MBTA finishes safety inspections of its tracks, a key step toward trains returning to normal speed
“We want to understand: What did they discover?” Thompson said. “Were there problems that weren’t noted before? What were they tracking?”
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Mass. Lawmakers To Re-Introduce Legislation For Fare Free Public Transit
"The reality is free transit is working. We are seeing massive transit improvements in Boston, Merrimack Valley, and Worcester— these systems are bucking the trends of downward transit ridership that was happening before the pandemic," Thompson said.
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‘It’s now on their plate’: With Healey’s new hires comes new responsibility for the MBTA’s problems
“We are not looking for perfection, we are looking for people who will be engaged,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of Livable Streets, a local transportation advocacy group. “If people the Healey administration is appointing do the work we assume they will do, in a year or two the T will feel different to the riding public.”
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Possible Blue Line Shutdowns and Land O’ Lakes CEO Beth Ford
Stacy Thompson, Executive Director of “Livable Streets”, a group which advocates for equitable transportation solutions, talks about the MBTA possibly shutting down the Blue Line for repairs every night for a month.
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LivableStreets Alliance executive director on Boston’s free fare bus program
Stacy Thompson, the executive director of LivableStreets Alliance, an advocacy organization dedicated to making city streets more pedestrian-friendly, joined Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Thursday to talk about some of the lessons that could be learned from Boston.
“I don’t think transit is dead,” she said. “I think we need to meet the reality of where a thriving global city should be, which is moving 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in different directions for different reasons.”
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In the MBTA’s proposed $9.2 billion spending plan, transit advocates argue more funds are needed for expansion
Stacy Thompson, the executive director of LivableStreets Alliance, said the T must balance both near-term safety and maintenance, while also working on expansion.
“Things like expansion and resiliency are not extras, or nice to have. They should be considered core to the viability of the system,” Thompson said.
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On Eng’s first day, transit advocates hope new MBTA general manager can turn the agency around
“We need to hire enough bus operators that, by September, we’re running more service,” Thompson said. “It’s that simple.”
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New T GM promises to prioritize safety, reliability and staffing
“At this moment, I think riders really want someone who will help make sure the T just moves, just truly shows up on time, gets them to where they need to go,” Thompson said. “And I think that Philip Eng's general skills align with that desire.”
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MBTA contractors charged with stealing more than $8 million
“Whether it’s with the company working on our fare collection system, the company making the new Red and Orange Line trains, if you don’t have enough oversight and consistent management, things like this are more likely to happen. There is an emerging pattern,” she said, though she cautioned that she does not know enough about the Pigsley case to say if lax oversight played a role.
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Pedestrian deaths are up sharply in Mass. Here are five ways to reduce them
Similarly, raised crosswalks reduce vehicle speeds by functioning as a type of speed bump, said Stacy Thompson, executive director of LivableStreets, a transportation advocacy organization. “It’s the ideal condition,” Thompson said. “It forces the car to slow down, otherwise they’ll bottom out.”
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AMID MULTIPLE CRISES, MBTA FIELDS PITCHES FOR NEW AGENCY MARKETING CAMPAIGN
“Go with the transparency route, let people know what you’re doing. There’s a real value in marketing to help simplify really complex things,” Stacy Thompson of LiveableStreets Alliance said.
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What local transit advocates think of the MBTA's new leader
“This is not about flashy announcements and ribbon cuttings. This is about someone who can hire people, build a team, operationalize repairs and literally get the trains back on track. It’s that behind-the-scenes hard work. And he’s got decades of experience.”
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Transit advocates praise Governor Healey’s GM pick of Phillip Eng
“You can go to ribbon cuttings, you can make big announcements, you can talk about innovation. But what makes a system run is the stuff behind the scenes you never want to think about.”
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New leader for MBTA is announced: Phillip Eng, engineer who put New York rail on a better path
“This is progress,” Livable Streets executive director Stacy Thompson said. The work will be slow and it could be a “bumpy summer,” but she sees Eng as the right pick.
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"A herculean task": Transportation advocates say new MBTA GM faces challenges
"It's the kind of nuts and bolts experience we want to see in the T," said Thompson. "This isn't about ribbon cuttings, this isn't about announcements, this is about literally getting the trains back on track. You want someone who is going to prioritize that in the weeds, behind the scenes operations work that he seems to have many, many years of work in."
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Phillip Eng, former LIRR president, will be the next MBTA general manager, Healey announces
“It’s not the sexy stuff, it’s not the ribbon cuttings. It’s literally getting the trains running on time,” she said. “And that seems to be what his specialty is.”
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Debris Falls, Water Leaks From Ceiling at Forest Hills
Thompson said the frequent nature of the MBTA's problems does not make them acceptable. She says they are the result of decades of neglect, adding that investments are needed now.
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Two months in, Healey faces a familiar challenge for past governors: an MBTA in disarray
“There is a false narrative that the T is an impossible thing to manage,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of advocacy group LivableStreets Alliance. “Maura Healey does not have an insurmountable challenge. She has a choice.”
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MBTA problems impact quality of life and economy, transit experts say
"There is really no major city globally that has a thriving economy without a transit system," she said. "It really comes down to people can't get downtown to go to a great restaurant, they can't go downtown to go to work, they can't get across town to get to a doctor's appointment."
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The T is getting slower. 83 speed restrictions cover 10 miles of track.
Stacy Thompson, LivableStreets executive director, said she expects slow zones to persist for a “couple of years” across many different lines.
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The MBTA is scheduling spring bus service that it knows it can’t deliver
“They should be aiming for people to have the information they can revolve their lives around,” she said. “That’s better than having an ambitious plan they know they can’t meet.”
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Healey wants MBTA rate reductions for low-income riders
Thompson pointed to a 2019 Massachusetts Institute of Technology study that found that low-income passengers who received a 50% discounted fare took more trips than lower-income passengers who paid a regular fare, including more trips related to with health and social services.
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Ridership on fare-free MBTA buses more than doubled in program's first year
"And what that means is that when it is pouring rain outside, when it's snowing, you can get on the bus faster; the bus moves faster; there's more money in your pocket if you're not making a transfer and that's your only ride."
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Chamber Urges Pay Boost As T Leader Search Continues
LivableStreets Alliance Executive Director Stacy Thompson said the GM might need a raise given the region's high cost of living, but stressed that she does not view compensation as "a dealbreaker."
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Greater Boston Needs a Bus System That Supports Its Workforce
While municipalities and state agencies are making laudable steps to improve bus service, progress has been piecemeal and insufficient.
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New Report: Greater Boston’s Population Doubled as MBTA Bus Fleet Decreased the Same Over the Past Fifty Years
"We have a huge opportunity to invest in better buses to help people get where they need to go, all while boosting the economy, reducing traffic congestion, and tackling climate change.”
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Advocates Set An Agenda For Salvaging the T’s Troubled Buses
A new report from the LivableStreets Alliance and Boston's office of the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) establishes a clear agenda for the legislature, the MBTA's management, and municipal governments to improve the region's struggling bus system.
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Wanted: Experienced MBTA GM with ‘strong commitment to safety’
“If you’re looking for someone with a ton of expertise and someone with previous experience of the MBTA, Rick Leary would be an obvious choice to talk to or at least reach out to.”
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Who Is Gina Fiandaca, MassDOT’s New Boss?
“Gina was always friendly and collaborative. She served as commissioner while Go Boston 2030 was being drafted, so we didn’t have very much time to see her in action implementing the plan”
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Boston Public Radio full show: Jan. 9, 2023
Jim Aloisi and Stacy Thompson shared their hopes on what Gov. Maura Healey should prioritize in Massachusetts transit, from safety at the MBTA to strengthening the state’s roads and bridges. Aloisi is a former transportation secretary, a member of the Transit Matters Board, and a contributor to Commonwealth Magazine. Thompson is the executive director of the Livable Streets Alliance.
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