Boston pilots free public transit in bid for equitable COVID recovery
Ultimately, the pandemic has demonstrated that a reliance on fare revenue is not a sustainable and equitable way to fund our transit system, [Kristiana] Lachiusa, said. "In order to really have a fare-free transit system sustainably work, we’re going to need longer-term changes in funding," she said.
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Boston Mayor Janey Joins Calls for MBTA to Restore Pre-Pandemic Service Levels
"I can say with certainty that everyone here today wants one simple thing - a fully functioning T that supports us bringing back our economy, bringing back Massachusetts, and we're not there yet," Livable Streets Alliance Executive Director Stacy Thompson said.
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Orange Line commuters face crowded buses, COVID fears
“Not everyone is feeling the impact but where they are felt it is catastrophic for the people who depend on public transit,” Thompson said. “We’ve cut entire bus lines and reduced service on other bus lines. These are buses that go to health centers. That help seniors get to grocery stores.”
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Boston Council Discusses Ideas to Improve Sidewalk Snow Clearance
Kristiana Lachiusa, Director of Transit and Outreach for the LivableStreets Alliance, endorsed the Syracuse approach in subsequent testimony.
“Boston (calls itself) an age-friendly community,” Lachiusa reminded the Council. “We have a requirement – we made an agreement – that we were going to do this, so we need to keep up our end of the bargain.”
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Kim Janey Announces Chairs of Mayoral Transition Sub-Committees
“I am honored to serve as the co-chair of the Transportation and Climate Justice Sub-Committee, and to be able to contribute in a small way to the just and equitable recovery process Boston must advance in the coming months,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of the Livable Streets Alliance.
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Sen. Markey Re-Introduces Bill To Improve Safety & Accessibility For All Road Users
“We are grateful for Senator Markey and Congressman Cohen’s continued leadership on the issue of Complete Streets,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of the LivableStreets Alliance. “The ongoing COVID 19 crisis has demonstrated the need to fundamentally rethink our streets."
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New Role for Chief Osgood Leaves Another Leadership Vacancy at Boston Transportation Dept.
Chief Osgood has been one of the city’s most well-liked and effective cabinet members, and I can’t think of a better person to shift into an incredibly challenging role, during a pandemic and with the uncertainty about what comes next with the new (mayoral) administration. - Stacy Thompson, Executive Director
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WRTA board votes to extend fare suspension through June
You may not recognize it, but leaders across the state and across the country are looking to Worcester as a model for more equitable and efficient transit,” Lachiusa said. “I encourage you to keep going. This is serving as important proof of concept effort that is a critical step towards making the case for sustaining funding for this type of program to be put into place more permanently in Worcester and more broadly for other transit systems across the state.
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Worcester-Area Buses Will Remain Free Until July
LiveableStreets Alliance community engagement manager Kristiana Lachiusa also spoke, telling the WRTA board there's a state-level bill in the works that would allow regional transit agencies to fund fare-free pilot programs. State Sen. Hariette Chandler is expected to cosponsor that measure, Lachiusa said.
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Will Boston’s next mayor take the T to City Hall?
“When you have to spend a lot of time educating and working with a politician to get them [to understand], you lose time,” said Stacy Thompson, director of the Livable Streets Alliance, a Boston-area advocacy group. “A mayor who has been taking the bus to work every day is starting in a different place than one who was driving every day.”
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TCI opponents push other states to reject controversial carbon tax
The state has yet to lay out its plans for spending the roughly $160 million that will be raised annually through the program. A minimum of 35% of the proceeds will be reinvested in communities most affected by air pollution, but Stacy Thompson of the Liveable Streets Alliance said it isn’t enough.
“Even the best case scenario for TCI is just not enough to meet the full scope of the transportation challenges we’re facing,” Thompson said.
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Even During Pandemic, MBTA Overtime Train Kept Chugging Along
Stacy Thompson, executive director of the transit advocacy group LivableStreets Alliance, called the overtime tab "a byproduct of a philosophy that is penny wise and pound foolish," explaining the agency needs to hire more workers.
"The overtime numbers are really a canary in the coal mine, pointing to a long-term under-investment in personnel of the T," she said.
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Local Transit Advocates Weigh In On Pete Buttigieg As Transportation Secretary
Stacy Thompson, executive director of Livable Streets, said although she is optimistic, some of Buttigieg’s policies while Mayor of South Bend were controversial.
“He does not have credibility with the Black and Brown community," Thompson said. "We think about housing and transportation together. And he had a beautification policy that ended up tearing down homes in Black and Brown communities. You can't build bike lanes and tear down homes at the same time.”
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Most MA Residents Oppose Cuts to Public Transportation
"There's a false narrative that the whole state pays for the T but only a small number of people benefit from it. The whole state benefits from the economic engine of our transit system," Thompson said. "And it was very clear that the people of Massachusetts understood that when they opposed these service cuts."
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Here’s a month-by-month look at how 2021 might play out
“We never made any meaningful changes that would change behavior, and the way people get around the city,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of transit advocacy group Livable Streets Alliance. “Because of that, the unevenness of our system feels profound.”
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