THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION released a safety analysis of the MBTA on Wednesday that paints a picture of an overextended agency failing to balance the need for heavy capital investments in vehicles and infrastructure with spending on safety-critical day-to-day operations and maintenance. “This lack of balance is at the center of many of MBTA’s safety […]
Transportation
Posted inImmigration, Politics, Transportation
Diehl, through signature effort, finds an issue
REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL candidate Geoff Diehl, whose campaign has been searching for an issue to run on, apparently helped create one. Proponents of an initiative petition overturning a law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses said on Wednesday they had gathered more than twice as many signatures as they need to put the measure on […]
Posted inTransportation
Reduced frequency on subways will continue through fall
THE MBTA, which had originally hoped to restore regular weekday service on the Red, Blue, and Orange lines by the end of the summer, is now planning to continue the lower frequency service throughout the fall. The T moved to less frequent weekend levels of service on the three lines in June because it lacked […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Baker vows full-court press for East-West rail
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FEDERAL AND STATE officials agreed Tuesday that Springfield can play an important role in the revitalization of passenger rail service in America, and Gov. Charlie Baker pledged to use his remaining time in office to put the long-discussed East-West Rail expansion project in position to benefit from the new federal infrastructure […]
Posted inTransportation
Buses in Lawrence moving to 30-minute frequency
BUSES IN LAWRENCE will operate every 30 minutes all day long on weekdays starting September 6 in a bid to provide more consistency for riders and reflect changing usage patterns. The greater frequency comes on the heels of a decision in March by the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority to go fare free across the […]
Posted inOpinion
In defense of autonomous vehicle law
A RECENT Barron’s article by the Brookings Institution’s Clifford Winston brought to mind two aphorisms: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,”and “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” Winston wrote to decry what he fears is the emergence of a new body of law, “autonomous vehicle law,” a broad […]
Posted inThe Download
Healey plans overhaul of MBTA management
Maura Healey, the lone Democratic candidate vying for governor, released a transportation plan on Tuesday that would overhaul top management at the MBTA, set aggressive electrification goals, and establish low-income fares “with a pathway to fare free buses.” The plan says Massachusetts cannot have a functioning economy without a functioning transportation system. “Right now, it […]
Posted inTransportation
Healey plans overhaul of MBTA management
MAURA HEALEY, the lone Democratic candidate vying for governor, released a transportation plan on Tuesday that would overhaul top management at the MBTA, set aggressive electrification goals, and establish low-income fares “with a pathway to fare free buses.” The plan says Massachusetts cannot have a functioning economy without a functioning transportation system. “Right now, it […]
Posted inTransportation
Orange Line shutdown to reverberate on roads
BAKER ADMINISTRATION officials said the upcoming month-long shutdown of the entire Orange Line and a chunk of the Green Line will affect not only transit riders but people coming in and out of the city by car. Officials said efforts to move the replacement shuttle buses along at faster speeds will mean the creation of […]
Posted inTransportation
FTA OKs T’s response to 2 safety directives
MBTA OFFICIALS said on Thursday that the Federal Transit Administration has approved the authority’s corrective action plans to deal with two of the federal agency’s safety directives and asked for additional work on the remaining two. Jeffrey Gonneville, the T’s deputy general manager, told a safety subcommittee of the MBTA board that the transit authority’s […]