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Boston's Morning Newsletter
Who were the biggest winners from the MBTA shutdowns? A new report breaks it down
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“Was it worth it?” That’s what the group TransitMatters is asking about the past year of painful MBTA shutdowns.
After all, not every big MBTA closure has turned out to be fruitful. So, after the MBTA declared victory upon ridding the system of all slow zones this winter, TransitMatters decided to factcheck the data.
In a new analysis, they found most MBTA lines did actually get faster.
”You really just have to tip your cap to the T,” TransitMatters lab team member Seth Kaplan told WBUR’s Stevee Chapman.
But don’t worry, you curmudgeonly Bostonians; there are still things to complain about. Here’s a look at what parts of the T saw the biggest improvements and where more work is needed:
Red Line: The line with the historically highest ridership is “definitely the winner,” Kaplan said. From January 2024 to January 2025, TransitMatters found the T shaved nearly 20 minutes off a full-length Red Line ride between Braintree and Alewife — in both directions. “Alewife to Charles/MGH is down from 24 minutes to 15 and a half,” Kaplan said. “ I have friends who have missed their stop on the Red Line because it’s going too fast.” Meanwhile, rides from Braintree to Charles/MGH have sped up by 13 minutes. Kaplan also noted more frequent trains have reduced waits by 3 to 5 minutes.
- But… there hasn’t been much improvement on the Ashmont branch. Signal problems and car breakdowns also remain a source of delays. MBTA officials have said upgrading the signal system and phasing in more new train cars are a focus for 2025.
Orange Line: The Orange Line is now about 20% faster in both directions, compared to January 2024. If you ride the full line, that’s a 7 minute, 40 second improvement southbound and a more than 9-minute improvement going north. Kaplan says perhaps the most noticeable difference is from Oak Grove to North station, where median trip times have dropped from 17 minutes to 13 minutes. And the T plans to let trains go even faster on that stretch.
- But… while the Orange Line is running 100% new cars, it also struggles with signal-related delays, just like the Red Line.
Green Line: The biggest improvement was along the two-mile underground stretch between Government Center and Kenmore. TransitMatters found median travel times fell about a minute in each direction, from around 14.5 minutes to 13.5 minutes. Kaplan noted the Green Line’s sharp tunnel curves — like the Boylston screech — limit how fast trolleys can go, even without slow zones.
- But… the improvements have been even less noticeable above ground. TransitMatters found the Green Line’s western branches “saw minimal time improvements,” sometimes just by a few seconds. Part of that, according to Kaplan, is due to outside factors, like traffic and pedestrian crossings. Their analysis also found “significant weekly delays” due to disabled trains. “When you have 60- and 40-year-old trains still in service, that’s just kind of how it’s going to go,” Kaplan said, adding the new Green Line supercars — coming in 2027 — will hopefully help.
Blue Line: The Blue Line saw the fewest diversions in 2024, after eliminating slow zones last spring. Still, over the past year, the T reduced full-line trips down to just 20 minutes — including a 3 minutes, 45 second improvement from Bowdoin to Wonderland.
- But… signal and power issues continue to cause delays — another reason the T has put “signal modernization” atop its list of 2025 priorities.
In other news:
Fight for $15 (roundtrip fees): Massport is mulling a plan to hike fees on Uber and Lyft trips to Boston’s Logan Airport from $3.25 a ride to $5.50 this summer — and then to $7.50 in 2027.
- WBUR’s Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez reports the fee increase would fund help projects like the under-construction Terminal E parking garage and electric vehicle chargers. However, Uber is lobbying against the change, saying it would be the highest airport rideshare tax in the world.
In court: Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has joined a 14-state lawsuit challenging the authority of Elon Musk and DOGE, his so-called Department of Government Efficiency team.
Another sloppy storm? Meteorologist Danielle Noyes says this weekend’s winter storm could be good news for ski mountains, but how far south the snow accumulates is an open question. Still, Boston could see a few inches. Read the early forecast here.
P.S.—What has the MBTA set an opening date for, after multiple rounds of delays? Take our Boston News Quiz and test your knowledge of this week’s stories.
