MBTA Buses & Infrastructure

Most of the time I see traffic enforcement happening in Boston/Brookline/Cambridge/Somerville (which is rare) they use bike or bus lanes for the stops.
 
KCasiglio said:
Does this include parking violations? Important to remember that BPD is not the issuing party for those. Also, not saying it would or wouldn't change where Boston stands in relation to its peers by tickets by population doesn't really seem like a fair comparison since so many more people are driving into Boston as opposed to surrounding communities (though obviously Cambridge and Somerville have high "passing through" rates as well). Something like citations by VMT were give a better picture.
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Parking tickets no - only moving violations issued on the Uniform citation and reported to the RMV. Since parking tickets are municipal and not reported, it's not captured in this data. And I don't necessarily disagree on the issues with the data - I'm just working with what is readily available, since the RMV analysis and dataset just isn't aimed at this question, but it seemed a reasonable proxy to adjust for number of cops.
 
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I don't think we should be using anecdota to question data. If we want to go down that road, I've been pulled over at least twice that I can recall in Boston, and I don't even drive much. So it happens.
 
HenryAlan said:
I don't think we should be using anecdota to question data. If we want to go down that road, I've been pulled over at least twice that I can recall in Boston, and I don't even drive much. So it happens.
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I had deleted by post since I wanted to rewrite it but looks like you replied simultaneously (I think your post is a reply to mine at least). The most important point here is that simply finding a spreadsheet with numbers on it does not in any way amount, necessarily, to useful data, or data that can be used to construct a narrative—especially when said data is limited yet also pertains to complex social behaviors over time and geographical space. We live in an era that worships numbers, but has no idea how to use them, and consequently we see a tendency to either rest easy on conclusions that ought not be made, or the weaponization of data on insufficient ground to prove or disprove any point. So this is a little more than simply writing off everything I said as being the devil of anecdote vs the unimpeachable angel of "data".

An annual “number of citations issued by town” dataset hardly tells a complete story. The simplest and probably ascertainable data point is we don't see the citations per drivers on the road, since that is the real metric for Boston—not Boston's population density. But what we probably can't get and is now shown include other seemingly crucial points: it doesn’t say the time or location of the citations beyond day or night (which when you’re dealing with department quotas, when police will write all the monthly tickets at one time and place just to meet the quota, is a very different than a situation where issuance of tickets is spread out evenly over geography and time), it doesn’t give us citations per vehicles actually on the road (important not only for the cities themselves, but also tickets per vehicle for a specific location: 20 tickets a day on Lee St in Brookline vs 20 tickets per day on Comm Ave in Back Bay is hardly comparable), we also don’t have these data (at least they were not posted) for each of the last ten years (during which there have been seismic changes to the way policing is done in the wake of several police-related incidents, culminating in 2020 with Floyd, as well as pandemic-induced changes such that 2021-2022 is likely not a representative 2-year period of the last 5, 10 or 20 years—and that could be the case for all departments, or selectively for suburbs only, or for Boston only). However, most importantly in my mind to the point in question, we don’t see the reason why a stop was initiated—only the outcome. This gets to the heart of the question, which is whether or not the police are pulling people over for violating speed limits or red lights in real time, or whether they’re pulled over for legal or statutory infractions such as expired registrations, licenses, or *existing* criminal warrants.

The question really is: if a car is driving 15-20 mph over the speed limit, and a cop sees it, is there a notable difference in the likelihood of being pulled over or not, depending on the town? I don’t know anyone who has lived locally or grown up here who would not place Boston at the very bottom of any such list. That’s not bullshit anecdote. What the reasons are, I don’t know, but it could have something to do with the fact that alone among large cities in MA, the Boston Police department doesnt even have a traffic enforcement division (I checked and it doesn't appear this has changed in the intervening years since that article was written). Or it could simply be culture, or a legacy of Mayor White (as someone here said), or some other reason.

Stlin said:
I mean, the data doesn't back that claim. The RMV does a study on citations every 2 years primarily for bias checking purposes - but it does tell you how many uniform citations a given department has done in its data appendix. While they haven't released 23 and 24 data yet, in 2022 Boston issued nearly 29 thousand traffic tickets. Using only the top right population adjusted figure, that's a stop rate exceeding that of the neighboring communities of Cambridge, Revere, Medford, Newton and Quincy, and on par with Chelsea, Milton, Somerville and Lynn. Brookline stops somewhat more, and Dedham admittedly blows it out out of the water at 383(!) stops per thousand residents.
View attachment 61849
Also keep in mind that MSP troops H4, H5 & H6 exist, which largely covers DCR state roads in Metro Boston and issued 16k tickets, as well as H9 (the tunnel troop) which issued 12k tickets on the Big Dig highways in 2022.

Honorable mentions go to MSP as a whole which accounted for 40% of all statewide tickets, particularly troop D which managed more tickets than troop H while covering the less dense South Shore, the town of Sturbridge which had the most "productive" department with 515 stops per thousand residents, and Worcester, which had the least "productive" department amongst larger cities in MA with a paltry 15.1 per thousand.

That said, a dishonourable mention to the Transit Police which should have the most reason to enforce the Bus Lanes - they're a unit of the MBTA, after all. They only managed 305 tickets in 2022.

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FK4 said:
I had deleted by post since I wanted to rewrite it but looks like you replied simultaneously (I think your post is a reply to mine at least). The most important point here is that simply finding a spreadsheet with numbers on it does not in any way amount, necessarily, to useful data, or data that can be used to construct a narrative—especially when said data is limited yet also pertains to complex social behaviors over time and geographical space. We live in an era that worships numbers, but has no idea how to use them, and consequently we see a tendency to either rest easy on conclusions that ought not be made, or the weaponization of data on insufficient ground to prove or disprove any point. So this is a little more than simply writing off everything I said as being the devil of anecdote vs the unimpeachable angel of "data".

An annual “number of citations issued by town” dataset hardly tells a complete story. The simplest and probably ascertainable data point is we don't see the citations per drivers on the road, since that is the real metric for Boston—not Boston's population density. But what we probably can't get and is now shown include other seemingly crucial points: it doesn’t say the time or location of the citations beyond day or night (which when you’re dealing with department quotas, when police will write all the monthly tickets at one time and place just to meet the quota, is a very different than a situation where issuance of tickets is spread out evenly over geography and time), it doesn’t give us citations per vehicles actually on the road (important not only for the cities themselves, but also tickets per vehicle for a specific location: 20 tickets a day on Lee St in Brookline vs 20 tickets per day on Comm Ave in Back Bay is hardly comparable), we also don’t have these data (at least they were not posted) for each of the last ten years (during which there have been seismic changes to the way policing is done in the wake of several police-related incidents, culminating in 2020 with Floyd, as well as pandemic-induced changes such that 2021-2022 is likely not a representative 2-year period of the last 5, 10 or 20 years—and that could be the case for all departments, or selectively for suburbs only, or for Boston only). However, most importantly in my mind to the point in question, we don’t see the reason why a stop was initiated—only the outcome. This gets to the heart of the question, which is whether or not the police are pulling people over for violating speed limits or red lights in real time, or whether they’re pulled over for legal or statutory infractions such as expired registrations, licenses, or *existing* criminal warrants.

The question really is: if a car is driving 15-20 mph over the speed limit, and a cop sees it, is there a notable difference in the likelihood of being pulled over or not, depending on the town? I don’t know anyone who has lived locally or grown up here who would not place Boston at the very bottom of any such list. That’s not bullshit anecdote. What the reasons are, I don’t know, but it could have something to do with the fact that alone among large cities in MA, the Boston Police department doesnt even have a traffic enforcement division (I checked and it doesn't appear this has changed in the intervening years since that article was written). Or it could simply be culture, or a legacy of Mayor White (as someone here said), or some other reason.
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Useful data (probability of being pulled over if one were to drive 20mph over speed limit for a half mile on a given stretch of road, for example) would be a godsend, but is impossible to come by. Number of citations is the numerator of this type of data, but it’s useless without the denominator.

Where do we stand with respect to legalizing speed cameras in Massachusetts?
 
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The MBTA posted it's meeting slides super early this time around, so here are some highlights from the Bus Lane enforcement presentation, including what the T seems has high priority enforcement/ phase 1 bus lanes and stops. Notably, ticket revenue won't go to the T directly but to the state MTTF, which isn't part of the MBTA's funding stream.
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Stlin said:
The MBTA posted it's meeting slides super early this time around, so here are some highlights from the Bus Lane enforcement presentation, including what the T seems has high priority enforcement/ phase 1 bus lanes and stops. Notably, ticket revenue won't go to the T directly but to the state MTTF, which isn't part of the MBTA's funding stream.
View attachment 62404View attachment 62405
View attachment 62403View attachment 62406View attachment 62407
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It's a shame the bill doesn't allow moving violations. N Washington St bus lane is gridlocked with cars every evening rush hour. I wonder if a car sitting in gridlock for long enough can become a standing violation?
 
Badusername said:
It's a shame the bill doesn't allow moving violations. N Washington St bus lane is gridlocked with cars every evening rush hour. I wonder if a car sitting in gridlock for long enough can become a standing violation?
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Listening to the meeting, it sounds like "standing in a bus lane" will be defined as broadly as legally possible. This was discussed in response to a question from the board at around 1:14:50 in the video.
 
BeansTheCat said:
Listening to the meeting, it sounds like "standing in a bus lane" will be defined as broadly as legally possible. This was discussed in response to a question from the board at around 1:14:50 in the video.
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Thank you! Direct quote from this article

Rachel Morse, the MBTA’s director of transit policy, said the agency would aim to define “standing” as broadly as possible to capture any cars preventing buses from using their reserve lanes.

“It doesn’t matter what gear the car is in or whether the car is occupied,” she said. “It’s caught on camera, if it’s staying in one place, that’s ‘standing.’”
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Badusername said:
Thank you! Direct quote from this article
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Well that would suggest that if you're (illegally) using the bus lanes, the fine structure then also incentivizes running red lights to avoid getting fined. That seems less than ideal.

Yes this is in the grand scheme of things a very minor problem but the solution is easy, obvious, and otherwise beneficial.
 
TheRatmeister said:
Well that would suggest that if you're (illegally) using the bus lanes, the fine structure then also incentivizes running red lights to avoid getting fined. That seems less than ideal.

Yes this is in the grand scheme of things a very minor problem but the solution is easy, obvious, and otherwise beneficial.
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This seems to happen with moving violations of the bus lane already? At least as far as I can tell on North Washington St or near Sullivan.
 
as02143 said:
This seems to happen with moving violations of the bus lane already? At least as far as I can tell on North Washington St or near Sullivan.
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I mean, not surprising. If you're fine breaking one law you're probably fine breaking a few. I just think that it would be preferable if the fine structure didn't push people to do that if they weren't already. As I said though, on the totem pole of issues it's pretty low impact.
 
www.hulltimes.com

MBTA plan would install 44 fixed stops, eliminate ‘flagging’ system for riders to hail a bus — The Hull Times

By Carol Britton Meyer The select board’s agenda this week included an initial presentation on the MBTA’s 714 Bus Stop Project – involving the transition from passengers flagging down the bus to waiting at designated stops – and the continuation of last year’s pay-by-phone and parking fee discussi
www.hulltimes.com www.hulltimes.com

Also:
The project, which the MBTA said is geared toward providing more visible and safer bus stops, could include adding a second bus to the 714 run.
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www.yourarlington.com

MBTA seeks a new business for Arlington Heights bus depot

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is seeking bids for a retail lease of the depot at 1389 Massachusetts Ave. MBTA.
www.yourarlington.com www.yourarlington.com
It was built around 1955 – no one seems quite sure of the exact date – and has long served as a place to buy food, drinks and find shelter from the weather. A small lunch counter was the main event under the original tenants.

“They served hot dogs, burgers, sodas and ice cream. Root beer float,” one person wrote on Facebook in response to a post asking for memories of 1389 Mass. Ave. “I miss it.”

Not much more is known about the original tenant, including when the business shut down.
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The City of Lexington just announced that MBTA is improving service on bus routes 62 and 76, effective August 24, 2025 (presumably when the fall schedule begins):

www.lexingtonma.gov

More MBTA Service for Lexington!

More MBTA service is coming to Lexington, starting 8/24/2025.
www.lexingtonma.gov www.lexingtonma.gov
  • Both routes will run 30-min frequencies during weekday peak hours
    • (Combined 15-min average headway for Lexington Center)
  • During weekday off-peak hours, the 62 and 76 will operate as standalone routes, instead of the combined 62/76
  • Route 62 will operate on Saturdays and Sundays; the combined 62/76 will cease operation on Saturdays
These are the exact improvements for the two routes under the bus network redesign (BNRD). I wonder if this means Phase 2 of BNRD, or at least a mini Phase 2A, will start with the fall schedule, with a larger selection of routes beyond just the 62 and 76.

Since we haven't seen any formal announcements of the Phase 2 routes, a full phase may be less likely, but a "mini-phase" is still possible.
 
I'm not sure this is necessarily a sign of larger BNRD-related changes. While these improvements do match what's slated for those routes under BNRD, it's more or less just restoring pre-COVID service levels other than the introduction of Sunday service (for the first time ever in the MBTA era!). They're replacing the combined 62/76 on Saturdays with just the 62, but the overall level of service will be similar as before COVID. (See the Fall 2019 schedule, for example, which pretty closely matches what's being described above.)
 
www.boston.com

MBTA to expand bus service to Houghton’s Pond this summer

The MBTA has announced that it will expand its Saturday bus service this summer to include Houghton’s Pond.
www.boston.com
Route 716 buses, which operate between Cobbs Corner in Canton and Mattapan in Boston with connections to the Mattapan Line, will run every 90 minutes from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays from June 21 through October 11.

“Houghton’s Pond is a fantastic place to enjoy summer recreational activities, and we’re pleased to have the opportunity to transport people to the pond with the pilot 716 direct bus service this summer on Saturdays,” MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng said in a release.

Buses will serve Houghton’s Pond in both directions via Hillside Street from MA-138/Washington Street. The summer service pilot is the result of what the MBTA called a “robust multiyear outreach effort” that included elected officials, transit advocates, nonprofit groups, municipal partners, local residents, and youth groups. User feedback and ridership data will inform future “summer improvements” to Route 716.
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Route 90 will be amended to Washington St, skipping Cross St and Broadway, when the summer schedule starts on June 15:

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There's also a set of slides linked in the press release, dated November 8, 2024. The stated reason was the addition of bike lanes on Tufts St, making it unsuitable for large vehicles.

However, Tufts St is only used by outbound buses on Route 90, and was a very recent addition in Summer 2023 whose (only) purpose was to connect to GLX East Somerville station. Because of this change, Cross St will lose all bus service. (The 80 currently serves part of Cross St, but it will no longer serve this area with the bus network redesign.)

It appears that MBTA is prioritizing the East Somerville GLX connection over coverage.
 
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