MBTA Revenue Up Despite Ridership Fall
The transit service made more than half-a-billion dollars in 2013 for the first time ever in its history. South End Patch News
The Secret to MBTA Late Night Service: T-Passes for All Students?
One local group is attempting to revive late night public transit in Boston. South End Patch News
MBTA Schedule: 4th of July
To accommodate increased ridership and an Esplanade fireworks display, the MBTA has doled out a few schedule changes and different rules for July 4. All subway lines will operate on a
Juvenile Accused of Throwing Bleach in MBTA Bus Incident
A 15-year-old is being held on $ 100,000 bail after being accused of throwing bleach in the face of a passenger riding the 28 bus last week. The juvenile, a female from Roxbury, is facing charges of unarmed robbery, willful and malicious destruction of property under $ 250, mayhem and indecent assault and battery along with co-defendant Lai Lawnnie Douglas, 22, according to Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office. Roxbury District Court Judge David Poole imposed $ 20,000 bail for Douglas. Douglas was also held on a probation detainer for violating the terms of her probation on a 2008 case out of Roxbury District Court in which she was charged with larceny from a person, witness intimidation, carrying a dangerous weapon, and assault and battery, according to Wark. Boston Juvenile Court Judge Paul Lewis revoked the juvenile defendant’s bail in an open case out of Brookline charging her with assault and battery and shoplifting. Her name is not being released because she is a juvenile. According to prosecutors, Douglas, the juvenile and a third female boarded an MBTA bus at Dudley Station at approximately 1:50 a.m. on Sunday, June 9 and sat in the rear of the bus directly across from the male victim, according to Wark. Both defendants were allegedly captured on surveillance camera slapping the victim, and prosecutors say Douglas can be seen reaching into the man’s pocket and taking cash, a credit card and personal papers that she ripped and threw at the victim, prosecutors said. The juvenile held an open bottle of liquid, later determined to be bleach, near the victim’s nose and lips and tossed the bleach at the victim’s face and chest as the defendants exited the bus at Grove Hall, prosecutors said. MBTA Transit Police last week released surveillance images of the defendants and received information from several individuals identifying Douglas and the juvenile defendant. One anonymous caller told investigators that Douglas commented on Facebook that she was “going on the run” as a result of the incident, which prosecutors said was confirmed by police. The victim is continuing to receive treatment for impaired vision caused by the bleach thrown in his eye. The juvenile will be back in court July 1, Douglas will return to court July 19. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Two ID’d in MBTA Bus Bleach Attack
MBTA police have identified two of the three suspects in an alleged June 9 bleach attack on a Route 28 bus. Police have warrants for the arrests of Lai Lawnnie Douglas (suspect No. 2 on the police blog’s original post), 22, and an unnamed juvenile, both of Boston, according to a Friday MBTA police blog post. Police posted photos of three women who were alleged to have attacked a passenger aboard a Route 28 bus in the early morning hours of June 9 with a substance believed to be bleach. The Roxbury District Court warrants are for unarmed robbery, mayhem and indecent assault and battery. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
MBTA Opens New Underground Training Facility
The MBTA has unveiled a brand new emergency training facility. The MBTA Emergency Training Center is an underground facility located near the Broadway T Station in South Boston. The facility contains multiple training areas dedicated to different modes of transit including heavy rail, light rail and bus, according to an MBTA statement. The facility also has full-sized decommissioned bus and rail vehicles and a control room that can simulate audio and visual effects of a real-time emergency situation. “The MBTA Emergency Training Center will enhance the MBTA’s ability to prepare for emergencies more realistically, frequently, and with fewer service or cost impacts,” according to an email by Joe Pesaturo, MBTA spokesman. The facility opened as a streetcar station in 1917, but closed two years later due to redundancies. Since, the unoccupied space has been used for everything from material storage to growing mushrooms, according to the statement. The facility was fully funded by a Department of Homeland Security grant. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
MBTA Bus Diversions for Boston Pride Parade
The Boston Pride Parade is Saturday, June 8 from 10:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. The parade route begins in Copley Square, winds south to Tremont Street and ends at City Hall Plaza in Government Center. MBTA bus routes 9, 10, 39, 43 and 504 will be diverted. Below is the Saturday, June 8 schedule according to MBTA: Route 39 Inbound No Service to Belvidere Street, Boylston Street or Clarendon Street. Connections can be made at Huntington Ave and Gainsborough St or Dartmouth Street at Back Bay Station. Outbound No Service to Berkeley Street or St James Avenue. Connections can be made at Back Bay (Dartmouth Street) or Huntington Avenue and Exeter Street. Route 9 Inbound No service to Berkeley Street between Washington Street and St. James Avenue. No service to St. James Avenue, Huntington Avenue, Ring Road or Boylston Street (Copley Square). Connections can be made at Back Bay Station or Berkeley Street and Washington Street. Outbound No Service to Boylston Street, Arlington Street or Herald Street between Tremont Street and Washington Street. Connections can be made at Back Bay Station (Dartmouth Street) or Herald Street and Harrison Avenue. Route 10 Inbound No service to Washington Street between East Newton Street and Monsignor Reynolds Way. No service to Monsignor Reynolds Way, West Dedham Street or Dartmouth Street. Connections can be made at East Newton Street (Boston Medical Center) or Back Bay Station. Outbound No Service to Boylston Street, St James Avenue, Dartmouth Street or East Dedham Street. Connections can be made at Back Bay Station (Dartmouth Street) or Harrison Avenue opposite Plympton Street. Route 43 Inbound No service to Tremont Street between Massachusetts Avenue and Charles Street. No service to Charles Street, Beacon Street or Park Street. Connections can be made at Tremont Street and Northampton Street or Tremont Street opposite Temple Place (for Park Street Station). Outbound No Service to Tremont Street from Charles Street South to Northampton Street. Connections can be made at Tremont Street opposite Temple Place (For Park Street Station), 285 Tremont St. or Tremont Street and Northampton Street. Route 504 Inbound No service to Stuart Street or Kneeland Street between Dartmouth Street and Washington Street. Connections can be made at Back Bay Station (Dartmouth Street) for Copley or Lincoln Street. Outbound No Service to Stuart Street, Park Plaza or St. James Avenue. Connections made at Surface Artery and Kneeland Street or Back Bay Station (Dartmouth Street). SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
MBTA Police Seeking Assault Suspect
MBTA Police are searching for a male suspect they say “inappropriately assaulted” a female last week at Park Street Station. According to transit police, the male assaulted the female last Tuesday, May 14, while boarding a Green Line C trolley at Park Street. The suspect is a white male who was wearing a red shirt at the time of the incident as well as a gray hooded sweatshirt with black horizontal stripes, blue jeans and sneakers. Anyone who knows the identity of the suspect or knows their whereabouts is encouraged to call the MBTA’s Criminal Investigations Unit at 617-222-1050. Anonymous text tips on this case can be sent to 873873. South End Patch
MBTA to Launch New T-Alerts Service in June
The MBTA is rolling out an entirely new alerts system next month which includes changes from the details provided in alert messages to a visual website enhancement. Through the new system, which goes into effect June 4, users can opt to receive email or text alerts for a late bus or train or a service interruption, much like the old system. However, the new alerts “will be clearer and more detailed with additional information regarding specific trip times, service schedule changes, and distinct directional, branch and station communications,” according to anMBTA press statement released Thursday. MBTA Deputy Press Secretary Kelly Smith further explained the new system in an email to Patch: “It’s built around a core of GTFS data. GTFS, or General Transit Feed Specification, is the industry standard for sharing schedule information. This means that, for example, when dispatchers enter an alert that a bus route is on detour, they select not just the route from a list but each stop bypassed from a list of all stops served; if a commuter rail trip is delayed they can select the trip from a list of trips. Not only does this make alerts more detailed, but because the options chosen are shared with developers and are based on the same GTFS core they may be using, it opens up new opportunities in filtering, displaying, and using the information.” The system uses standards introduced by Google in 2011, according to the statement. Interested users must sign up for the new system as they will no longer receive alerts through the current system which is being discontinued. The current system was launched in 2007 and has more than 50,000 subscribers, according to the statement. Alerts will continue to appear on the MBTA website service alerts page, which will get a visual update “for clarity, ease-of-use and reader-friendliness,” according to the statement. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch