Recent Streetsblog MASS posts about Regional Transit Authorities

Pioneer Valley Transit Authority buses at the Springfield Union Station in July 2017. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Newflyer504, licensed under Creative Commons.

Washington Sends Over $1 Billion in Relief Funds to Bay State Transit Agencies

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 2, 2020 | No Comments

Massachusetts transit agencies will get just over $1 billion in emergency funding to help sustain service through the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The funding comes from a $25 billion line-item for transit assistance in the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,” the bill that quickly moved through Congress […]

A WRTA bus in front of City Hall in downtown Worcester. Courtesy of WRTA.

COVID-19 Crisis Stretches Small Transit Providers Thinner

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 19, 2020 | No Comments

Years of service cutbacks have made it difficult for Regional Transit Authorities to adjust their schedules without seriously impacting the ability of transit-dependent residents to get to their service jobs or access vital services.

Governor Charlie Baker at the Massachusetts State House. Courtesy of the Office of the Governor.

Governor Proposes More Transport Funding, Partly Reversing Past Cuts

By Phineas Baxandall | Feb 3, 2020 | No Comments

MassBudget is a nonprofit think tank that conducts research and analysis on economic and budget policy in Massachusetts, with a particular focus on improving the lives of moderate- and low-income residents. This guest post is part of a MassBudget series looking ahead at some major stories to watch for in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 […]

State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa of Northampton. Photo courtesy of the Massachusetts State House.

Rep. Sabadosa: Western Massachusetts Needs Transit Funding, Too

By Christian MilNeil | Jan 22, 2020 | No Comments

State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa of Northampton, a Democratic member of the legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation, is pressing for a dedicated source of state funds for the fifteen transit authorities that operate outside of the Boston metropolitan area as lawmakers debate details of a new transportation funding bill this month. In a phone interview with […]

The I-93 carpool lane in Somerville, pictured in 2013. Courtesy of MassDOT.

Lawsuit: State Illegally Eliminated Carpool Lane On I-93

By Christian MilNeil | Oct 8, 2019 | No Comments

The Conservation Law Foundation, a Boston-based environmental group, has filed its intent to sue MassDOT over its decision to let single-occupant vehicles into a transit and carpool lane on Interstate 93 north of Boston earlier this year. “Since the early 1990s, the I-93 HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) southbound lane, which is a 2.6-mile lane from Medford […]

Beacon Hill Boosts Regional Transit Authorities, With a Catch

By Christian MilNeil | Jul 30, 2019 | 1 Comment

A new budget passed in the Massachusetts State House last week would increase funding for the state’s fifteen Regional Transit Authorities, which operate transit services for the millions of Bay State residents who live outside of the MBTA’s fixed-route service area in greater Boston. The fiscal year 2020 budget passed last week in the Massachusetts […]

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