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Podcast 15 - Amateur Planner on BRT, the MBTA report, Allston ...

Podcast 15 - Amateur Planner on BRT, the MBTA report, Allston ...

Ari Ofsevit, transit operations professional and the Amateur Planner, joins us once again to discuss how Governor Baker's MBTA Commission Report (full pdf) used unfair comparisons and erroneous data to push a specific right-wing agenda, whether privatization makes any sense at all (and why certain people argue for it), and a vision to actually stabilize the T and improve transit in Boston.

We focus heavily on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), with "gold standard" BRT being advocated in a recent report by the Barr Foundation. We explore what better bus service could look like in the context of Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Chelsea and other cities where it's needed.

UPDATE: NYC Donates Snow Fighting Equipment; Governor Releases $30 Billion Plan

UPDATE: NYC Donates Snow Fighting Equipment; Governor Releases $30 Billion Plan

Spring has sprung today for transit as NYC MTA CEO Thomas Prendergast announced a small donation of snow fighting equipment and the Governor announced a commitment of $30 billion over 15 years to drastically upgrade the MBTA's infrastructure and equipment.

Podcast 11b - Should MBTA Riders Receive Refunds?

After a historic month of MBTA service delays and suspensions, many riders, politicians and media figures are asking the T to refund money to February monthly pass holders. What form would rebates take? Should the T use very limited funds for this purpose? Is a refund even helpful, or does it simply shift focus from fixing T infrastructure to blaming T management?

Episode 11 guest Rich Parr, Research Director for MassINC Polling, sticks around with Jeremy and Marc to debate the rebate hot potato.

UPDATE: Yesterday the MBTA announced they would be offering a free fare day in late April and discounts on May passes. More business as usual: blame T management for political problems.