MBTA
Paying With Their Time: Increasing Traffic Congestion Erodes Benefits of Boston’s Fare-Free Buses
Mayor Wu's press office avoided several inquiries from StreetsblogMASS to discuss the worsening delays in MBTA bus service over the course of her first term.
November 19, 2025
Off Campus: Students Are Boosting Public Transit as Key to Affordability
One constituency is doubling-down on its support, even, in one recent case, taxing itself to bolster service.
June 12, 2025
The T’s New 5-Year Capital Budget Puts Climate Progress In A Slow Zone
The MBTA’s struggles aren’t just stranding riders: they’re also undermining the Commonwealth’s plans to address the climate emergency.
May 4, 2023
Meet Phillip Eng, Boston Transit’s New Boss With a Big Job Ahead
A late-pandemic, early-Anthropocene April evening on the Boston waterfront: along Long Wharf, the outdoor patios were full and raucous for an unseasonably warm happy hour. Brisk-walking commuters hustled onto the 6:10 ferry to Hingham, while a smaller, more relaxed group of middle-aged people milled around the dock and asked passerby if they were in the […]
April 17, 2023
The T’s ‘Fare Transformation’ Project Is Transforming Into A Boondoggle
“There are a thousand things that need to fixed and the fare collection system is not one of them.”
March 28, 2023
Gov. Healey’s Job #1 for the T: Better Union Contracts
One of the MBTA’s challenges has been the severe shortage of workers to keep its sprawling, aging system running. Will a new governor fix that?
January 26, 2023
Bus Driver Shortage Is Getting Even Worse
After a year of intensified recruiting efforts, nearly one in four bus operator positions at the MTBA remains unfilled.
January 20, 2023
Riders Are Skeptical That This Election Will Make Much Difference at the T
Among the riders we met at downtown subway stations and bus stops on Monday afternoon, it was hard to find anyone for whom transit service would be a major issue at the polls.
November 7, 2022
Feds’ Safety Review Could Impact Local Governance Over the T
An “extremely concerned” federal agency will increase its oversight over the the T, and advocates worry that the move could severely constrain the T’s ability to plan for its future. “The potential is basically a federal takeover where suits from D.C. basically come in to run the place,” warns Brian Kane, the Executive Director of […]
May 10, 2022
A Fix for Chronic Transit Funding Shortfalls Could Be Up To the Voters This Fall
It’s become an annual rite of spring: transit agencies across Massachusetts are examining blooms of red ink in their budgets for the next fiscal year, and wondering whether state lawmakers will step in and give them the funding they need to avoid service cuts. This year, though, voters may be able to take matters into […]
April 1, 2022
