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 […]
Transportation
Posted inOpinion
Our streets need to be welcoming to deaf, disabled
WHEN I HEAR people say, “Remove parking and add bike lanes!” or “We need more walkable streets!” I cringe. These folks, usually White and nondisabled, often don’t take into account the needs of low-income, BIPOC, and/or disabled people. Neither does our city. Boston has a long history of inequity in busing and redlining and making […]
Posted inThe Download
Two key lawmakers say MBTA needs money, but also change
A correction has been added to this story. TWO KEY Beacon Hill transportation leaders say their focus in the coming year will be on finding additional resources for the MBTA, and one of them said specifically that the new money must be accompanied by a change in leadership at the transit authority. The two chairs […]
Posted inTransportation
Two key lawmakers say MBTA needs money, but also change
A correction has been added to this story. TWO KEY Beacon Hill transportation leaders say their focus in the coming year will be on finding additional resources for the MBTA, and one of them said specifically that the new money must be accompanied by a change in leadership at the transit authority. The two chairs […]
Posted inTransportation
Lawmakers question whether DPU is right for MBTA safety oversight
TWO KEY Beacon Hill lawmakers on Thursday questioned whether the Department of Public Utilities is the right agency to hold the MBTA’s feet to the fire on safety issues. At a legislative oversight hearing, the chair of the DPU and the head of the agency’s transportation oversight division acknowledged the arm of the agency that […]
Posted inTransportation
Bluebikes ridership soared during Orange Line shutdown
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE DURING THE 30 DAYS that the Orange Line and Green Line extension were closed, a record number of people turned to Bluebikes to get around the greater Boston area. Ridership during the shutdown smashed prior Bluebikes records, according to a recent report. Going into 2022, the most trips in a single […]
Posted inTransportation
Commuter rail making comeback with riders
THE MBTA’S commuter rail trains, which ran nearly empty during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, are starting to fill up. Ridership isn’t back to prepandemic levels, but it has returned to around 76 percent of what it was before COVID. That’s a big jump. A system that used to be a laggard among […]
Posted inOpinion
A roadmap for fixing the MBTA
THERE’S NOTHING complicated, surprising, or even new about what ails our metro Boston public transportation system. The task may seem daunting (it is), and the troubles may seem to be mounting (they are), and progress appears to come in slow motion (indeed it does). But none of this means it’s complicated to understand, and then […]
Posted inOpinion
Overextended MBTA is moving in right direction
ONLY A GOVERNOR not seeking re-election could close the Orange Line for a month. We need further bold steps like that — further bold steps to simplify the challenges that the men and women working for the T are facing. And I say that as a regular rider of the T. I have long believed […]
Posted inTransportation
Mass. misses on one bid for Cape bridge replacement
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE PUBLIC OFFICIALS fell short in one of two bids to secure more than $1 billion in federal funding toward replacement of the Bourne and Sagamore bridges, a blow that left them “disappointed” as they wrangle with questions over how to pay for the critical infrastructure project. The US Army Corps of […]