MBTA Launches ‘Don’t Touch The Driver’ Campaign

There have been 28 reported assaults on MBTA employees during the first four months of 2013.

The MBTA wants the public to know that if they attack a driver while working, there will be serious consequences. The MBTA’s new “Don’t Touch The Driver” public relations campaign features posters on the ceilings and backs of chairs inside buses depicting hands in handcuffs and messages warning that an attacker will be sought after, arrested and prosecuted. “Violence toward a bus driver is against the law,” one poster says. “We will prosecute.” The campaign, which includes a new recorded message issued by T General Manager Beverly Scott at T stations issued, follows the most recent attack, which took place in Dorchester where a group of teenagers flagged down a bus and then proceeded to attack the driver. There have been 28 reported …

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Wounded Woburn MBTA Officer in the Thoughts and Prayers of Residents

Donohue was injured in the Watertown gunfight early Friday morning during the hunt for the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects.

Outpouring of Support from Woburn for MBTA Officer Richard Donohue

Donohue was injured in the Watertown gunfight early Friday morning during the hunt for the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects.

There has been outpouring of support, thoughts and prayers for MBTA Police Officer Richard Donohue, of Woburn, who was injured in a shoot-out Thursday night with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. Donohue, 33, is a Winchester native who recently moved to Woburn with his wife and 7-month-old son. He has been a member of the MBTA Transit Police for three years. In a statement released by his family earlier today, they said Donohue remains in serious condition at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge. "We thank the people of Boston and the nation for the prayers and support they are sending to Richard and to our family," the family statement says. "Please continue to pray for Richard, a wonderful father, husband, son and brother, and a …

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Several MBTA Services Suspended Following Marathon Explosion

Some T stations in the downtown area have been temporarily suspended.

  MBTA T service in downtown Boston is in varying stages of suspension as emergency crews respond to the aftermath of at least two explosions at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon. The MBTA’s Green Line service between Kenmore and Park Street stations has been shut down as of 3:30 p.m. today, although Green Line service will continue to run between Lechmere and North Station, according to MBTA.com. Both the Green Line's B and C services have been temporarily suspended, and the D line is only running from Riverside to Fenway. The Green Line's E service is still running between Northeastern and Brigham Circle. Customers who need service between Brigham Circle and Health Street are being asked to use the Route 39 bus. In addition, …

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Mass. Tax Plans: Too Much, Too Soon? Or Too Little, Too Slow?

Should the state forge ahead with Gov. Deval Patrick's bold plan to invest now? Or should it follow the Legislature leadership's proposal to address the bottom line before embarking on bigger initiatives?

Massachusetts legislators this week answered Gov. Deval Patrick's ambitious plan to raise $1.9 billion for transportation and education with a $500 million plan of their own, which says the governor is asking for too much, too soon as the Bay State shakes off the effects of the Great Recession. Who's right? Should the state forge ahead in a bold plan to invest now? Or should it cautiously address the bottom line before embarking on bigger initiatives? While Patrick's plan includes funding for both the state transportation system and increased education funding from preschool through college, House and Senate lawmakers eschew new revenue for education, focusing solely on closing the transportation budget gap over the next five years. The …

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Andrew Sylvia

9:26 pm on Tuesday, April 9, 2013

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Survey: Riders Want Late-Night MBTA Service

The Boston Globe reports that 85 percent of those who responded to a survey on late-night MBTA service would be willing to wait at least 10 to 19 minutes for a bus or train.

  A recent survey confirms what most of Boston was already thinking: residents want late-night MBTA service. The Boston Globe reported last Friday that about 26,000 people responded to a survey saying they are in favor of late-night bus or train service in Boston. More than 85 percent of respondents said they would be willing to wait 10 to 19 minutes for a late-night bus or train, and half said they’d pay double the fare, according to the Globe. As MBTA officials scramble to close a $117 budget gap for fiscal year 2014, and legislators mull Gov. Deval Patrick’s 21st Century Transportation Plan, the T has said it is not making late-night service a priority. MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said in a Feb. 21 email that, until the state decides to…

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MBTA Could Raise Fares, Defer Maintenance

Without additional funding, MBTA officials are forced to make difficult choices.

  MBTA riders could see fares go up in the not-so-distant future if legislators don’t accept Gov. Deval Patrick’s ambitious funding plan. T General Manager Beverley Scott said Tuesday the T will likely hold off on spending $45 million for preventative maintenance and hike fares to close a projected budget gap of $117 million, factoring in increased ridership and advertising this year, the Boston Globe reported Wednesday. Director of Strategic Initiatives for the MBTA Charles Planck said at a March 5 MBTA finance committee meeting that fare increases could go up 33 percent under the proposal, which means subway fares would move up from $2 to $2.60. Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary and CEO Richard Davey testified before …

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Earnhardt

9:05 am on Friday, March 22, 2013

Lets see. hike fares, put none of that hike into upgrades and "preventative maintenance", and they still have a "budget gap" of 117 million? who exactly is driving this train?   more ›

Faster Wi-Fi Could Come to Commuter Rail, Ferry Service

The MBTA launched a wireless internet program at some locations and on certain cars in 2008. The transit system is now looking for a sponsor to upgrade the product at no cost to the T.

The MBTA wants to upgrade its wireless Internet service, but without spending precious tax dollars. The Boston area transit system is seeking sponsorship proposals to provide upgraded wi-fi service on commuter rail cars, ferries and select commuter rail stations, according to an MBTA press statement in early March. “The MBTA’s goal is to upgrade the current WIFI service to a system wide, state of the art standard, at no cost to the MBTA and its riders,” the statement says. Woburn residents can catch the commuter rail at Anderson Station. The sponsorship opportunity would provide the sponsor with marketing rights such as “signage and advertising in commuter rail stations, cars and ferry facilities; corporate presence on MBTA commuter rail …

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MassDOT Secy. on Transportation: ‘People Want More’

At the hearing, State Transportation Secretary Richard Davey outlined some aspects of Gov. Deval Patrick’s 10-year transportation budget plan, and included the need for new revenues.

  The state transportation secretary answered legislator’s questions regarding the Green Line Extension and South Coast Rail projects, MBTA infrastructure and maintenance issues and how an ambitious 10-year budget plan will handle all of it. Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary and CEO Richard Davey testified before the Joint Committee on Transportation Tuesday morning. He was there to more formally present Gov. Deval Patrick’s 21st Century Transportation Plan which calls for a $13 billion investment over the next decade. The hearing focused on finding new revenue that could be put toward ailing infrastructure, and sought after rail projects. “People want more, not less, of our product,” Davey began, “but the current system…

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