The rapid adoption and quickly changing technology of smaller vehicles has outpaced the ability of regulations to keep up, leaving riders, local officials, and law enforcement without a clear understanding of how these devices should be operated safely. New legislation sets up a statewide framework, leaving flexibility to localities for further regulation.
Category: Transportation
MBTA general manager Phil Eng stepped in as interim Department of Transportation secretary nine months ago. He has “no timeline” as to when his double duty will come to an end.
Officials and transit advocates have criticized the mayor’s approach and questioned whether the youth disturbances at Union Station can be attributed to the availability of free bus rides. Some have cited the success of the fare-free program and instead called for more policing.
Getting Phase 1 across the finish line was no easy feat. And just over a year later, state officials still have not rolled out a plan to finance and finish the second phase — also called the “full build” — that was proposed nearly a decade ago.
Transit agency leaders will seek approval Thursday on a $3.4 billion budget that would add another 550 positions, embracing an eager-to-spend approach that supporters say has improved service and safety.
The per-ride fee established in a 2016 law regulating transportation network companies is set to sunset in January 2027. The Senate quietly voted in April to extend the fee tacked onto all rideshares in its version of the surtax bill, and that language survived into the bill released Tuesday.