The MBTA owns and operates one of the oldest and largest public transportation agencies in the US, serving more than 1.2 million passenger trips each weekday before the COVID-19 pandemic. The MBTA’s services, or modes, include: Heavy Rail — The MBTA operates three heavy rail lines: the Red Line, Blue Line, and Orange Line. Collectively, these lines provide core subway services. Light Rail — The MBTA’s primary light rail system, the Green Line, provides services to outlying areas to the west and subway service through the center of the city. The MBTA also operates the Mattapan Trolley, which serves as Read More
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continued to have significant impacts on the MBTA in the 2021 fiscal year, primarily through steep declines in MBTA ridership from pre-pandemic levels, and associated revenue losses that will continue to challenge the MBTA in future fiscal years. Read More
MBTA customer experience describes the reliability, comfort, accessibility, and other service qualities experienced by MBTA riders in FY22. Reliability decreased slightly in FY22 for nearly all modes from the previous fiscal year. Implementation of new transit priority projects in FY22 more than doubled active bus priority miles and increased active transit priority signals, improving service for bus riders. Station upgrades and the MBTA’s Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure (PATI) are improving accessibility at MBTA stations and bus stops. Subway reliability measures the percent of customers who wait no longer than the scheduled amount of time between trains. Further illustration and Read More
In July 2020, in accordance with FTA final rule 49 CFR 673, the MBTA published a revised Transit Safety Plan which utilizes Safety Management Systems (SMS) principals to ensure the safety of customers, employees, contractors, and the public.1 The plan, which is reviewed and updated annually, provides strategic and management performance objectives to affirm and execute the MBTA’s commitment to provide a safe, reliable, and sustainable regional transportation service, and ensures compliance with federal, state, and local regulations and appropriate industry best practices. Since the plan’s publication, the MBTA has continued to implement SMS across the authority, through the development Read More
In accordance with the FTA, the MBTA completes annual Transit Asset Management (TAM) performance measures for Rolling Stock, Equipment, Facilities, and Infrastructure – Track to document the agency’s asset inventory and system condition. The MBTA uses FTA-defined performance measures and annual targets to monitor asset condition, determine optimum levels of asset investment (such as preventative maintenance), and develop condition goals per asset type across the agency. In moving towards a proactive “predict and prevent” asset management strategy, key future advancements will include digital tracking, automated inspections, and a transition toward predictive maintenance. FY22 performance measures and FY23 performance targets are Read More
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has continued to have significant impacts on the MBTA in FY22, primarily through significant declines in MBTA ridership and associated revenue losses. Fare revenue typically funds 40 percent of operating costs across the authority. In FY22, this fare recovery ratio was just 19 percent, which is almost twice what it was in FY21 but subsidies and other revenue sources supported the remaining 81 percent of costs to run service and operate the system. To mitigate the lost fare revenue in FY21 and FY22, the MBTA received over $842 million in one-time federal relief funding between the Read More
The MBTA’s expansive service and prominent regional position mean it has significant potential to alleviate congestion and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from single-occupancy vehicles through mode shift—trips taken on transit that may have otherwise been taken by car. Measures such as MBTA ridership provide context for mode shift, while GHG emissions reductions and bus electrification efforts work to advance healthy and sustainable transportation in the region. A new electricity procurement contract supplied by 100 percent renewable energy sources went into effect on January 1, 2021. This purchase has resulted in complete avoidance of the 36 percent of the MBTA’s Read More
