THE MBTA intends to lift speed restrictions on the Orange Line by the end of December and start posting average subway travel times on its website at some point this winter, according to a letter MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak sent to US Sen. Ed Markey on Tuesday. Poftak had promised Markey more information on […]
Transportation
Posted inTransportation
LaHood: T’s Poftak on right track with safety until COVID hit
A correction has been made to this story. STEVE POFTAK, the MBTA’s beleaguered general manager, received some praise on Tuesday from former US transportation secretary Ray LaHood and Sen. Brendan Crighton, the co-chair of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee. LaHood headed a panel that releases a report in December 2019 that was highly critical of the […]
Posted inTransportation
Boston, businesses to pay for employee bus, subway rides
EMPLOYEES WORKING for the city of Boston, Google, Sanofi, and retailers at Assembly Row in Somerville will be able to ride the MBTA subways and buses for free under a two-year pilot program paid for by the employers. The new initiative, announced on Monday, is an extension of an existing program run by MIT that […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA problems not affecting Baker popularity
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S popularity is not being affected by the ongoing problems at the MBTA, according to a new poll. The survey of 987 likely voters indicates 67 percent view Baker favorably, much higher than President Biden (49 percent) and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Maura Healey (44 percent). Specifically on transportation, Baker gets pretty high marks. […]
Posted inTransportation
Cracked welds delay new N. Washington St. Bridge a year
COMPLETION OF A NEW North Washington Bridge in Boston will take at least a year longer than expected because of mysterious cracks that developed in welds at steel connection points. Jonathan Gulliver, the Massachusetts highway commissioner, said the tiny cracks were first discovered by state inspectors about a year ago. Works was halted and an […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA: What went wrong and how to fix it
THE MBTA Advisory Board, the group representing cities and towns in the transit authority’s service area, held a series of fascinating panel discussions on Tuesday on the future of the MBTA. What follows is a Q&A explainer based on those presentations. Q: Let’s start with funding. Everyone seems to agree the T is underfunded. How […]
Posted inTransportation
New airport terminal coming in New Bedford
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SOUTH COAST leaders say state transportation officials have made a “commitment” for design and project funding for a new airport terminal and control tower at New Bedford Regional Airport. Mayor Jon Mitchell and Rep. William Straus, co-chair of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee, hosted a visit to the airport in June with […]
Posted inTransportation
Poftak owes T riders timeline on speed restrictions, Baker says
GOV, CHARLIE BAKER said on Monday that MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak owes the public an answer on when speed restrictions on the Orange Line will be lifted. At a press availability at the State House with the leaders of the House and Senate, Baker said Poftak hasn’t been able to deliver on a promise […]
Posted inOpinion
Stop repairing Tobin Bridge, replace it with a tunnel
THE TOBIN BRIDGE, which opened in February 1950, is approaching its projected 70-year lifespan. Perhaps it is time to consider an alternative to the never-ending series of increasingly costly and traffic-disruptive bridge repair projects, including the recent three-year restoration and rehabilitation project costing nearly $42 million and its predecessor, completed at a cost of $95 […]
Posted inTransportation
Warren calls for new leadership ‘top to bottom’ at T
SENS. ELIZABETH WARREN called for “new leadership from top to bottom” at the MBTA at a hearing in Boston on Friday where she and Sen. Ed Markey grilled MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak about safety problems, communication glitches, and poor management at the transit authority. The federal oversight hearing didn’t break new ground in terms […]