MBTA

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is promoting her agenda for action at the state level as a new legislative session begins on Beacon Hill.

In the fields of politics and public policy, Boston’s communities of color made historic gains in 2022, with former City Councilor Andrea Campbell’s elevation to attorney general, Michelle Wu’s first full year as mayor and, for the first few months, a majority of people of color on the City Council.

The MBTA is planning to double the amount of shuttle bus service in the next five years at a cost of tens of millions of dollars, with the possibility of another complete rail line shutdown in the works — and a transit advocate thinks the Red Line could be next to be taken offline.

Starting last Friday, the MBTA shut down the entire Orange Line for a month for maintenance and repair work. Riders were told two weeks in advance about the coming inconvenience; but a few months earlier, officials were ready to highlight the line along with the rest of the system as not just functional, but the best way to get around Boston for residents and commuters.

Roubbins Jamal LaMothe, who lives in Malden, knew he should practice his commute to Tufts Medical Center before Monday morning, the first weekday morning of the Orange Line’s complete 30-day shutdown. So he boarded a shuttle bus to Oak Grove Sunday night as he got back to Massachusetts from a trip to Indianapolis to catch a Colts preseason game.

Mayor Michelle Wu declared the shuttle bus service temporarily replacing the Orange Line mostly a victory on Monday, noting a few hiccups as the MBTA entered its 30-day shutdown of the line, during which the agency hopes to complete track work and other much-needed improvements.

This is a giant disruption in Bostonians’ lives, and it hits in unfair ways, with Black, Brown, and immigrant Bostonians suffering the most. The T owes all of us some answers.

MBTA officials said Boathouse was tapped for a campaign to recruit bus riders and to support the agency’s “Take the T” marketing, which was designed to bring back passengers after the sharp drop in ridership brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those payments started up again after several months of high-profile crashes, derailments, malfunctions, and a death led to harsh criticism for the MBTA and Gov. Charlie Baker.

We need a low-income transit fare in Boston. However, new proposed changes to fare collection would lead us in the opposite direction — away from greater equity and towards a less accessible transportation system, harming the very riders that need it most.

Boston officials are planning to redesign a three-mile stretch of Blue Hill Avenue between Mattapan Square and Grove Hall. Planning will likely include center-running bus lanes.

Starting in March, riders on the 23 and 29 bus routes will be excused from paying fares as part of a two-year pilot program announced last week by Mayor Michelle Wu. The 28 bus, which is already operating fare-free, also will be part of the two-year pilot.

Multiple city bus lines will be fare-free next year as part of a pilot program by the City of Boston aimed at increasing ridership post-pandemic and creating economic opportunities for neighborhoods most impacted by the financial downturn of the last year and a half.