Since 2017, the FMCB has been pushing hard on the agency to provide discounts to low-income riders. In one of their final votes, they choose to instruct agency staff to prepare scenarios for a pilot program. On the one hand, this last-ditch effort makes sense. However, from the Gateway City perspective, the board’s actions are disappointing and a bit perplexing.
Budget Update: What Gateway Cities Need to Know
The Gateway Cities Journal
Regional Transit Authorities Win Funding Victory in House Budget
The Gateway Cities Journal
Public transportation service for over half the state’s population — the half not served by the MBTA — won a precedent-setting victory last week during the House budget debate. As Jim Kolesar from Berkshire Interfaith Organizing says, “Full funding for the RTAs, including our Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, seems the minimum that we should be
New MassINC report lays out strategy for empowering entrepreneurs of color post-pandemic
Report release serves as kick-off event for new Coalition for an Equitable Economy
A new report from MassINC and the newly-formed Coalition for an Equitable Economy lays out the needed elements of a plan to strengthen opportunities for entrepreneurs of color post-COVID.
Are free buses closer than they appear?
The Gateway Cities Journal
Free buses may be the bold idea Massachusetts needs to rebuild a culture of public transportation as we emerge from the pandemic in 2021.
TTOD “Transformative Transit-Oriented Development” Talks
Presented by MassINC and the Gateway Cities Innovation Institute, the TTOD (Transformative Transit-Oriented Development, pronounced “TOD”) Talks are a series of lectures and panels designed to explore the many ways in which planning, development and local policies affect the socioeconomic and political inequities in our communities – with a special focus on the legacy cities outside of
Gateway Cities can’t afford cuts to MBTA service
The Gateway Cities Journal
By the time we emerge from the pandemic and turn the economy back on, we will be winding down the transportation networks central to an equitable recovery. But an affordable, accessible, and reliable public transit is especially vital to Gateway City revitalization.
How Lynn is revamping its housing strategy
Gateways Episode 69
For decades, planning for the city of Lynn was handled by a patchwork of community organizations, making it difficult to work toward a cohesive vision on housing.
The Future of the Massachusetts Workplace
Decentralizing Massachusetts’ workforce could address the state’s transportation struggles and geographic inequities, magnified by the pandemic.
Building generational wealth in the Gateway Cities
Gateways Episode 68
Home ownership is one of the two main paths toward building wealth— the other is business ownership. It’s crucial that Gateway City residents have access to opportunities to own homes and become entrepreneurs if they choose.