MBTA

Representatives for the attorney general and town of Milton delivered arguments in front of the Supreme Judicial Court Oct. 7 about the attorney general’s ability to compel the municipality to adopt new zoning rules under a state law that would create more multifamily housing near public transit.

With ongoing extended shutdowns for track work, the MBTA continues to be the transit system people love to hate.

The MBTA board voted today to increase the frequency of trains on the Fairmount Line to 20 minutes, effectively bringing rapid transit service to the commuter rail line serving Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan and Hyde Park communities.

Beginning Aug. 1, subway and bus riders can ditch their Charlie Cards and paper tickets, if they choose, for a new contactless payment method, the agency announced July 9.

The administration of Mayor Michelle Wu is planning to use federal funding for a $44 million overhaul of Blue Hill Avenue, with a focus on updated bus and pedestrian infrastructure. The work is slated to begin in 2026.

Travel on the Fairmount Commuter Rail Line will be free during the two weeks the Red Line’s Ashmont branch and Mattapan Line will be closed later this month, the MBTA has announced.

Residents who live along the Mattapan line have expressed frustration with the MBTA’s announced plans to eventually replace the current trolleys with used cars from the Green Line, which one resident scorned as “hand-me-downs.”

The MBTA has appointed Gabrielle (Farrell) Mondestin as its first chief communications officer, becoming a member of the senior leadership team at the mass transit agency.

Last Saturday, dozens of job-seekers turned out for a mobile job recruitment event held by the MBTA at Jubilee Christian Church in Mattapan. The event — called “HR on the Go” — included a customized MBTA bus with interview stations and computers inside to make the application process smoother for prospective T employees.

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.