Monday, February 25, 2013
Due to the strain on resources, the MBTA has no plans as of now to extend service hours despite massive local interest.
The days of the Night Owl bus service are long gone, and as of now, they may not return. MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said until the state implements Gov. Deval Patrick’s recent 21st Century Plan transportation budget roll out, late night service is out of the question. “Given the enormous strain on the MBTA’s limited resources, the Authority cannot even consider an extension of service hours before action is taken on the 21st Century Transportation Plan,” Pesaturo wrote in an email. The Night Owl bus service, which ran buses from the end of service at 1 a.m. to 2:30 a.m., existed between 2001 and 2005, but was too costly to maintain. Another major issue working against late night service is the short time it allows for crews to perform …
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Regularly scheduled service should resume by Monday, according to MBTA.com.
Most MBTA services, including the commuter rail and bus services in Melrose, will remain suspended Sunday. However, a few services are coming back on-line for limited service. Looking to take the Green Line or the commuter rail in the Newton area? Well, you may want to keep shoveling out that car (or call a cab). Starting at 2 p.m., limited subway and bus service will run on the Red, Orange and Blue lines between Orient Heights and Government Center, and the Green Line between Kenmore and Lechmere, according to MBTA.com/weather. Limited bus service will also operate on the 1, 23, 28, 39, and Silver Line Washington Street only. Customers are encouraged to stay home and "use service sparingly," if possible, the website said. Commuter rail …
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Would you use later subway service? Hate it? State transportation officials are considering plans that would extend most weekend MBTA subway services to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday
It's a complaint we've all heard about the local nightlife: the country's oldest subway system doesn't run much later than 12:30 a.m., even on the weekend. But WCVB-TV reports that could all change for riders this year, thanks to a pilot program proposed by state transportation officials that would keep the T open until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights. "If additional operating funds are identified, major bus routes and the most heavily traveled portions of the subway and light rail systems will be considered as part of a pilot program," MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said in a statement. The changes would require legislative approval and a likely tax or fee increase, according to the report. You can read details about other proposals, …
Monday, January 21, 2013
A new device will be distributed to conductors on MBTA conductors that will give them real-time information about trains all across the rail system.
A new pilot program being dubbed “Conductor Companion” is being unveiled on the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s commuter rail system, putting complete details about train services across the system in the hands of conductors. The Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR), the contractor that runs the commuter railroad for the MBTA, made the announcement on Monday. Essentially it is a unique mobile application that will allow conductors on the MBTA commuter rail system to receive real-time information about service for the first time. “The speed of technology today demands an application that gives conductors the information they need and that customers want,” said Gillian Wood, MBCR’s chief customer service officer in Monday…
Friday, January 18, 2013
The board of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation released its 21st Century Transportation Plan, which outlines the state’s budgetary needs over the course of the next 10 years and beyond.
With infrastructure in need of repairs and the major city transit system steeped in billions of dollars of debt, the state may need to increase revenue from car registrations, license renewals, taxes and tolls. The Board of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation released its 21st Century Transportation Plan Monday, which calls for a $13 billion overall investment in state transportations systems over the next decade. The breakdown is as follows, according to a statement associated with the plan released by Transportation Secretary and CEO Richard A. Davey: To raise the necessary funds these recommendations will include an increase in the gas tax, payroll tax, sales tax or income tax; a new green fee on vehicle registrations; a …
Thursday, December 27, 2012
According to figures released Wednesday, MBTA ridership increased for the 20th time in 22 months, with specific increases on subway lines.
People continue to use the MBTA despite mid-year fare hikes. According to figures released by Beverly Scott, general manager of the MBTA, monthly ridership increased for the 20th time in the last 22 months in November. Daily ridership for November increased by 1.3 percent over November 2011, and averaged 1.329 million passenger trips per weekday, according to an accompanying MBTA statement Wednesday. The increase “continued the MBTA’s trend of modest ridership growth despite the fare increase implemented in July,” Scott said in the statement. There was marked growth on the Red, Orange and Blue subway lines, which grew 5.6 percent in November. Originally, MBTA officials projected subway ridership to drop of 5.3 percent, the statement said. …
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The MBTA’s new general manager greeted T riders Monday morning and announced new countdown clocks at stations around the area.
Several T stations got new countdown clocks on the same day the MBTA announced its new general manager. MBTA General Manager and Rail & Transit Administrator for MassDOT Beverly Scott greeted riders on the Blue Line platform at State Station and on the Orange Line to Chinatown Station Monday morning, while the T put online countdown clocks at 24 stations, according to an MBTA press statement. There are now 190 clocks at 30 MBTA stations, with a majority of them servicing the Red, Orange and Blue lines, according to the statement. The clocks inform customers how long it will be before the next train arrives at a given stop. Clocks are currently on the at the Community College and Sullivan Square stations. They're tentatively scheduled to be…
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Buses will replace Orange Line trains between Sullivan Square and Oak Grove MBTA stations beginning 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14 through Sunday, Dec. 16.
Buses will replace Orange Line trains between Sullivan Square and Oak Grove MBTA stations beginning 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14 through Sunday, Dec. 16. All shuttle bus stops are accessible for persons with disabilities. Shuttles have been replacing T service starting at 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday from Sullivan Square to Oak Grove. That schedule will end Dec. 28.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
A national organization of state transportation officials awarded the Massachusetts DOT with a high safety honor for highways. But does MBTA need to make the T safer?
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is now nationally recognized for higway safety leadership after receiving an award Tuesday. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials has given MassDOT its 2012 Safety Leadership Award for “taking significant action” in reducing highway fatalities an injuries, according to a MassDOT statement. While the organization was recognized for highway safety, its public transportation sector experienced two negative incidents last week. A Green Line trolley collided with another trolley at Boylston Street Station last week sending passengers flying, and police are still searching for a man who struck a trolley operator at Fenway Station on Sunday. Do you feel MassDOT is …
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Police are looking for a suspect in an attack on a Green Line trolley operator, but one T spokesman says altercations involving T operators are rare.
A Green Line T operator was assaulted over the weekend, and while police engage in a search for the suspect, one MBTA official says attacks on public transit operators are rare. “Assaults on operators are not common, but unfortunately, they do occur from time to time,” MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo wrote in an email to Patch. Fenway-Kenmore Patch reported Monday a suspect punched a female trolley driver at the Fenway stop Sunday afternoon. The operator was OK, according to the story. Pesaturo did not elaborate on measures taken by MBTA to reduce the likelihood of such incidents, but he did write that the MBTA at times looks outside of Boston for answers. “Such assaults occur at transit systems all over the country, and the MBTA talks about …
Hector
12:53 pm on Monday, February 25, 2013
Less service and more cost to working people. The Deval Patrick standard since he was first elected. more ›