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Mar 24, 2023 | 
commonwealthmagazine.org | Chris Lisinski |Chinmai Deo |Johannes Epke
THE MBTA IS offering signing bonuses and other perks to fill the many job openings at the agency. Now the transit authority is tweaking its retirement benefits to better retain existing workers, attract new ones, and even bring some out of retirement. With the T desperately short of workers, the moves represent something of a reversal by the agency, which in recent years has tried to rein in what critics have long said were overly generous retirement benefits.
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Mar 23, 2023 | 
commonwealthmagazine.org | Chris Lisinski |Chinmai Deo |Johannes Epke
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEMBTA OFFICIALS estimated Thursday they would need at least a year and about $5 million to get a widespread low-income fare option off the ground, plus tens of millions of dollars per year to cover its recurring costs. The startup price - which would effectively mirror money Gov.
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Mar 23, 2023 | 
commonwealthmagazine.org | Chinmai Deo |Johannes Epke |John MacDougall
THE NUMBER of riders taking the MBTA declined significantly during COVID, but their demographic makeup also changed, shifting far more toward minorities and people with lower incomes. A new passenger study conducted by the MBTA found that minorities, those who self-identify as Hispanic, Latino or Latina, or a race other than white, accounted for 34 percent of T riders in the period from 2015 to 2017. In 2022, however, that percentage had risen to 58 percent.
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Mar 23, 2023 | 
commonwealthmagazine.org | Chinmai Deo |Johannes Epke |John MacDougall
INTERIM MBTA General Manager Jeffrey Gonneville on Thursday offered no timeline on when slow zones covering 27 percent of the subway system will be lifted, and said repair work will take place at nights when the system is shut down, on weekends, and in some cases by shutting down portions of subway lines at 8 or 9 p.m. Gonneville placed speed restrictions on the entire subway system on March 9 after T officials discovered a breakdown in the required documentation for addressing rail defects...
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Mar 19, 2023 | 
commonwealthmagazine.org | Chinmai Deo |Johannes Epke |John MacDougall
THE MBTA announced Sunday night that the universal speed restriction on the Green Line has been lifted, which means the precautionary go-slow policy the transit authority put in place across the entire subway system March 9 has finally run its course.
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Mar 19, 2023 | 
commonwealthmagazine.org | Geoff Foster |Jim Jordan |David Ehrens |Chinmai Deo
COMMON CAUSE MASSACHUSETTS is committed to fighting for a more transparent and open government. That's why we're celebrating Sunshine Week, which just concluded, by shining a light on ways Massachusetts could strengthen our Public Records Law and Open Meeting Law. Massachusetts is known for our many history-making firsts.
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Mar 18, 2023 | 
commonwealthmagazine.org | Jim Jordan |David Ehrens |Chinmai Deo |Johannes Epke
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Mar 18, 2023 | 
commonwealthmagazine.org | Jim Jordan |David Ehrens |Chinmai Deo |Johannes Epke
IN THE WORLD of policing, what do waiting for nature to call to a drunken - and disruptive - Red Sox fan, taking a measured approach to car stops, and calmly engaging someone who is illegally selling loose cigarettes all have in common? They use the resource of time to achieve a desired outcome with the least chance of a situation spiraling into unnecessary violence or, at worst, fatal tragedy.
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Mar 18, 2023 | 
commonwealthmagazine.org | David Ehrens |Chinmai Deo |Johannes Epke |John MacDougall
In a recent piece in Commonwealth, Adam Hinds argues that "Strengthening democracy takes compromise..."Well, of course it does. Citing "hyper-partisan invective," Hinds points to a lack of compromise for the rapid decline of democracy we are now witnessing. Marriage, too, requires compromise. But when even one partner in a marriage betrays or abuses and then lies about it, compromise is the least of that couple's worries.
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Mar 18, 2023 | 
commonwealthmagazine.org | Chinmai Deo |Johannes Epke |John MacDougall |Chris Lisinski
IN THE TRANSPORTATION SECTOR, there is an urgent need to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and to reduce inequities in access to clean, reliable and affordable transportation.To do this, we must make major improvements in the MBTA's facilities and services, specifically by immediately building the required infrastructure for bus and rail electrification, along with rapid implementation of other aspects of regional rail, especially frequent all-day service.Doing this...
