Transportation

Changes to MBTA Bus Service to be Discussed at Virtual Meeting

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Charlie BreitroseBuses like this one on the 71 bus will get priority heading toward Harvard Square on Mt. Auburn Street in the new Cambridge-Watertown Bus Priority Pilot program. The following announcement was provided by MassDOT:

The MBTA and MassDOT will host a virtual public meeting on Zoom on Wednesday, October 27, at 6 p.m. to discuss the Bus Network Redesign Project. An initiative of the Better Bus Project, the MBTA and MassDOT’s Bus Network Redesign Project is taking a look at the bus system as a whole in order to recommend a new network that better serves the needs of the region. The project’s second public meeting will present the approach and principles used by MassDOT and the MBTA to propose a transformed bus network through the Bus Network Redesign process.

Around Town

Watertown Connector Shuttle Links Pleasant Street to Harvard Square, Serves Residents & Employees

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Charlie BreitroseThe Watertown Connector’s Pleasant Street shuttle pulls into Watertown Mews, the first stop during morning runs to Harvard Square. Watertown’s newest public transportation option made a special run on Wednesday to show Town officials and residents what it is like to ride the Watertown Connector Pleasant Street Shuttle. The Watertown Connector began running on Pleasant Street the day after Labor Day, and has given more than 150 rides on the route that goes down the westside corridor, to Watertown Square and on to Harvard Square. The shuttle makes four runs in the morning and four in the afternoon and evening. Rides are free for residents of apartment complexes and employees of businesses that contribute to the Watertown Transportation Management Association (TMA).

Electric Buses

LETTER: Watertown Group Pushing for Faster Electrification of MBTA Buses

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Charlie BreitroseAn MBTA bus in Watertown. A new report calls on the MBTA to update the overhead wires and busses on Watertown’s 71 and 73 routes to InMotion charging as a first step to expanding this technology to other routes. The report “Bus Electrification Accelerating the Electrification of Bus Service in the Boston Metro Area” MBTAReport_Final2.pdf (sierraclub.org) by the Sierra Club, Transit Matters, and Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) along with 14 partner organizations calls the MBTA’s plans “too little too late.”

The MBTA current plan calls for the continued purchasing of hundreds of polluting diesel hybrid buses while gradually transitioning to overnight charging electric buses over the next two decades with full electrification by 2040. The report argues that depending solely on overnight charging short changes us and identifies two promising technologies — InMotion charging and EnRoute charging that should be part of the mix and an implementation rollout that would achieve full electrification by 2030, avoid hundreds of interim diesel hybrids, reduce emissions earlier, save money, serve environmental justice communities, and improve public health for all. It is convenient to use the upcoming Mt.

Transportation

Many MBTA Paratransit RIDE Trips from Logan Airport Will be Free

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The following information was provided by MassDOT:

The MBTA announced Sept. 29 that paratransit RIDE trips that originate from all Logan Airport terminals and end within three-quarter miles of the MBTA’s subway system will be free beginning Friday, October 1, 2021. This service complements the free transit service offered to riders on the fixed-route system from the airport. As the MBTA continually assesses transit equity, and to bring parity for the T’s paratransit riders, the MBTA is now offering free RIDE service for trips from Logan Airport to points on the fixed-route subway system. These RIDE trips from any Logan Airport terminal will be free beginning October 1 and will remain free as long as SL1 services from Logan Airport to South Station are free.

Around Town

Watertown Shuttle Starts Running from Pleasant Street to Harvard Square, Available to the Public

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Watertown TMAThe Watertown Connector started running the week of Labor Day. The shuttle goes down Pleasant Street to Watertown Square and then heads to Harvard Square. It is open to the general public. Watertown residents have a new public transportation option with the addition of the Watertown Connector, which runs along Pleasant Street and ultimately takes people to Harvard Square. For about a decade, the Town of Watertown and residents have been working to start a shuttle to the westside corridor that would serve not only businesses and apartment complexes that help fund it, but also the general public.

Transportation

Labor Day Weekend Travel Tips from MassDOT

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The following information was provided by MassDOT:

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is advising the public to plan ahead for Labor Day Weekend travel, drive in off peak hours if possible, utilize available technology tools for trips including www.mass511.com, consider public transportation if possible to reach destinations and bring a face-covering as some municipalities have a mask mandate for indoor venues. “We expect traffic levels to be high this Labor Day Weekend especially during the afternoon hours on Thursday and Friday,” said Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. “Anyone driving should plan ahead, anticipate that trips will take longer than expected, and if possible use public transportation to reach destinations.”

Due to the anticipated higher than normal daily traffic volumes for several days leading up to and including Monday, Labor Day, MassDOT is taking several steps to ease congestion:

Shutting down scheduled non-emergency construction effective at 5 a.m., Friday, September 3. Scheduled road work will then resume at the start of normal business hours on Tuesday, September 7. Deploying the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane on I-93 between Boston and Quincy earlier than usual in the afternoon by opening at 2:00 p.m., on Thursday, September 2 and at 1:00 p.m., on Friday, September 3. The HOV lane will be closed on Monday, September 6.

Homepage Featured

Shuttle to Start Running Down Pleasant Street After Labor Day

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Watertown TMAA shuttle will start serving Pleasant Street in Watertown in the fall of 2021. Residents of the Westside of Watertown will have a new public transportation option in September when the Pleasant Street Shuttle launches. The shuttle run by the Watertown Transportation Management Association (TMA) will operate along Pleasant Street, then stop in Watertown Square before going to the Red Line subway stop in Harvard Square. The first day of shuttle service will be Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021.

Buses

MBTA Seeks Input with Online Bus Network Redesign Travel Survey

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Charlie BreitroseMBTA Bus. The following information was provided by the MBTA:

Share Your Input with the Bus Network Redesign Travel Survey! 

We’d like to announce a new survey that will help us better understand what you need from the bus network. We want to create a better and more equitable bus network—to do that, we need your input: 

Does the MBTA take you where you need or want to go? When you need to get somewhere, is riding the MBTA a good option for you? 

You can provide your input into the future of the MBTA bus network by taking our survey at mbta.com/bnrdsurvey. To use the interactive features, please use a desktop or laptop computer. 

This survey has some features that may not be accessible to those using assistive technology, mobile devices, or tablets. A text-based version is available here. You can also call 1-857-366-1871 to take the survey over the phone.