New MBTA personnel policies baked into the latest labor deal with its biggest union appear to be yielding early results, though the agency still has a long way to go to hit workforce targets essential to improving service.
The proposal’s final passage is far from assured, but details are emerging about possible impacts in Massachusetts from a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that could get a U.S. Senate vote later this week.
The state’s biggest mass transit agency will be known by a different letter for a little while.
There are 300,000 more vehicles on the road than five years ago. The result? Bottlenecks on highways and local roads throughout the region. It’s clear that creative solutions, big and small, are needed to address congestion.
If the MBTA wants to expand or electrify its bus fleet, which carries one in three of its riders and on which many have pinned their hopes for congestion-defeating transit improvements, it needs to come up with around $1 billion or more. Commercial real estate development could provide that cash, a new report suggests.
Restrictive procurement requirements and a lack of high-level staffing for capital projects hamstring the MBTA’s ability to deliver much-needed improvements, according to a new report.
The MBTA is struggling to deliver satisfactory service within its core area, but lawmakers are poised to ask the transit authority to study more expansion.
In the face of systemic problems, Gov. Charlie Baker is trying to accelerate capital spending at the MBTA, and has asked lawmakers to allocate $50 million to help with that effort. But like frustrated riders, many lawmakers are concerned about the pace of MBTA improvements under Baker’s watch.
A new poll shows state leaders need to offer a vision of a future transit system around which they can rally the public as they try to sell increases on taxes and fees for public transit.
