MBTA Bus

Podcast 16 - Former MassDOT Secretary James Aloisi on the state of transit in Boston

Podcast 16 - Former MassDOT Secretary James Aloisi on the state of transit in Boston

Former 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 use real-time data more effectively to create a better regional transportation network? We review lessons from past political struggles, including the “four constituencies” of any project and challenges of trying to do things differently within structures designed to preserve the status quo. 

Podcast 15 - Amateur Planner on BRT, the MBTA report, Allston ...

Podcast 15 - Amateur Planner on BRT, the MBTA report, Allston ...

Ari 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 report by the Barr Foundation. We explore what better bus service could look like in the context of Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Chelsea and other cities where it's needed.

Podcast 06 - Dealing with Overcrowding | Guest: Amateur Planner

Podcast 06 - Dealing with Overcrowding | Guest: Amateur Planner

We 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.