Improvements in the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Association (MBTA) 

In pre-pandemic years, it was not unusual to have well over a million-and-a-half riders using the services of the MBTA on a daily basis. Obviously things have substantially changed in the past few years, but that doesn’t mean that the MBTA, or “T” has not stopped innovating and making changes to better serve their ridership. 

Our blog today explores a recent North Shore Conversation, a weekly radio show produced by the North Shore Alliance for Economic Development and hosted by Laura Swanson regarding the updates and improvements being made on our regional transportation systems.

In the past couple of months, we had the opportunity to speak with Steve Poftak, the General Manager of the MBTA. Not only is he a native of the Greater Boston region for twenty-five years, he also uses the MBTA services daily, as his family lives, works, and goes to school in Boston. 

Read on to hear more about the services of the MBTA and the exciting changes that are in the works for this year and for years to come to make our transportation system more efficient, clean, and with an eye toward our region’s environmental well-being. 

What Are the Range of Services Offered By the MBTA? 

Poftak points out to host Laura Swanson that many riders are unaware of the whole scope of offerings by the MBTA as they may only take advantage of one or two areas. 

The MBTA is actually one of the most multimodal service offerings in all of North America. Here are the wide range of services that most metropolitan areas are unable to offer. 

• There are approximately one thousand buses servicing over 7,700 bus stops throughout the Greater Boston region. 
• The subway system offers 600-700 rail vehicles on any given day. 
• The Ride program handles our para transport riders with over 800 vans. 
• The Commuter Rail covers over 400 miles of track from Worcester, to Newburyport and down to Wickford, Rhode Island. 
• Ferry services make stops in Hingham, Hull, and Charlestown with 12 boats at the ready. 

This broad portfolio of services is able to accommodate the millions who depend on the MBTA daily to get to and from work. 

What Impact Has Covid Had on the MBTA? 

Just like every other area of our lives, the covid pandemic has hit the MBTA hard in some ways but also allowed for some substantial improvements over the past few years. 

During the first year of covid, ridership dropped dramatically. Over the past year or so riders have been coming back incrementally, even more so lately as people are beginning to see the traffic increase on the roadways. 

Major employers have slowly begun to open and require workers to head back to the office, but it still remains to be seen what will happen when, and if, businesses will institute a more permanent hybrid schedule for the workplace. Poftak remarks that the MBTA will be keeping a close eye on trends and changes as we all get back to this new normal. 

Over the Summer of 2021 the MBTA instituted a program called “We’re Ready” to show riders that the T is up and running with new cleaning and safety protocols. For more on that visit MBTA.com/ridesafer. 

What Are Key Projects In The Works at the MBTA? 

Throughout the pandemic, the leadership at the MBTA has been hard at work on projects geared toward making our transportation system more efficient and providing a better user experience. Some of the projects that have been in the works and continue to be funded include: 

• The North Station Drawbridge project is aimed at replacing drawbridges for more reliability. Over the past two years the Newburyport/Rockport line has seen repairs and replacement projects of drawbridges done in Gloucester and Beverly, now in Boston as well. 
• Installation of Positive and Automatic Train Controls is a $250 million safety upgrade project. This modernization is meant to improve rider experience, reliability, and efficiency of our rails. 
• A Bus Redesign project meant to take a fresh look at the whole bussing system and where people want to go. Previously the bus system was meant to bring people from the suburbs into Boston, but now riders are trending toward wanting to go from town to town. 

All of these projects are being done with an eye toward the environment. For instance, a sea wall was recently built at the Charlestown station with the ideas in mind that climate change could impact the sea level. The wall was built for the next 70-100 years in mind rather than for immediate need. 

Want to find out more about the MBTA services? Check out their site and learn more about the transportation that keeps us Bay Staters moving.