December 24, 2011
By Bob Salsberg, Associated Press

BOSTON—Public transit in Massachusetts is facing a bumpy ride this coming year.

Difficult questions loom in 2012 for an aging, cash-strapped system that is moving record numbers of passengers on subways, buses and commuter trains, while also dealing with crippling debt and a maintenance backlog that could hinder its ability to maintain current operations and even slow the region's economic recovery.

September 18, 2011
by Steve Annear, Boston Metro

If you see hoards of commuters wearing red tomorrow while riding the MBTA, it isn’t a strange coincidence. It’s part of a national statement to save public transportation funding.

August 3, 2011
by Richard Weir, Boston Herald

The MBTA has been forced to rehire seven drivers and other key employees after they were fired for offenses ranging from dozing at the wheel due to drug use, child rape, and assaulting and making bizarre threats of violence against co-workers — after bureaucratic arbitrators overturned their dismissals on technicalities, a Herald review has found.

July 28, 2011
by Martine Powers, Boston Globe

Bolstered by a rise in weekend travel, ridership on MBTA trains, buses, and ferries hit a new record this year, according to numbers released yesterday by the transit agency.

July 23, 2011
by Richard Weir, Boston Herald

How do you make a T rider really hot under the collar? Combine 100 degree temperatures with talk of a potential fare hike.

[...]

Stuart Spina, chairman of the T Riders Union, warned that a fare hike without system improvements could turn away customers already fed-up with frequent service interruptions from old equipment prone to breaking down.

June 14, 2011
by Justin A. Rice, Boston Globe

The MBTA’s Route 1 bus stop at Columbus Avenue is safe — for now — but the Shawmut Avenue stop and 14 others remain on the chopping block as the T proceeds with plans to streamline its fourth-busiest bus line.

As part of a $10 million, one-time federal stimulus fund to enhance 15 of its busiest bus routes, the T proposed major changes to Route 1 in January, including eliminating stops in an effort to prevent buses from “bunching” behind one another.

February 23, 2011
by Richard Weir, Boston Herald

T riders were fired up yesterday over a plan announced by the MBTA to ax the backbone of its “Customer Bill of Rights” — the guaranteed refund to passengers whose trips are delayed by more than 30 minutes.

“It’s not fair for riders. If you buy something in a store and you’re not happy with the product, you have a right to a refund for what you’ve bought,” said Rene Mardones, a community organizer with the Roxbury-based T Riders Union.

February 1, 2011
by Richard Weir, Boston Herald

With another nor’easter bearing down on the Hub, the MBTA yesterday launched its own operation dig-out to liberate as many as 80 snow-packed bus stops along Blue Hill Avenue, one of the state’s busiest bus corridors serving 27,000 riders on five routes daily.

by Taisha O'Bryant, TRU Chair, written for The Labor/Community Strategy Center

The T Riders Union (TRU), a program of ACE, organizes public transit
riders to build a unified voice and movement for better public transportation in Greater Boston. We have joined together to demand our fair share of service because the MBTA and the state have failed to meet the needs of riders in low income neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color.

November 2, 2010
by Justin A. Rice, Boston Metro

Residents worried their vote didn’t mean much in yesterday’s elections can take solace in the fact that the MBTA seems to be more democratic than ever.