Transitmatters
37 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 6 years ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsThe TransitMatters is your source for transportation news and analysis in Boston. We promote the use and growth of public transit, walking, cycling, skating and other sustainable modes.
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Episodes
Codcast 101 - Salvucci takes new tack on West Station
June 10, 2018 14:00Transportation guru Fred Salvucci said on the Codcast that the proposed West Station is needed now to deal with congestion in Kenmore Square and the Seaport District, not future congestion caused by Harvard University's creation of a new neighborhood in the Allston Landing area. Salvucci’s position is sharply at odds with the views of the Baker administration, which believes current ridership projections for the station are too low to justify building West Station in the near future. Transp...
Codcast 101: Salvucci takes new tack on West Station
June 10, 2018 14:00Transportation guru Fred Salvucci said on the Codcast that the proposed West Station is needed now to deal with congestion in Kenmore Square and the Seaport District, not future congestion caused by Harvard University's creation of a new neighborhood in the Allston Landing area. Salvucci’s position is sharply at odds with the views of the Baker administration, which believes current ridership projections for the station are too low to justify building West Station in the near future. Transp...
Codcast 100: Salvucci traces decline of T to Weld administration
June 04, 2018 14:00 - 31 minutes - 43.6 MBNote: This podcast was originally broadcast on Commonwealth Magazine’s Codcast Fred Salvucci, one of the state’s most influential transportation officials, traces the decline of the MBTA to the early years of the administration of former governor William Weld. Salvucci, who served 12 years as secretary of transportation under former governor Michael Dukakis and now teaches at MIT, said support for transit gained momentum after former governor Frank Sargent in the early 1970s brought a halt...
Codcast 100 - Salvucci traces decline of T to Weld administration
June 04, 2018 14:00 - 31 minutes - 43.6 MBNote: This podcast was originally broadcast on Commonwealth Magazine’s Codcast Fred Salvucci, one of the state’s most influential transportation officials, traces the decline of the MBTA to the early years of the administration of former governor William Weld. Salvucci, who served 12 years as secretary of transportation under former governor Michael Dukakis and now teaches at MIT, said support for transit gained momentum after former governor Frank Sargent in the early 1970s brought a halt...
Podcast Episode 31 - Ride Sharing, Taxis, and Transit
October 18, 2016 10:30 - 1 hourThe TransitMatters Podcast returns from break with a discussion on Lyft and ride sharing services with special guest Tyler George, General Manager of Lyft Boston. Tyler has a spirited discussion with hosts Josh Fairchild, Jeremy Mendelson and recurring panelist, sound engineer (and former General Manager for both Zipcar's Chicago operation and for Hubway bike share here in Boston) Scott Mullen. Our discussion focused on ride sharing services and its effect on the Taxi industry and Transit. Th...
Podcast Episode 30.5 - Ride-Along with Jim Aloisi to WGBH's The Scrum
August 01, 2016 19:45 - 28 minutes - 40 BytesFor this mini-episode of the podcast, we were joined by former Massachusetts Transport Secretary and TransitMatters Board Member Jim Aloisi. We both took a trip on transit from Haymarket Station to Brass Union in Somerville's Union Square.
Podcast 30 - Kids on Transit with Lee Biernbaum
July 12, 2016 11:00 - 52 minutes[Lede Photo: Kids on transit is a tale as old as...transit — Shirley Temple Rides the 'L' via Flickr] We're joined in studio by Lee Biernbaum, an economist for the U.S. Department of Transportation and author of the Kids In The Stairwell blog. We cover issues with kids on transit including strollers on buses and trains, having a car-free family and children using transit. This episode was recorded on June 19th in the studios of WMBR 88.1 FM in Cambridge, engineered by Scott Mullen and e...
Podcast 29 - Transit Advocacy with Rafael Mares from the Conservation Law Foundation
July 06, 2016 02:15 - 45 minutes - 20.9 MBWe're joined in studio by prominent Boston transit advocate Rafael Mares, Vice President and Director of Healthy Communities and Environmental Justice for the Conservation Law Foundation. CLF has been instrumental in improving access and mobility for MBTA users, including holding the state to transit project commitments they've tried to wiggle out of. We discuss the current state of transit operations and investment, the Control Board and politics, the fate of long-awaited projects such the...
Podcast 28 - Commuter Rail Modernization & why the North South Rail Link matters
June 21, 2016 11:00 - 58 minutes - 26.9 MBWe're joined in studio by Brad Bellows in this conversation to talk about the state of Commuter Rail and what the North South Rail Link can do for our region. Brad is an architect, board member of the Association for Public Transportation, and a member of the North South Rail Link Working Group which is leading a renewed push to see the connector finally built. This episode was recorded on April 19. [Our apologies for the long break, we've been busy advocating for better transit. More show...
Podcast 27 - Transportation For Massachusetts (T4MA)
June 16, 2016 00:44 - 1 hour - 29.1 MBWe're joined in the studio by Transportation For Massachusetts (T4MA) staff -- Josh Ostroff, Partnerships Director & Charlie Ticotsky, Policy Director -- to let us know what they do and share recent news on their efforts to secure more funding for transit. Visit t4ma.org or follow them on Twitter @T4MASS. Read about MassDOT's improved but still inadequate Capital Improvement Plan on the T4MA blog. This episode was recorded on April 5. [Our apologies for the long break, we've been busy advoc...
Podcast 26 - Security, Maintenance and A Plan for Overnight Bus Service
March 31, 2016 00:50 - 57 minutes - 26.5 MBMany things led to the end of the most recent attempt to extend MBTA service late into the night, and the latest MBTA mitigation proposals don't really solve the problem. But what if, instead of trying to cater to the college entertainment demographic, we designed a comprehensive overnight network focused on people working early or late? Ari Ofsevit, transportation planner and the Amateur Planner (@ofsevit), joins us as we consider (40:22) what a useful and affordable overnight network woul...
Podcast 25 - Fare Increases, Transfers, Late Night and how to advocate for better transit
March 09, 2016 12:30 - 1 hour - 28.6 MBThe MBTA Control Board voted Monday to raise fares by 10 percent or more despite disruptive protests by community advocates.
Podcast 24 - Rich Davey, Former MBTA GM & Secretary of Transportation
February 11, 2016 19:10 - 1 hour - 32.2 MBFormer MBTA General Manager and MassDOT Secretary, Rich Davey joins us to reflect on his experience and share insight into the current challenges and opportunities facing the T. Why has the service become so unreliable? Will we ever plan for and implement system upgrades? How can we better use our existing services and resources? Are the labor and management needs being met? How can the T communicate more effectively as well as advocate for itself and the needs of riders? Can we do effectiv...
Podcast 23 - Alon Levy, Pedestrian Observations
January 24, 2016 15:00 - 1 hour - 34.2 MBWe sat down with urban transit student and author of the popular Pedestrian Observations blog, Alon Levy, well known among advocates for his knowledge of best (and worst) practices in urban planning and transportation. In a time of short-sighted cost-cutting and privatization efforts, it is refreshing to hear smart and effective ways to use our existing transportation assets. We spend some time debunking the myth that new technology like the Hyperloop or personal rapid transit will solve ou...
Podcast 22 - MBTA Raising Fares Again, Overtime Lies, Challenges and Opportunities
January 13, 2016 17:55 - 1 hour - 30.1 MBThe MBTA fare increase proposals (presentation, summary) are unnecessary and not even helpful in closing the budget gap. This is the latest example to the way the Fiscal & Management Control Board is using misleading statistics to support an ideological agenda that has never worked. What happened to being visionary and taking a fresh look? Short of major investment -- which is needed more than ever -- many simple changes could improve the user experience and help alleviate capacity constrai...
Podcast 21b - Young Professionals Study & the Governor's Performance with Rich Parr
December 23, 2015 05:44 - 1 hour - 29.8 MBOur resident polling expert, Rich Parr joins us from the MassINC Polling Group to let us know what people think about Governor Baker and his handling of the MBTA, as well as a new study from the Urban Land Institute on the preferences and lifestyles of "millennials". In this case, the focus is on college educated young professionals and what kinds of housing, transportation and work environments they seek. If this study is any indication, transportation choices are changing rapidly and refl...
Podcast 21a - Young Professionals Study & the Governor's Performance with Rich Parr
December 23, 2015 05:37 - 1 hour - 28.1 MBOur resident polling expert, Rich Parr joins us from the MassINC Polling Group to let us know what people think about Governor Baker and his handling of the MBTA, as well as a new study from the Urban Land Institute on the preferences and lifestyles of "millennials". In this case, the focus is on college educated young professionals and what kinds of housing, transportation and work environments they seek. If this study is any indication, transportation choices are changing rapidly and refl...
Podcast 20 - Advocacy Updates: Fares, Late Night Service, Commuter Rail, GLX and Service Planning to make the MBTA network more effective
December 02, 2015 17:57 - 1 hour - 55.3 MBThis show is focused on MBTA advocacy, with the full crew sharing our thoughts on some of the things in the media lately, and which we've been working on. Fares increases are proposed again despite the absence of a vision for upgrading and growing our network. It's hard to ask people for more money without real improvements. Some say we should give discounts to low-income riders and raise fares for everyone else. We explore why a two-tier transit system is a terrible idea that will lea...
Transit Funding Panel sponsored by Budget For All MA
October 30, 2015 16:38 - 57 minutes - 52.5 MBOn October 24, 2015, Budget For All hosted a discussion on the state of transit in Eastern Massachusetts and strategies to achieve increased state and federal funding for the MBTA and other public transportation services. TransitMatters believes that while cities should prioritize MBTA operations to make them faster and more efficient, our region is in desperate need of major transit investments to keep pace with soaring population and employment and rapidly growing ridership. These ser...
Podcast 18 - Transit Operations & Public-Private Partnerships with John Attanucci
October 26, 2015 05:09 - 44 minutes - 20.3 MBWe sit down with longtime transit consultant John Attanucci at the MIT Transit Lab to discuss some of the deficiencies in our transit network and how we could better design and manage it. We also learn about existing private transportation services and how they might help fill critical gaps in the MBTA network if the T remains unable to add or change its services. And we touch on the revenue question. Fun fact: The single most important factor affecting bus reliability is leaving the s...
Podcast 17 - Commuter Rail: filling the gaps in local and regional transit
September 28, 2015 11:10 - 1 hour - 36.9 MBWe turn our attention to the MBTA Commuter Rail network and how it must be be part of the solution to many of our local and regional transportation challenges. Regional rail is a very important component of the transit network in terms of tackling street and highway congestion and, if designed well, can actually fill both local and regional travel needs. With the North South Rail Link, many suburban rail lines combine for frequent, high capacity transit service in the city's core. Freq...
Podcast 16 - Former MassDOT Secretary James Aloisi on the state of transit in Boston
August 25, 2015 23:29 - 1 hour - 52.1 MBFormer MassDOT Secretary James Aloisi joins us to share his thoughts on the MBTA fiscal and management control board - how focusing on the bottom line distracts from improving and expanding our transit network - and how we can achieve a robust, efficient and egalitarian transportation system in an era of public sector austerity. What reform could the T make to improve service? What does revenue mean and how do we get there? What can cities do? Can the private sector or “innovation” help us u...
Podcast 15 - Amateur Planner on BRT, the MBTA report, Allston ...
August 04, 2015 19:43 - 1 hour - 30.9 MBAri Ofsevit, transit operations professional and the Amateur Planner, joins us once again to discuss how Governor Baker's MBTA Commission Report (full pdf) used unfair comparisons and erroneous data to push a specific right-wing agenda, whether privatization makes any sense at all (and why certain people argue for it), and a vision to actually stabilize the T and improve transit in Boston. We focus heavily on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), with "gold standard" BRT being advocated in a recent...
Podcast 13 - moving a vision for Boston's future transportation network
June 17, 2015 11:00 - 1 hourHow will we get around in 15 years? What could our transit system and other public spaces look like if we develop goals and focus on achieving them? Do we even have that much time before the sea level rises and floods the whole city? We debate these and many other questions on the future of transportation in Boston, as the city moves forward on developing a "visionary" and "transformative" action plan, GoBoston2030. There's much we don't know yet, like how we'll communicate -- remember...
Podcast 12 - MBTA Panel Report
May 18, 2015 03:13 - 1 hour - 34.6 MBWe debate the recent MBTA report (PDF | Globe) commissioned by Governor Baker. Is it accurate? Are it's recommendations sound? What will happen now? Will we find new revenue sources and ways to improve transit, or will riders be forced to pay more for the same lousy service? These questions and many more from your trusted transit enthusiasts. We'd love to hear what you think of the report. Did one of us get it completely wrong? Send us your questions, comments and ideas for topics or guests...
Podcast 11b - Should MBTA Riders Receive Refunds?
March 13, 2015 00:41 - 11 minutes - 5.11 MBAfter a historic month of MBTA service delays and suspensions, many riders, politicians and media figures are asking the T to refund money to February monthly pass holders. What form would rebates take? Should the T use very limited funds for this purpose? Is a refund even helpful, or does it simply shift focus from fixing T infrastructure to blaming T management? Episode 11 guest Rich Parr, Research Director for MassINC Polling, sticks around with Jeremy and Marc to debate the rebate hot p...
Podcast 11 - Transit Polling with Rich Parr of MassINC
March 10, 2015 02:00 - 1 hour - 30.8 MBMassINC Polling Research Director Rich Parr shares his recent work and perspectives on what people think about the transportation dilemma in Boston. After the MBTA collapsed, a follow-up poll showed a dramatic increase in perceived important of transit, and most people now recognize that the region suffers without good transit. Still nobody can agree on how to fix it, and myths such as wasteful spending and mismanagement continue to lower the discourse.
Podcast 10 - Fixing the T: immediate and medium-term solutions
February 22, 2015 16:57 - 56 minutes - 26 MBThe collapse of Boston's long-neglected transit system has dominated the news this week along with calls for more MBTA funding, but no action has been taken and the General Manager unexpectedly quit after receiving a unanimous vote of confidence. The city remains gridlocked and our only "solution" has been to truck snow out to the suburbs. Governor Baker called for another study to reach the same conclusions as all the previous studies. No amount of "reform" or new management is going t...
Podcast 09 - Snow Cripples MBTA, Governor Baker Presents Statewide Budget Cuts
February 11, 2015 11:30 - 1 hour - 42.1 MBIt's been a terrible few weeks for the chronically neglected MBTA as record snowfall and epic traffic congestion stalled buses and trains throughout the region. Damage to vehicles and infrastructure following 50 disabled trains on Monday forced the MBTA to suspend rail service for the third time this year as crews work to clear tracks and repair ancient equipment. MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott blamed old equipment and lack of investment for the recent troubles and said she hopes we...
Podcast 08 - Boston 2024 Olympics Bid: Challenges & Opportunities
February 03, 2015 05:00 - 1 hour - 38.6 MBBoston has been selected by the US Olympic Committee as the country's contender for the 2024 Olympic games. What does this mean for the city and all of us? We analyze the city's transit infrastructure needs, challenges and opportunities. We have many needs, not just during the olympics but now and long after, so let's think deeper about potential transit investment and plan smart. What projects and services should we prioritize? What might be accomplished in 9 years? More on the Boston 2024...
Podcast 07b - Transit News
January 21, 2015 00:43 - 55 minutesPart two of a marathon episode: featuring a roundup of the latest Boston transit news and analysis. There's no shortage of controversial happenings: Mattapan High Speed Line crash - operator failure to secure trolley; it rolled backwards (DotNews) Green Line D Branch flooded, portal closed during heavy rain (Boston Magazine) Will there be regular commuter rail service to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro? State buys freight rail lines that would make it possible. (BostInno) The fight for relia...
Podcast 07a - StreetTalks on livable streets, effective transportation and smart planning
January 08, 2015 14:00 - 1 hourThe LivableStreets Alliance recently hosted an event featuring ten speakers on various transportation and urban design topics. Episode 7a is our recap and analysis of the event. More info and the full list of speakers via LivableStreets. A few of the questions we considered in this show: What kind of transformative changes should be part of the GoBoston 2030 plan if it is to address the worsening housing and transportation crises? Are "complete streets" obsolete? Should we create single-...
Podcast 06 - Dealing with Overcrowding | Guest: Amateur Planner
December 11, 2014 12:00 - 1 hourWe are joined by the Amateur Planner to talk about transit challenges such as crowded trains and buses, planning and managing bus routes, taxis, parking, fares, and some ways we can do to improve our transit system.
Podcast 05 - Post-Election Roundup | Guest: Walking Bostonian
November 25, 2014 23:49 - 39.4 MBThe panel is back for a post-election show crush-loaded with over an hour of the latest transportation news and analysis, this time joined by the Walking Bostonian (Matthew Danish) to explain how the theory of induced (travel) demand applies to roads and transit in Boston. We learn about everything from our most frustrating transit line (hint: it's green) to efforts to re imagine a boulevard of death (Commonwealth Ave in Allston & Brighton) to an entirely new neighborhood about to be created ...
Podcast 04 - MBTA Present & Future: transit challenges and opportunities.
October 21, 2014 12:30 - 1 hour - 32.9 MBDiscussing the state of transit in Boston are Marc Ebuna, Jeremy Mendelson and Josh Fairchild. In this wide ranging conversation, sure to be the first of many, we discuss some of what's (not) working in our fragmented transportation network and share some potential solutions. The present MBTA system is not much different from the trolley systems of a century ago, and over time many deficiencies have gone unaddressed. Join us for a chat and share your reactions below.
Podcast 02 - Urban truck & bus safety, too much free parking
August 07, 2014 20:52 - 24.3 MBTransportation researcher Alex Epstein shares his latest work improving safety around trucks and buses. We focus on education/training, visibility and equipment such as mirrors and side guards. Ask your city, transit agency or delivery company what they are doing to prevent fatalities. More after the break...
Podcast 01 - Green Line updates; Bridj luxury bus service
July 16, 2014 12:00 - 21.9 MBTransit Matters co-editor Marc Ebuna joins me for this special inaugural episode focusing on the Green Line. Following a recent public meeting with MBTA staff, Marc shares the latest Green Line initiatives including vehicle tracking (real-time train arrival info), signal priority, stop consolidation, three-car trains, accessibility and fare collection. Also, construction on the Green Line Extension to Somerville and Medford is moving full-steam ahead. Lede photo credit: MassDOT Flickr