MBTA Buses & Infrastructure

About time. I wonder if they could do anything with the 11, it suffers from horrific stacking during rush hour.
 
MBTA asks that you use their See Something Say Something App to take a picture.of cars parked in bus stops. Targeted enforcement to improve access.
Greetings. My name is Lisa Weber and I'm the Vice-Chairperson of the Executive Board at the MBTA that deals with disability access. We had a Summit yesterday morning that brought together the disability community, and the cycling and pedestrian advocacy communities.

It was mentioned multiple times that a common problem for all of our communities is cars illegally parked in bus stops. We had a meeting after the Summit with the MBTA police and they asked for our help. Anyone who sees a vehicle illegally parked in any MBTA bus stop can take a photo and send it directly through the MBTA See Something Say Something app. This is an especially good way to report cars that have already driven away, and you don't need to navigate the feedback form online. Just snap and send.

Thank you to anyone who came to our Summit and I look forward to future collaboration.
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Emphasis mine.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/78469433513?view=permalink&id=10155465019533514
 
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The City of Boston continues to be outdone by its hinterlands:
Arlington looking to pilot Bus Rapid Transit on Mass. Ave.

Arlington officials... plan to apply for a $100,000 grant from the Barr Foundation in order to pilot
[BRT on the 77 to address four pinch points on Massachusetts Ave 1) Lockeland Avenue @AHS 2) Pleasant Street in Arlington Center, 3)Lake Street near East Arlington and Capitol Square and 4) Alewife Brook Parkway near the Cambridge line.]
...
Overall, average daily ridership on Route 77 inbound is 3,641, putting it in the top 15 bus routes for inbound ridership in the whole MBTA bus system.

In Arlington, 17 percent of residents commute by transit.
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The town’s primary interest,..is in intersection treatments...[but for the pilot]
The town would likely use cones and police details to create and enforce any temporary right-of-way lane for the pilot program.
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The City of Cambridge is said to be interested in collaborating with corresponding work in North Cambridge.
 
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Regional fragmentation provides labs for innovation! Federalism is underrated! Yuge successes, believe me!
(On a less trumpian note, this looks great, especially if it could provide a kick in the pants to Cambridge to do more to speed up busses on Mass Ave).
 
Yes, but this is probably easier to do in Arlington, where Mass. Ave. is pretty wide relative to traffic volume.

The challenge with the high volume routes in Boston is that Boston will have to bite the bullet on eliminating on-street parking to be able to create bus lanes on many of the streets. Politically that is still a really challenging move.
 
JeffDowntown said:
Yes, but this is probably easier to do in Arlington, where Mass. Ave. is pretty wide relative to traffic volume.

The challenge with the high volume routes in Boston is that Boston will have to bite the bullet on eliminating on-street parking to be able to create bus lanes on many of the streets. Politically that is still a really challenging move.
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Even just alternate sides (AM inbound til 9:30am and PM outbound, say 3pm to 7pm?)

I seem to recall that parking on the northbound Surface Artery near the Aquarium is no parking until 10am (at least on Saturday, not sure about weekday). With so many retailers not opening until 10am anyway taking for the morning rush should be more attainable
 
Arlington said:
Even just alternate sides (AM inbound til 9:30am and PM outbound, say 3pm to 7pm?)

I seem to recall that parking on the northbound Surface Artery near the Aquarium is no parking until 10am (at least on Saturday, not sure about weekday). With so many retailers not opening until 10am anyway taking for the morning rush should be more attainable
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We seem to have the political will to eliminate street parking (at rush hours) for CARS, but not for buses. None of the rush hour parking bans I am aware of in Boston are for buses.
 
Don't know how much of his ideas would be applicable past the Linwood street stop in Arlington (where Mass Ave shrinks to one travel lane each direction). Most of it's a Cambridge thing.
 
Starting Monday June 26th the 558 bus route will be changing eliminating 2 stops on Spruce Street while relocating 2 others onto Crescent Street.

Bus stops to be eliminated are .....
-2 bus stops on Spruce Street near Post Office (both inbound and outbound)
-1 inbound bus stop on Spruce near Adams St
- outbound bus stop on Moody @ Crescent infront of In a pickle restaurant (this will still REMAIN A BUS STOP for all other routes, just not 558)

New bus stops....
-1 new outbound stop on Crescent St near Moody St (next to Cronins Landing)
-1 new inbound stop on Crescent St between Adams St & Spruce St (on the island)
 
I moved to San Francisco a couple weeks ago and it's very interesting to compare their transit systems. Both have quite a bit they could learn from each other.

The Muni bus system is altogether much more useful than the MBTA. Frequencies are vastly higher - almost all of the main routes have headways between 3 minutes and 10 minutes at rush hour, and almost all routes are 20 minutes or less. Even during the evenings, almost everything is on 15-minute headways. This evening, I made a bus-to-bus connection at 830pm, and took another bus home at 10pm, without needing to check a schedule. The standard map at all bus stops and rail stations shows all bus and rail routes, colored by frequency, with a table of headways. Buses aren't treated as an afterthought like they are by the T.

They have a lot more trolleybuses and a lot more 60-footers. Longer routes have express overlays for the outer portions, and the busiest routes have "Rapid" (limited-stop) overlays. Some routes also have red-painted bus lanes and/or boarding islands. Currently only the rapids and a few trunk routes have TSP, but by the end of 2019 every single traffic light in the city will have been configured for TSP. (Not all lights will have TSP activated, and some will only have it in some directions, but that's a decision that's made on a case-by-case level). And, of course, the all-door boarding is great.

Busy Muni bus stops are rather nicer than the MBTA - all have well-kept maps and lighting, and many have information displays with a button for audio announcements. They have four seats, separated so four people can actually sit down. There are red curbs and white-painted bus zones. Subway stations have a live map of where trains are, as well as a table of the next departures for each service.

The MBTA does have them beat in some aspects. Many less-important Muni bus stops are hard to spot when the curb and paint are worn down; the MBTA does a good job of having a sign at every stop. The MBTA also does a better job at bus-to-rail transfer locations; Muni only has basic curb stops even at pretty important transfer stations. Muni doesn't include connections in stop announcements, and their stop requests are pull-chains rather than tactile strips.

Many Muni buses are high-floor, although they are gradually being phased out. High-floor streetcars are unfortunately here to stay, which means that many Muni Metro stops will never be accessible. Even the nicer street-level stops have fairly narrow boarding islands compared to many Green Line platforms.

Muni's single biggest flaw is service consistency. Buses and trains are both very slow, especially the street-running sections of the Muni Metro. (The other night, I handily beat a train at 10pm running 8-minute miles). Stop spacing is very close, which is understandable on hills but silly in other places. Headway control on buses is okay but not great, but headway control on Muni Metro is awful. They lose a great deal of capacity by having very uneven headways on the surface lines, which means than some trains are too full to allow some riders on, and other trains run nearly empty at rush hour. The Green Line doesn't have great headway control, but you rarely see 15-minute gaps at rush hour, and the MBTA is actively working to improve headway reliability.
 
The EGE said:
I moved to San Francisco a couple weeks ago and it's very interesting to compare their transit systems. Both have quite a bit they could learn from each other.
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Thanks for your perspective, EGE - having moved to Boston from SF, I've always compared the two transit systems, generally deciding that (urban) Boston rail > SF rail, but SF bus >> Boston bus due to frequency and coverage. Bus-bus transfers were commonplace in the city; here, I've never even attempted one because the times are so inconsistent/bad.

Muni will be receiving federal funding for red transit-and-taxi lanes on 50 more streets. Some are going down on future BRT routes (Geary and Geneva), lots downtown, and from the map in the linked image, it looks like the N may finally get a lane of its own on Judah. (Hopefully you'll have to improve your time to 7-minute-miles to beat it soon ;) )
 
I would not have thought a Southie guy would propose this. I'm not voting for him, regardless but glad to see attention paid. (I think this is a press release so I'm posting the whole thing.)

Flynn Calls for Bus Rapid Transit

Ed Flynn, candidate for Boston City Council District 2 has released a proposal to bring a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Silver Line investment program to District 2. In his campaign for City Council, Flynn has talked extensively about modernizing and enhancing Boston’s public transportation system.

Flynn said, “In recent years, conventional bus routes have become overburdened due to an explosion in both the South Boston population and the levels of T ridership. More and more residents are taking the T to work in Downtown and on the South Boston Waterfront without adequate resources to accommodate them, leading to service interruptions and inefficiencies.”

He continued, “Through common-sense investments in transportation infrastructure, we can make the community more accessible and ensure that all residents are able to access Boston’s major economic and employment zones.”

In 2015, the South Boston Waterfront Sustainable Transportation Plan was commissioned to provide recommendations to the most pressing issues affecting the South Boston Waterfront, and they found that “transit connections between the South Boston Waterfront and South Boston residential neighborhoods have not kept pace with Waterfront land use growth and demand for access to these areas.”

The MBTA has stated that they have seen an 84-percent ridership increase on the number 7 bus, and a 54-percent increase on the number 9 bus. These two routes provide service at levels greater than 11,000 rides per day, many of which have riders waiting for multiple buses before being able to board, negatively affecting their work schedules.

Flynn‘s proposal to bring about a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Silver Line investment program in the District, would link the City Point Bus Terminal to the South Boston Waterfront, South Station areas and Copley Square. Bus Rapid Transit lines would supplement existing bus service, enabling riders to travel directly to the South Boston Waterfront, Downtown Boston and Copley from the City Point Bus Terminal.

A second step the MBTA could take to improve the situation would be for a direct Silver Line route from Andrew Square to the South Boston Waterfront, this will address the current strain on the system, as well as preempt the ridership increase being brought on by new developments in that area. A third remedy is to increase the current number of buses along the number 9 and number 7 routes during peak hours, allowing residents to travel more efficiently.

Of course, the need for the most environmentally friendly bus models is also a priority to reduce noise pollution and carbon emissions that are currently affecting our residents. By implementing these programs, the MBTA could greatly reduce the stress on the system caused by the current levels of ridership and improve service delivery.
 
Wicked Local: Reimagined buses could boost transit options

Not much we don't know already - Arlington wants BRT on Mass Ave, Cambridge-Watertown want BRT on Mount Auburn.

This statistic jumped out at me though:

“On Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge, in the morning, 2 percent of the vehicles heading into Harvard Square are buses, and they carry 43 percent of the people traveling in that corridor,” Dempsey said. “You have a real imbalance in terms of the allocation of space among the different users of the road. It will make more people better off if we can give those bus riders a better trip.”
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Everett may build another bus-only lane

Everett will use a $150,000 grant from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to fund preliminary design and engineering costs of a second bus-only lane on Broadway. Everett received the funding because it is the host city for the future Wynn casino. As a pilot initiative, Everett and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Early last December opened a bus-only lane along a stretch of the southbound side of upper Broadway, on weekdays from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m. Based on a survey in which many respondents said the bus-only lane had reduced their commuting time, the city extended the program indefinitely. The proposed bus-only lane would be on the southbound side of lower Broadway between Route 16 and the Boston city line, a primary corridor for expected casino traffic. The road would need to be widened to accommodate a bus-only lane, according to Jay Monty, the city’s transportation planner. The lower Broadway lane would be in effect 24 hours a day.
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https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/r...s-only-lane/TVCRA7zqYxE1lzPGlziGHO/story.html
 
The EGE said:
Buses aren't treated as an afterthought like they are by the T.
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Because people actually RIDE buses in San Francisco.

My favorite story was about 10 or so years ago, I was out in SF visiting a friend. And of course, I have zero issue riding public transportation. I remember I wanted to go somewhere... and I asked my friend

"So I take the N Tran to Market Street, then switch to a L Train, and walk a few blocks"

He laughs and says "honey, people ride buses here in San Francisco. You take this bus to this corner, walk across the street, then catch this bus and you'll be at your destination far faster than you did if you took the train"

He was right.

Out there people are not afraid of riding the bus so there's an investment put into making sure they run right. Until that attitude changes in Boston, it won't change here.

Of course, its a chicken or the egg situation. Can't attract bus riders if the bus schedules suck, but can't improve schedules unless you have the riders to do so. So what do you do? ¯_(ツ)_/¯
 
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