Media Statement: MBTA Bus Network Redesign

BOSTON, May 31, 2022 — On Monday, May 16th, 2022, the MBTA and the MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning launched their Bus Network Redesign proposal, kicking off a summer of engagement and feedback collection. This draft map presents a bold vision for the future of bus service in the MBTA region, motivated by a desire to reimagine the bus network to serve the trips of today rather than the trips of a century ago. TransitMatters sincerely congratulates the staff of the MBTA and the MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning on reaching this milestone - and we also commit to staying engaged on this project all the way through implementation.

However, a bus network is more than lines on a map; a bus network is service, operations, and schedules. A bus network is experiences, bus stops, transfers, and service spans. A bus network is vehicles, operators, and bus officials. The MBTA needs to ensure that its operational infrastructure, policies, and staff are sufficient to deliver this new service and to deliver on its promises of frequency and reliability. There are several key issues that need to be addressed by the MBTA for this program of improvements to fully deliver on its potential; first among them are operations, transfers, and operators.

The MBTA needs to develop policies and programs that support operations on the bus network - two of these, headway maintenance for frequent services, and timed transfers for infrequent ones, are crucial steps to delivering reliable service and overcoming skepticism from the public about the MBTA’s ability to deliver on its bold vision for a much larger frequent bus network. Currently, bunches of buses on frequent and infrequent routes are a common and almost daily occurrence, strangling service frequency, hampering public perception, and reducing reliability. Headway maintenance - the active monitoring and control of the time between buses along a route - can address this problem, and requires both technology, to enable the communication required to implement it, as well as policy, to set standards and empower operators and officials to implement them.

Timed connections on infrequent routes are another key step to enabling regional mobility and maximizing the utility of infrequent services. By having key nodes in the bus network serve as timed transfer points for buses arriving every 30 minutes or more, transfers are made easier and more comfortable for riders. This is just one way in which infrequent services can provide useful transit connectivity - if the MBTA is willing to plan, promise, and deliver useful connections and guaranteed transfers.

The bus network also needs to drive infrastructure decisions, both for passenger facilities and transit priority. Bus stops and key transfer points should be safe, comfortable and legible, and connections should be clearly marked and provided with wayfinding signage, seating, and shelter. The MBTA should work with municipalities and other roadway owners to ensure that transit priority, both on the street and in signalboxes, is provided where necessary.

Finally, the MBTA needs to address the shortage of operators needed to deliver this service. The Authority should improve the attractiveness of the career and the pay on offer, and if this requires more resources, the Authority should work with the administration and the legislature to secure recurring and predictable revenue to support this service expansion. The MBTA should also work with unions to negotiate improved compensation for new workers without it coming at the expense of existing operators.

This plan has the potential to truly transform the way Greater Boston uses the bus - but the MBTA needs to work with municipalities, RTAs, and TMAs to ensure that the network is coordinated with all of the other services that operate in the region to ensure maximum benefits. By improving operations, managing headways, coordinating transfers, providing comfortable facilities, and addressing funding shortfalls, operator shortages, and transit priority, the MBTA can turn this plan for improved bus service into a reality.

For media inquiries, please e-mail media@transitmatters.org. 

###

Data Dashboard 3.0: Eyes on the Bus

In continued support of the TransitMatters mission to unite advocates and inform the public about the state of the MBTA system, TransitMatters Labs is pleased to announce that bus data is now available and ready for exploration in Data Dashboard 3.0.

The Data Dashboard carries a storied history. Our work on its first version began in 2019 with the objective of providing an easy-to-use web site to explore travel times, time between trains (headways), and time spent at stations (dwell times) for trips on the subway network. The dashboard’s update in 2021 began computing statistics on those metrics over time, allowing for analysis of longer-term system trends. We’re thrilled that updating the Data Dashboard to version 3.0 with support for MBTA buses means that both transit advocates and the public can scrutinize the bus network nearly as much as the subway. It is also incredibly significant for TransitMatters itself—it enables our campaigns and our partners to study the performance of bus routes to make better informed policy recommendations.

To view the new bus data in the Data Dashboard, head over to https://dashboard.transitmatters.org. There is a new slider to switch from Subway over to Bus in the top-left corner:

Switching the slider to “Bus” changes the Dashboard to a yellow theme—that’s how you know you’re ready to dive in. Select a route, an origin station, a destination station, and a date (or date range) to continue. Bus data is available from August 1, 2018 through November 30, 2021 on the following routes:

• 1 - Harvard Sq to Nubian

• 15 - Fields Corner / Kane Sq to Ruggles

• 22 - Ashmont to Ruggles via Talbot Ave

• 23 - Ashmont to Ruggles via Washington St

• 28 - Mattapan to Ruggles

• 32 - Wolcott/Cleary Sq to Forest Hills

• 39 - Forest Hills to Back Bay

• 57/57A - Watertown Yard / Oak Sq to Kenmore

• 66 - Harvard Sq to Nubian

• 71 - Watertown Sq - Harvard

• 73 - Waverley Sq - Harvard

• 77 - Arlington Heights - Harvard

• 111 - Woodlawn - Haymarket

• 114/116/117 - Wonderland - Maverick

Unfortunately, buses don’t collect the information we need to compute dwell times (time spent at stop), so these are the three metrics available for bus:

• Travel times

• Time between buses (headways)

• Travel times by hour - choice of weekdays or weekend/holidays

After selecting input parameters, the Data Dashboard then presents you charts for those metrics. Here is an example from Route 1:

View fullsize

You may notice the interquartile range is often larger than you would see for the subway. This is because buses are generally more variable, since they are more susceptible to factors like traffic, which changes throughout the day. To help dive into this phenomenon more closely, we added a new type of chart: 

View fullsize

This “Travel times by hour” visualization helps clarify the variability shown in travel times above: mid-day trips (especially during rush hour!) are much slower than early morning and late-night. We also added an option to view weekend averages here as well.

This data makes some bus network challenges incredibly clear, such as headway management and bunching. For example, here is evidence of bunching on Route 1 at Putnam Avenue, near its western terminus at Harvard Square. On this day, September 23, 2021, bus frequency fluctuated between 1 minute and almost 30 minutes, particularly in the middle of the day. This may be due to data collection issues (if a bus running on Route 1 had a faulty GPS locator, for example). However, in this case, the average is a bus every 12-15 minutes, giving credence to the bunching scenario over the “missing trips” hypothesis.

View fullsize

These charts also show how bus lane installation can greatly affect the rider experience. After the City of Boston’s installation of the center-running bus lane on Columbus Avenue, Route 22 travel times during the evening commute dropped from 14 minutes to 10 minutes.

Before bus lane installation (October 2021):

View fullsize

After bus lane installation (November 2021):

View fullsize

We’re incredibly thankful for MassDOT’s Office of Performance Management and Innovation (OPMI); they consistently publish bus departure data that we use for this feature in the Data Dashboard. This update would not be possible without the hard work of everyone there and at the MBTA.

TransitMatters is looking forward to seeing what the community finds in Data Dashboard 3.0. Check it out! We also continue to appreciate your questions and feedback, and heads up—we’re always looking for volunteers with skills in web programming, data wrangling, graphic design, and fun :-) The TransitMatters Labs team is reachable at labs@transitmatters.org. You can also follow or tweet at some of the team members who worked on this project on Twitter:

Austin Paul (@ajp5678)
Chris Schmidt (@crschmidt)
Preston Mueller (@mathcolo)
Nathan Weinberg (@Nathan_Weinberg)
Chris Friend (@friendchristoph)

Podcast 29 - Transit Advocacy with Rafael Mares from the Conservation Law Foundation

We're joined in studio by prominent Boston transit advocate Rafael Mares, Vice President and Director of Healthy Communities and Environmental Justice for the Conservation Law Foundation. CLF has been instrumental in improving access and mobility for MBTA users, including holding the state to transit project commitments they've tried to wiggle out of.

We discuss the current state of transit operations and investment, the Control Board and politics, the fate of long-awaited projects such the Green Line Extension, the Big Dig legacy, and much more. This episode was recorded on May 16 in the studios of WMBR 88.1 FM in Cambridge, engineered by Scott Mullen.  Find Rafael Mares online at @RafaelMares2 or CLF.

TransitMatters advocates for fast, frequent, reliable and effective public transportation in and around Boston. As part of our vision to repair, upgrade and expand the MBTA transit network, we aim to elevate the conversation around transit issues by offering new perspectives, uniting transit advocates and promoting a level of critical analysis normally absent from other media.

Like what you hear? Share it around, tell your friends and colleagues, and subscribe to the blog and podcast (on iTunes) to be notified of new posts and episodes. Support our work by becoming a member, making a donation or signing up to volunteer because we can't do this alone. Let us know what you think: connect with TransitMatters on Facebook or Twitter. Follow Jeremy Mendelson @Critical Transit, Josh Fairchild @hatchback31, Jarred Johnson @jarjoh, Marc Ebuña @DigitalSciGuy, Scott Mullen @mixmastermully or email us here.