Group demands urgency around known solutions: legislative investment and accountability through naming an MBTA board

Calling for action from both the Governor and state legislature, advocates, riders, and municipal leaders rallied on September 30 at the State House following a series of safety-related incidents throughout the MBTA system, including Red and Orange Line derailments and dangerous conditions on station stairs and escalators. 

“We know the solutions to the challenges facing the T, and we have the power to fix them,” said Josh Ostroff, Interim Director at the Transportation for Massachusetts Coalition. “The question is -- what crisis will it take for our leaders to act with the urgency and scale required?”

September 16, 2021 -- Public transit is an essential service, a public good, and the backbone of our state economy. Years of reports and studies have established that in order for Massachusetts to be competitive and to serve all residents, we must have a modernized transit network that is equitable, efficient and environmentally sustainable. The Governor and the State Legislature are entrusted with this responsibility.

Proposed Initiative Petition Would Worsen Climate, Equity and Transportation Crises

BOSTON , September 1, 2021 -- As the extreme weather across Massachusetts and beyond makes clear, we face a climate crisis that threatens our Commonwealth. Severe storms, flooding, drought and dangerous heat affect us all. This crisis demands clear action and responsible leadership.

The Transportation and Climate Initiative, or TCI, will benefit residents all across Massachusetts and beyond as part of a comprehensive approach to reducing carbon emissions. TCI will help protect our environment and health while also improving vital transportation services on which we all depend. 

Transportation for Massachusetts is excited to announce a grant opportunity for organizations working on transportation justice across the Commonwealth. We welcome applications until May 28th, 2021.

Transportation Justice is critical to the Commonwealth, and is a central to the mission of our statewide coalition. We must ensure that transportation provides access to opportunity -- particularly for historically underserved and disadvantaged populations, and especially now at a time of worsening inequality during COVID-19.

A letter to MBTA General Manager Poftak from 24 organizations, including T4MA

June 24, 2020: Thank you to your entire team at the MBTA for your hard work and quick response during this COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. The MBTA has proven itself as a critical lifeline, allowing essential workers to get to their jobs and enabling thousands of people to access health care, get to the grocery store, and carry out other necessary tasks. The MBTA has always been essential to keeping Massachusetts running; that is true now more than ever.

Transportation for Massachusetts has awarded the second round of Transportation Justice/Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI) subgrants to 12 organizations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania to support important initiatives promoting equity and environmental justice. T4MA is grateful to the Barr Foundation for their support, and all applicants for their interest. A total of $112,500 was awarded in this funding round. 

By Chris Dempsey
The T4MA team is horrified by the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. His death -- like the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many other Black men and women due to racism and police brutality -- is a sad reminder of injustice in our society. We all have a responsibility to confront that injustice -- institutionally, with others, and within ourselves.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is set to debate legislation to reform and revitalize transportation in Massachusetts. The T4MA coalition thanks the Representatives whose important work will be discussed and decided this week. Here's a brief summary of where we are, and what is on the table. 

Cross-posted with the Union of Concerned Scientists and authored by Dan Gatti, UCS Policy Analyst.

Twelve states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic along with DC are proposing to invest billions every year for the next decade in clean transportation under a new policy framework released today by the Transportation and Climate Initiative (or “TCI”).

Transportation for Massachusetts applauds the leadership of the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board for adopting a series of forward-looking resolutions to transform the commuter rail and bus networks.