Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt found herself in an unfortunate political firestorm last week thanks to her willingness to say the truth: We should give a hard look at adding tolls to other highways in Massachusetts.
The MBTA Board voted unanimously Thursday to extend the contract for the commuter rail network’s operator for one year to mid-2027 to give agency staff more time to work.
As the transportation secretary’s recent comments about imposing tolls for drivers crossing into Massachusetts continue to attract fire from political adversaries and a conservative watchdog group, they have also won a measure of support from one of the most powerful lawmakers on Beacon Hill.
Using frank language rarely heard on Beacon Hill, Tibbits-Nutt weighed in on a series of major policy issues, from raising more money for transportation, to traffic enforcement and a major unresolved design question for the MBTA’s in-planning West Station.
When he was announced last spring as the new general manager for the much-assailed transit agency, Phil Eng declared that it was “time for a new way of doing business at the MBTA.”
After previously delaying the start of South Coast Rail passenger service by about six months, MBTA officials now say they are reassessing the schedule and do not have an updated timeline to share.
House Democrats want to inject hundreds of millions of new dollars into the MBTA, calling for a sharp increase in operating budget support and funding for new initiatives such as a hiring and training program.
A deal with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation moved the 1.3 million-square-foot redevelopment of the MBTA’s Back Bay station property closer to groundbreaking.
Massachusetts recently won critical federal financial help for two huge infrastructure projects. But key to that was having projects that were shovel-ready, and few of the other projects we need to build are in a similar state.
The MBTA has made significant progress at hiring new employees in recent months, but analysts still see “considerable obstacles” in the path ahead, especially given the added costs of building out the workforce.
With ancient Red Line trains and not enough Orange Line trains causing reliability problems, MBTA officials opted to accelerate deliveries.
Electrification of the MBTA’s commuter rail lines has been a long-held dream for developers, riders and transit advocates, alike. And Boston residents could be first in line for a preview of what it could look like.
A $335 million federal funding award clears a “major, major hurdle” for an infrastructure megaproject in Allston that will provide long-awaited access to the Charles River waterfront and push the state closer to a westward passenger rail expansion, a top state official said Wednesday.
The recent news that Massachusetts will receive a $335 million infrastructure grant for the Allston Multimodal Project is a massive victory for the Greater Boston economy.
MBTA budget-writers will attempt to balance the agency’s books next year by trimming spending on consultants and delaying lower-priority purchases, taking aim at a $93 million budget gap, officials said Thursday.
The dream of frequent, electrified suburban trains in Greater Boston has long seemed perennially on the horizon. Could this time be different? Indications are, yes. And housing developers should start keeping an eye on the project.
We’ve seen many blue-ribbon commissions on transportation before. But this time, everyone knows that failure to find solutions means the MBTA – and the Greater Boston economy – will be in jeopardy.
The MBTA wants to extend the SL3 service on its Silver Line bus rapid transit network from Chelsea to Everett and Boston’s Sullivan Square.
The Healey administration’s new Transportation Funding Task Force will be “looking at everything – congestion pricing, tolling, every single option there is” for state funding of roads and transit, the group’s chair said
Gov. Maura Healey’s task force on funding transportation in Massachusetts hasn’t even met yet, but already ideas being explored by researchers retained by the MBTA hint at the solutions Healey’s task force could generate.
