Monday, May 20, 2013
The new system will provide more detailed service alert information via text and email.
The MBTA is rolling out an entirely new alerts system next month which includes changes from the details provided in alert messages to a visual website enhancement. Through the new system, which goes into effect June 4, users can opt to receive email or text alerts for a late bus or train or a service interruption, much like the old system. However, the new alerts “will be clearer and more detailed with additional information regarding specific trip times, service schedule changes, and distinct directional, branch and station communications,” according to anMBTA press statement released Thursday. MBTA Deputy Press Secretary Kelly Smith further explained the new system in an email to Patch: "It’s built around a core of GTFS data. GTFS, or…
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
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 …
Friday, May 3, 2013
Richard “Dic” Donohue, the transit police officer injured in the aftermath of the Marathon bomber manhunt, has taken to the MBTA Transit Police blog to thank the public for its support.
MBTA Police Officer Richard “Dic” Donohue is thankful to be alive. He was injured in the early morning hours of the gun battle that played out in Watertown April 19 in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings. Donohue posted a blog on the MBTA Transit Police website remarking about his “miraculous” recovery and thanking the public for their concerns and prayers. Here is the post in its entirety: I cannot begin to properly thank everyone involved in my recovery, as many fearless individuals stepped up and acted heroically that night. To start I must thank my brothers from the Transit, Boston, Harvard, Watertown, Cambridge and State Police, as well as fire department personnel and the various other first responders, all of whom put …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The T is running close to normal Wednesday, but Copley Station remains closed.
A 12-block downtown triangle continues to be closed to the public following the Marathon Monday bombings.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
The submitted budget closes the 2014 gap, but without more funding riders could pay.
Though the submitted MBTA budget for the next fiscal year has been approved, it assumes additional funding will close the $118 million gap. The MBTA’s fiscal year 2014 $1.86 billion budget was approved at a meeting of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Board of Directors Wednesday. The budget relies on either Gov. Deval Patrick’s “The Way Forward” transportation plan, which would pump $1 billion in revenues into the system by way of fare increases, fees and tax hikes, or another plan from either the House of Representatives, the Senate or both. If Patrick's plan is approved, the T will have a 5 percent fare increase next year to keep pace with inflation. If the plan is not approved by July 1, fare increases could go up to the …
Monday, April 15, 2013
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, the …
Normal Green, Orange and Red line service resumed with 'significant residual delays' late Monday following the explosions at the Boston Marathon.
The Green Line's Copley station will remain closed on Tuesday following Monday's bombing at the Boston marathon finish line. All other regular T service has resumed on the MBTA's Green, Orange and Red lines, effective around 5:45 p.m. on Monday, according to MBTA.com. Park Street and Downtown Crossing stations have reopened. MBTA T service in downtown Boston was suspended on several lines Monday afternoon as emergency crews responded to the scene in Copley Square where two explosions occurred shortly after 2 p.m. The MBTA’s Green Line service between Kenmore and Park Street stations was shut down around 3:30 p.m. Monday, although Green Line service continued to run between Lechmere and North Station. Both the Green Line's B and C services…
Friday, April 12, 2013
State lawmakers have proposed four ways to fund transportation going forward.
Officials, legislators and members of the public have debated four plans unveiled during the course of the past two months all with one goal: Paying for transportation in Massachusetts for the foreseeable future. Writers of these plans are trying to find ways to pump as much money as possible into the system, while trying to avoid dramatic fare increases, tax hikes and fees. These are the plans in chronological order based on the time of their announcements: Writer: Gov. Deval Patrick, Mass. Department of Transportation Money: $1 billion Date of Announcement: Jan. 14, 2013 Gov. Deval Patrick unleashed “The Way Forward: A 21st Century Transportation Plan” in Januray. The plan is an ambitious, multi-billion dollar budgetary proposal for …
Thursday, March 28, 2013
The number of fare evaders caught this year is slightly less than over the same period last year.
If you’ve ever thought about jumping those MBTA gates to catch a bus, it’s likely you’ll get hit with a fine for evading the fare. MBTA police have issued 1,231 evasion citations system wide so far in 2013, as of Monday, according to MBTA detective Richard Sullivan. Over the same period last year, the MBTA issued 1,267 citations. The fine for a first-time fare evader is $50, according to Sullivan; future offenses could be as high as $500, according to the law. Operation Fare Game, the MBTA’s initiative to enforce fare laws on the T, from time to time leads to arrests. Christian Fitzgerald, 23, of Roxbury was arrested March 22 after he attempted to dodge a fare at Downtown Crossing by entering through the exit-only gate, according to a …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
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 and Brookline was already thinking: residents want late-night MBTA service. The Boston Globe reported Friday that about 26,000 people responded to a survey saying they are in favor of late-night bus or train service in Boston and Brookline. 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…
MoonBeamWatcher
5:04 pm on Tuesday, May 7, 2013
O my Gosh . . . the "T" is going to enFarce the LAW. What a CONCEPT! more ›