Mas transportation boston code#
Mas transportation boston free#

The project includes transit-dependent but underserved communities in the Boston area. The MBTA will receive funding for the Boston Regional Transit Signal Priority Program to make transit service more reliable and efficient. “With President Biden’s investments in innovative technology, we’re helping communities make transportation safer and more efficient, particularly in places that haven’t received enough resources in the past.”

Mas transportation boston code#

“Your zip code shouldn’t determine whether you have access to safe, affordable transportation,” said U.S. ATTAIN program awards will go to eight projects around the country that bring innovative technology-based solutions to improve the travel experience for the millions of Americans using our highway and transit systems, with expanded eligibility for projects in communities that have previously lacked investments, including rural areas and areas of persistent poverty. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) will receive the grant for its Boston Regional Transit Signal Priority Program as part of a $52.78 million investment package under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration awarded Massachusetts a $2.96 million Advanced Transportation Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) program grant to improve transit reliability in the Boston area. In Massachusetts, we have the talent pool to attract new jobs - but we risk our quality of life if we have a failed public transportation system.įirst-term Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, a former city councilor, has spent nine years in elected office championing climate action and social justice including public transit initiatives.Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to receive grant under Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as part of $52.78 million investment package What happens if our state doesn’t have a world-class system? We not only risk economic stagnation, we will also fail to meet our climate, health, racial justice, and housing equity goals. Expanding existing rail lines and bus routes to encompass more communities would allow cities and towns to add affordable housing near new and existing transportation nodes. As mayor of a community with a growing number of employers, I constantly hear that the price of housing, along with congestion, makes metro Boston less attractive compared to peer regions such as Raleigh, N.C., or Austin, Texas. Public transportation can also help address the housing affordability crisis in Massachusetts. We need a faster trajectory on electrified regional rail, on linking the Red Line to the Blue Line, and on east-west rail to connect our regions if we are to move the needle on transportation emissions. The Green Line Extension is projected to take roughly 45,000 cars off the road each weekday, but this project took four decades to realize. The incoming Healey-Driscoll administration will need to address the root causes of labor attrition if the state truly hopes to restore public confidence and deliver essential services. Here in Massachusetts, the MBTA faces a 20 percent vacancy rate. The national advocacy organization TransitCenter recently published a report titled “ Bus Operators in Crisis,” which identifies livable wages, workplace safety, shift scheduling, and organizational culture as barriers to attracting and retaining workers for public transportation agencies. A first-in-class public transit system must have an internal focus, investing in the people who work there and instilling civic pride about the value the system has to our economy and communities. But today, chronic underfunding has caught up with us, and labor shortages threaten day-to-day operations as well as long-term planning. At the beginning of the pandemic, our society did a good job acknowledging the tremendous sacrifices made by our essential workers at the MBTA and the regional transit authorities.

We often forget that public transportation is operated and planned each day by human beings. We need this same kind of vision statewide.

Mas transportation boston free#

What we are talking about here is mobility equity - being free to travel when and where you need to at a price you can afford. When buses are running on time, most of our residents can get to grocery stores, schools, parks, and cultural and faith destinations with flexibility and confidence. But that goal requires not only high-functioning subway or rail service, but frequent and reliable MBTA bus service.