… “If you increase the fares without improving the service, you’ll get fewer people using it,” said Rafael Mares, a senior vice president at the Conservation Law Foundation. Read more here…
Jun 30
2016
2016
Jun 29
2016
2016
Future MBTA Fare Hikes Would be Limited to 7 Percent Under Proposed State Budget
… Rafael Mares, a transit advocate and vice president for the Conservation Law Foundation who urged the T to limit the increases to 5 percent, celebrated the agreement as “a significant victory.” “We will not give up on the ultimate goal of 5 percent, which more closely tracks inflation, but this is a huge improvement,”…
Jun 22
2016
2016
Funding for Pioneer Valley Public Transit Improvements Restored
On Monday, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Board of Directors took a major step in ensuring that millions of riders in the Pioneer Valley have a transit system that can meet their needs. In its announcement of adding $500 million to the state’s five-year capital investment plan, MassDOT righted its previous omission and included…
Jun 9
2016
2016
Youth Getting On Board: MBTA Youth Pass Makes Public Transit More Affordable and Accessible
Riding the T just became a little easier for Boston-area youth, thanks to a successful pilot program that was voted into permanence this week. The MBTA Youth Pass program began last July as a trial to give young people between the ages of 12 and 21 easier access to public transportation. Lack of access to…
May 24
2016
2016
MassDOT Is Ignoring the Needs of 12 Million Pioneer Valley Transit Riders
The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) is the largest public transit service in Massachusetts outside of the MBTA. More than 12 million riders across 24 cities and towns rely on the service every year. For nearly 70 percent of those riders, the PVTA is their only source of transportation. Nearly half of its riders live…
May 9
2016
2016
Report Shows Viability of Green Line Extension, But More Savings Potential Remains Unexplored
CLF is delighted to see that, after more than eight months of uncertainty, the Commonwealth finally has a reliable estimate of the cost of the Green Line Extension. We appreciate all the hard work Jack Wright and his team have put into this effort. At an estimated cost of about 2.3 billion dollars, and considering the nationally…
Apr 27
2016
2016
It’s complicated: Boston’s love-hate relationship with the MBTA
… “It’s out of love. I care deeply about public transportation. And I care deeply about the MBTA and all the regional transit authorities,” said Rafael Mares, a vice president at the Conservation Law Foundation. “The criticisms are meant not about having less of it but about more of it. … It means a lot to…
Apr 12
2016
2016
MBTA considers earlier trips on some bus routes
… Rafael Mares, a vice president at the Conservation Law Foundation, said he worries that would inconvenience the riders who need the service most. “They could at least dull the impact on the populations that have been impacted disproportionately here,” he said. … Read more here…
Apr 8
2016
2016
If You Give the T More Money, They Will Try to Cut Your Service
Old myths die hard When I was a kid, my parents rigorously enforced the rule of not swimming for 30 minutes after eating because they said it was unsafe. Turns out eating does not impede swimming at all, but many parents (including my own probably) still worry about letting children swim after they eat. In…
Mar 21
2016
2016
Capuano urges completion of MBTA Green Line extension at Government Center reopening
Conservation Law Foundation president, Bradley Campbell, and Rafael Mares, a vice president who leads its transit advocacy, attended the Government Center event Monday, both to celebrate the completion of the Blue Line renovations and, like Capuano, in support of the extension.