Tag: mbta

Boston proposal: Make every college students pay for night transit service

Boston is one of the most transit-complete cities in the country, but it has a giant hole: no night service. While only a few cities offer 24/7 train service, most, at minimum, have a network of night buses to pick up the slack. Others, like DC and LA, adjust their hours so weekend service runs as late as 3am on their rail lines. Boston does neither. When the clock strikes 1am, on every day of the week, the trains and buses stop rolling, until they resume shortly before 6am the following day.

There have been many excuses given as to why this is the case. “Maintenance” is a favorite, especially when officials can point to New York and say “we don’t have four tracks.” Fair enough….except that PATH, which does run 24/7, is also limited to two tracks. Chicago as well. Never mind that fact that at 2am on Sunday morning, when the streets are suddenly filled with people being kicked out of bars, not a soul is working on maintenance. Like most organizations, maintenance activities which run at night tend to be on weeknights. Click to read more!

Trains go on strike to demand better living conditions

BOSTON- As she tightened her jacket to ward off the 5f (-15c) degree cold, commuter Tammy Jackson was shocked to see the crowd of over 200 overflowing from the entrance to the Andrew MBTA subway station. The cause for the crowding quickly became apparent – several Red Line trains had used the morning commute to go on strike and demand better living conditions.

Rhoda Kavner, a 1500 model Pullman-Standard rail vehicle, sat just outside the station, within view of the commuters. “I know it’s tough for those commuters, I know it’s a pain, and I know they’re cold, but maybe now they can imagine how we feel.” Rhoda staged her strike for a little under half an hour, before returning to work. Click to read more!

MBTA station interiors added to Google Maps

If you’ve ridden a subway in a new city, you’ve certainly found yourself exiting a train and not knowing which way to go. Many stations offer a multitude of exit options, but which one takes you closer to your destination? It can be a confusing experience, as there are no landmarks to guide you.

Apparently, the folks at Google know that feeling well, because they have teamed up with the MBTA to offer maps of the inside of stations on the Android version of Google Maps. Previously, all that the maps would offer was a single subway station logo, giving you a good idea of where the station was, but no details on the many exit options. Now, every hallway, stair, restroom and information booth has been mapped. Click to read more!