Across the U.S., transit agencies often roll out deep service cuts under the guise of “temporary” service adjustments. Sadly, these cuts are rarely reversed. Whether it’s cutting late-night bus routes, lower-ridership subway lines or historic trolley networks, these services almost never return, especially in times of a budget crisis, because it’s far easier to stop […]

As the MBTA’s governing board gets ready to vote on a dramatic austerity package for the Boston region’s transit services, independent advocacy groups and business organizations are diving into the T’s budget numbers and raising doubts about the agency’s budget projections, and whether service cuts are really necessary.

A look at how transit measures did around the country

Wellesley is the kind of place lots of people would love to call home – it’s got great schools, beautiful parks, and three commuter rail stations that give the town’s residents an easy 45-minute ride into downtown Boston. Unfortunately, Wellesley’s town government has enacted policies that make it almost impossible for ordinary people to move […]

The switch to all-renewable electricity, which would take effect on January 1, 2021, will immediately slash the T's carbon footprint by 36 percent.

On Monday evening, seven of nine Cambridge city councilors voted to enact a suite of proposed amendments to the city’s year-old Cycling Safety Ordinance and set a 2026 deadline for a large suite of protected bike lane projects across the city. The 7-1 vote (Councilor Toomey voted against the ordinance, and Councilor Simmons merely voted […]

Like far too many traditions under COVID, the annual Bay State Bike Month was postponed and reimagined this year. Typically scheduled in May to coincide with the start of peak cycling season, Bike Month officially started on September 1 and people across Massachusetts are encouraged to join events that are largely virtual. But this year, […]

Student transportation is one of the largest budget expenses for the Boston Public Schools –  and the expense and logistics of busing students is likely to be even more daunting this year, with increased physical distancing requirements from the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, many students who traditionally take buses live within walking distance to their assigned […]

Bikeshare systems across North America have been adding thousands of pedal-assist electric bikes to their fleets this summer, but the Bluebikes system of greater Boston won't be embracing this new technology anytime soon.

Earlier this summer, the City of Boston published the results of its 2019 bike counts, an annual tally of bike traffic that’s conducted every June and September. And while the city is busy building new bike infrastructure in an effort to increase the number of bike trips people make across the city, the 2019 counts […]

While the Massachusetts State House ponders significant reforms to fare enforcement on the MBTA, and – in separate legislation – to policing in general, the MBTA’s in-house police force faces a reckoning. The Transit Police attracted intense criticism earlier this summer for their closures of downtown subway stations during Black Lives Matter protests and for […]

Like many parking lots, the dead-end alleyway on Foster Street in the North End is easy to overlook. It’s the kind of place that few people care about: a dead-end alleyway with trash collecting in its corners and about 18 cars parked haphazardly among its potholes. But unlike most parking lots, this small plot of […]