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MBTA

Our ongoing coverage of Boston's public transit system, the oldest in the nation.

Passengers fill an Orange Line train heading from Forest Hills to downtown Boston. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

‘It’s not fair’: T riders sound off on service woes

The ongoing effort to address a backlog of maintenance projects inside the country’s oldest subway system has created mounting headaches for riders.

Local Coverage

04:0411 hours ago

The Middle Passage port marker at the end of Long Wharf in Boston. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

The East Boston ferry makes a comeback

Seasonal ferry service connecting Downtown Boston and East Boston resumed on Monday.

Business

Mar 24, 2023

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An MBTA Green Line train rides on the tracks beneath McGrath Highway in Somerville during testing runs of the Green Line Extension. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Slow zones aren't going anywhere and will need repairs, T says

MBTA trains are likely to continue operating slower than usual for the foreseeable future as officials turn their attention from a lack of inspection documentation to fixing numerous track defects,...

Local Coverage

Mar 23, 2023

Commuters on an Orange Line train at Sullivan Square Station in April 2022. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

The T opened up the world to me. Now it's stuck

Miles Howard asks, what is the price of delayed trains and buses for service workers who can be fired from their jobs for being late to work? Or for students...

Cognoscenti

Mar 20, 2023

An MBTA Green Line train leaving Science Park Station en route to Lechmere. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

MBTA offers commuter rail alternative as inspections limit subway speeds

On Monday, the T urged riders traveling into Boston to add an extra 20 minutes to their commute, as the agency works on "verifying and validating" possible track defects. As...

Local Coverage

Mar 10, 2023

An MBTA bus. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

The T needs dispatchers, and will continue to dangle $10,000 sign-on bonuses to hire them

With train service still running at diminished levels, staffing efforts in the MBTA's operations control center have plateaued since December, and the agency will continue to offer a $10,000 sign-on...

Local Coverage

Feb 9, 2023

Passengers on the platform of Kenmore Station wait for a MBTA Green Line trolley. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Passengers walk through tunnel after Green Line problem

More than 100 Green Line passengers had to be escorted on foot through a subway tunnel on Thursday night when three trains became stuck because of a signal problem, officials...

Local Coverage

Jan 27, 2023

Passengers wait to board an Orange Line MBTA train as it pulls into Green Street. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

U.S. Sen. Warren demands answers from Mass. regulators about MBTA safety oversight

Warren pressed Massachusetts safety regulators on their plans to increase oversight of the troubled MBTA, which has been dogged by collisions, derailments, deaths and injuries.

Local Coverage

Jan 13, 2023

Police tape hangs across a hole cut in a fence to help evacuate Orange Line passengers due to a fire in Medford in August of 2019.(Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

As the T missed safety investigation deadlines, state regulators failed to act

Federal officials say the DPU must use its enforcement power to keep the T safe. Public records show the DPU has routinely allowed the T to miss deadlines, and has...

Investigations

03:47Jan 12, 2023

This Green Line car is significantly damaged after striking another trolley along Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. (Courtesy NTSB)

Trolley driver acquitted of negligence during 2021 Green Line collision

A jury has acquitted a MBTA Green Line driver of any wrongdoing stemming from a 2021 crash, when the trolley he was operating slammed into another in front of him....

Local Coverage

Jan 11, 2023

An MBTA Green Line car collided with another trolley on Commonwealth Avenue. (Courtesy Boston Fire Department)

In final report, feds fault driver, overdue safety features in deadly 2021 Green Line crash

MBTA leaders said following the 2021 crash they would accelerate the project timeline and bring the Green Line Protection Project online by 2023, but the NTSB said in its report...

Local Coverage

Jan 5, 2023

Jeff Gonneville speaks at a press conference in March 2017, shortly before becoming the MBTA's deputy general manager. (SHNS/File 2017)

Gonneville returning to interim MBTA GM role

The Baker administration announced Thursday that Gonneville will step into the top role on a temporary basis on Jan. 4, 2023, one day after General Manager Steve Poftak departs and...

Local Coverage

Dec 23, 2022

Riders pile into the first Green Line train to run out of Medford/Tufts Green Line Station on the new Green Line Extension. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Hundreds hop on the new MBTA's long awaited Green Line Medford extension

After decades of planning, the new GLX branch opened with five new stations Monday. Commuters packed into trains and celebrated the line going as far as Tufts University.

Local Coverage

Dec 12, 2022

An MBTA Green Line train during testing on Dec. 5. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Green Line Extension to Medford set to open after years of delays

The $2.3 billion project was originally supposed to be completed in 2014. The five new stations stretching up through Medford are scheduled to open on Monday.

Local Coverage

02:46Dec 8, 2022

Commuters board an MBTA bus. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Here's the new bus route approved by MBTA board of directors

The MBTA's board of directors unanimously approved a suite of service modifications, collectively referred to as the Bus Network Redesign project, contingent upon an equity analysis that officials say will...

Local Coverage

Nov 18, 2022

MBTA Orange Line cars at the Wellington train yard in Medford after announcing the shutdown of the MBTA Orange Line for a month to complete critical repairs. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Slow zones remain on MBTA, more than a month after Orange Line shutdown

The MBTA says service is mostly back to normal after lengthy shutdowns of the Orange and Green lines, but some slow zones remain. One bright spot: Passengers really like the...

Local Coverage

03:55Nov 14, 2022

MBTA head will step down at beginning of year

As WBUR’s Simon Rios reports, Poftak's tenure was turbulent on a number of fronts.

Local Coverage

03:00Nov 2, 2022

Old and new subway cars are parked at the Orange Line's Wellington Station train yard on July 13, 2022, in Medford, Mass. (Charles Krupa/AP File)

Orange Line slow zones will remain until at least December, MBTA says

Some speed restrictions on the Orange Line that have befuddled riders and slowed trips will stay in place into December, more than two months after the MBTA completed a 30-day...

Local Coverage

Oct 25, 2022

The MBTA Orange line is seen here at Wellington Station in Medford where inspectors looked over damage from a fire in early August. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Warren, Markey ride MBTA leadership for answers about safety shortfalls

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey confronted state officials responsible for overseeing safety at the MBTA on Friday, citing several recent high-profile deaths, injuries, derailments and fires along the beleaguered...

Local Coverage

Oct 14, 2022

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat, of Massachusetts, at a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill, Sept. 22, 2022. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Sen. Warren holds hearing in Boston to urge MBTA improvements

Ongoing safety problems at the MBTA and their economic impact will be the focus on Friday of a rare Senate hearing held here in Boston.

Local Coverage

04:44Oct 14, 2022