“Very” and “somewhat” responses are often grouped together, particularly when measuring support or opposition to a policy proposal or a public figure’s approval rating. But when it comes to safety, the question is whether feeling “somewhat safe” getting around is good enough?
Tracking Transportation
Keeping track of transportation
Posted inCriminal Justice
Case dismissed in MBTA Alewife Garage crash
The MBTA wanted criminal charges to be filed against a man who tried to drive his car off the roof of the MBTA’s Alewife Garage in February, but a judge on Monday dismissed the case prior to arraignment.
Posted inOpinion
I’ve seen the T recover twice in my lifetime
WITH DAILY NEWS of shocking and unacceptable conditions for T riders, there is a danger that people will conclude that failure is inevitable. However, I have seen the MBTA recover from desperately bad conditions at least twice in my lifetime. History shows that committed political leadership is the most important variable in making that happen. […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA says all GLX slow zones are eliminated
THE MBTA reported on Wednesday that all of the slow zones on the Green Line extension have been removed – good news that was surprisingly buried in a MassDOT press release about repairs being completed early on the Squires Bridge in Somerville. The T has taken a lot of heat for 3 mile-per-hour slow zones […]
Posted inTransportation
Eng follows ‘script’ on GLX slow zones
AT THE MBTA board of directors meeting on Thursday, General Manager Phillip Eng followed what has become a familiar script, focusing on the process of getting the T where he wants it to be rather than addressing head-on the setbacks afflicting the transit authority, which seem to be occurring on almost a weekly basis. The […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA employee indicted 6 years ago pleads guilty
An MBTA EMPLOYEE who was indicted and suspended six years ago for leveraging his job as a buyer to solicit kickbacks and illegal gifts pleaded guilty on Monday and was sentenced to a year in jail and required to pay restitution of $37,860. Timothy Dockery of Plymouth pleaded guilty to 13 charges related to misuse […]
Posted inTransportation
Wu names Mary Skelton Roberts to MBTA board
BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu went the safe route in picking the city’s representative on the MBTA board of directors, selecting Mary Skelton Roberts, a knowledgeable transportation expert who leans very much in the mayor’s direction. Roberts currently serves as a senior advisor to the Climate Beacon Project, and previously worked for the Energy Foundation and […]
Posted inOpinion
The MBTA is in crisis. Let’s treat it that way.
AT A CRITICAL moment in Shakespeare’s King Lear, the raging, aging king bellows into the fury of a great storm, defying nature to “Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage, blow! . . . spout till you have drenched our steeples.” He goes on a while in this manner, venting his anger against the treachery […]
Posted inTransportation
FTA issues new near-miss warning to MBTA
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FEDERAL REGULATORS once again ordered the MBTA to make immediate changes after a series of incidents in which employees narrowly avoided being struck by trains, a repeat of the same “near miss” issue that landed the T in the spotlight earlier this year. Warning that “a combination of unsafe conditions and […]
Posted inTransportation
How dissatisfied are riders with the T?
A NEW POLL indicates MBTA riders are not happy with the transit authority’s service, with the slow-zone plagued subway and trolley system receiving the worst marks. The poll of 1,000 Massachusetts residents in the MBTA service area found that nearly two-thirds were unimpressed with the subway and trolley system – 27 percent said its service […]