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A WRTA bus in front of City Hall in downtown Worcester. Courtesy of WRTA.

COVID-19 Crisis Stretches Small Transit Providers Thinner

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 19, 2020 | No Comments

Years of service cutbacks have made it difficult for Regional Transit Authorities to adjust their schedules without seriously impacting the ability of transit-dependent residents to get to their service jobs or access vital services.

An outbound MBTA Fairmount Line train stops at the Talbot Avenue station in December 2012. Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Reduced Commuter Rail Schedules Leave Health Care Workers in the Lurch

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 17, 2020 | No Comments

For many hospital workers who work 12-hour shifts that start at 7 a.m., the new commuter rail schedules have eliminated transit as a commuting option.

An MBTA Route 111 bus bound for Haymarket Station uses the new inbound bus lane on North Washington Street on October 9, 2019.

T Data Suggest Service Cuts Will Increase COVID-19 Risks for Low-Income Riders

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 17, 2020 | No Comments

Ridership has dropped systemwide, but key bus routes that serve lower-income neighborhoods remain busy.

Two Silver Line buses pass each other on the dedicated busway in Chelsea. Photo courtesy of the MBTA.

MBTA Will Reduce Service in Response to COVID-19

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 16, 2020 | No Comments

The MBTA has announced that it will reduce subway, bus, and commuter rail services effective Tuesday, March 17 in an effort to reduce the risks of COVID-19 exposure to its employees and riders. In a press statement, MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak wrote that “the MBTA plays an important role in slowing the spread of […]

City of Boston planner Lindiwe Rennert (center) discusses the city's plans to set aside dedicated bus lanes for Blue Hill Avenue, home to the state's busiest bus route, at a project open house on Thursday, March 5, 2020.

‘Public Process’ Without Public Meetings

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 16, 2020 | No Comments

As cities and towns across Massachusetts embrace increasingly strict “social distancing” measures to try and slow the spread of COVID-19, hundreds of public meetings across the state are being cancelled and major public planning initiatives have been put on hold while governments scramble to address the mounting public health crisis. Spring is typically a busy […]

A rendering of the proposed Quincy/Bow/Dewolfe bikeway, which would create a bi-directional bike facility between the Charles riverfront and Cambridge Street. Courtesy of the City of Cambridge.

Harvard To Get 2 Upgraded Bikeways In 2020

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 13, 2020 | 1 Comment

In two separate but linked projects, the city is making plans for upgraded bike lanes on Mount Auburn Street from John F. Kennedy Street to Massachusetts Avenue and a new bi-directional bikeway on Quincy, Bow, and DeWolfe Streets.

MBTA staff disinfect fare gates in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 and other viruses in early March 2020. Courtesy of the MBTA.

Public Transit and Public Health

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 12, 2020 | No Comments

The new Coronavirus (COVID-19) started having a major impact on civic life in the Commonwealth this week: public agencies are cancelling meetings, universities are sending students home, traffic congestion has evaporated, and the MBTA started taking additional measures to disinfect stations and vehicles. These are still early days in the transmission of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, […]

Livablestreets Report Keeps ‘Go Boston 2030’ on the Agenda, Not on a Shelf

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 11, 2020 | No Comments

In a new report released this morning, the LivableStreets Alliance says that Boston is making good progress on improving street safety, but by and large has yet to make significant progress on its ambitions to reduce traffic and air pollution by increasing biking, walking and transit use. Go Boston 2030, the city’s long-term transportation plan, […]

A diagram of the bolster and truck frame assembly under new Orange Line train cars, from a January 2020 Fiscal and Management Control Board presentation.

MBTA Board Update: More Bolster Banes on New Orange Trains

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 10, 2020 | No Comments

New Orange Line Cars will be out of service indefinitely while their manufacturer addresses more issues with a component on the trains' wheel assemblies..

A Forest Hills-bound bus bypasses morning traffic on Washington Street in Roslindale. Photo courtesy of the City of Boston.

Boston Is Still the Title Town For Worst Traffic

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 9, 2020 | No Comments

INRIX has released its annual traffic scorecard - but some important caveats apply to their methodology.

A map illustrates one of 11 design options under analysis for the "Connect Downtown" project to improve bike and pedestrian connections into and across downtown Boston. Option 1-A would create a separated bike facilities running counter-clockwise around the Public Garden, and a new southbound protected bike lane on Tremont Street downtown. Map courtesy of the City of Boston; photo by Elena Huisman.

City Wants You To Weigh In: What’s the Best Way To ‘Connect Downtown’?

By Elena Huisman | Mar 6, 2020 | No Comments

On Thursday evening, the City of Boston’s Transportation Department revealed conceptual designs for pedestrian improvements and high-quality bikeways across the Common and downtown Boston at an open house for its “Connect Downtown” project. “Connect Downtown” aims to extend the Southwest Corridor that runs from Forest Hills to Back Bay and connects Jamaica Plain and Roxbury […]

A City of Boston rendering illustrates the center-running bus lane concept for Blue Hill Avenue near Walk Hill Street. Under the plan, bus lanes and dedicated stations would run in the middle of the street, away from double-parked cars and turning vehicles. Pedestrian crossings would also be significantly shorter. Courtesy of the City of Boston.

Boston Pitches Major Transit-Focused Redesign For Blue Hill Ave.

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 5, 2020 | 2 Comments

Because the vast majority of Blue Hill Avenue's neighbors identify as people of color, the addition of high-quality bus lanes and stations could offer a major improvement to inequities in the city's bus network, where black bus riders currently spend, on average, 64 more hours every year traveling than white bus riders.

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