Recent Streetsblog MASS posts about Regional Transit Authorities

A rendering of a future Blue Line station entrance from the lobby of the existing Charles/MGH station in Charles Circle. Escalators would lead underground to a new Blue Line platform under Cambridge Street. The Red and Blue Lines are currently the only two lines in the T's network that don't directly connect to each other at a downtown station. Courtesy of the MBTA.

What’s In Gov. Healey’s Budget Proposal

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 6, 2023 | No Comments

The state government expects to get over $1 billion next year from a new surtax on high-income earners. Here's how the Governor plans to spend it.

Attorney General Maura Healey speaks at an event launching her campaign for governor outside the Maverick Blue Line station earlier this year.

Three Things to Watch in Gov. Healey’s First Budget Proposal

By Christian MilNeil | Feb 27, 2023 | No Comments

Later this week, Gov. Maura Healey is expected to release her administration’s first state budget proposal, which will be a key indicator of how she expects to implement her campaign promises. This morning, at a YMCA in Lynn, the Governor announced one big-ticket idea from her budget plan: a $750 million tax relief package, the […]

Riders check out a newly-rebranded Merrimack Valley Transit bus, with colorful red, blue, and orange stripes wrapped around this bus, next to a fall-themed park with haybales, mums, and pumpkins in Lawrence, Massachusetts. In the background are several triple-decker apartment buildings. Courtesy of Merrimack Valley Transit.

RTAs Are Giving Their Riders A Holiday Bonus

By Christian MilNeil | Nov 21, 2022 | No Comments

All 15 of the commonwealth's Regional Transit Authorities (every non-MBTA bus route in the state, in other words) will suspend fare collection for the holiday season, from the day after Thanksgiving until New Year's Eve.

Noah Berger, administrator of the MVRTA, stands in the open doorway of an MVRTA bus.

Higher Wages, No Fares, and a Massage Chair: How the MVRTA Is Recruiting New Drivers

By Christian MilNeil | Aug 25, 2022 | No Comments

Bucking a nationwide trend of driver shortages, the MVRTA is expanding its workforce of bus drivers and adding more service.

The WRTA's downtown bus hub, next to Worcester's Union Station.

A Fix for Chronic Transit Funding Shortfalls Could Be Up To the Voters This Fall

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 1, 2022 | No Comments

It’s become an annual rite of spring: transit agencies across Massachusetts are examining blooms of red ink in their budgets for the next fiscal year, and wondering whether state lawmakers will step in and give them the funding they need to avoid service cuts. This year, though, voters may be able to take matters into […]

Mayor Michelle Wu celebrating newly fare-free bus routes at Jackson Square

Over A Dozen Bus Routes Across Massachusetts Ditch Their Fareboxes Today

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 1, 2022 | No Comments

"Our goal is for Boston to be a proving ground joining with communities across the state that are really transforming what's possible for residents by taking down barriers to access, making buses more reliable, more affordable, and more accessible for all," said Mayor Wu at a press event at the Jackson Square Orange Line station on Tuesday morning.

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