slightly later than expected, with the Union Square branch opening in December instead of October and the opening of the Medford branch pushed back from December to May 2022. John Dalton, the […]
Posted inOpinion
Requiring masks on public transit makes no sense
THERE ARE FACTS and there are perceptions. These are often very different things. And when you are trying to guide and inform human decision-making, perceptions often matter more than facts. Many years ago, in the midst of a typically combative election in my East Boston neighborhood, a political wise guy said to me, “What’s important […]