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Studies Underway
One of the major functions of the MPO´s staff, the Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS), is to perform studies to identify and address transportation issues in the region. These studies can pertain to any surface-transportation mode and a variety of transportation-planning topics. Brief descriptions of the studies currently underway are provided below.
2008–2009 MBTA Passenger Survey
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has been awarded a discretionary grant for a new systemwide onboard survey of the rapid transit, bus, bus rapid transit, commuter rail, and water transportation services. The survey is being conducted by CTPS. The results of this survey will provide the MBTA, state and federal agencies, consultants, and the public with analytical tools that are more up-to-date to use in effectively and efficiently conducting transportation-planning activities. The new survey data will enhance CTPS´s ability to validate and calibrate the Boston Region MPO´s regional travel demand model.
Contact: Liz Moore
Arterial Traffic-Signal Improvements and Coordination
Inventories by the Mobility Management System (predecessor to the Congestion Management Process) revealed that many MPO arterials can benefit from traffic-signal coordination. If traffic-signal timing is rarely reviewed, it can result in outdated timing patterns that do not reflect current traffic and pedestrian needs. Signals that qualify for coordination but lack coordination or are inadequately coordinated force motorists to stop at multiple adjacent signals, resulting in significant travel delays. This study is part of a program of periodic reviews of corridor signal-timing plans for improved operations and coordination. Priority is being given to high-volume and high-crash-rate arterials.
Contact: Mark Abbott
Assembly Square Station Feasibility Study
CTPS will assist the MBTA with the preparation of a New Starts application for the construction of a new Orange Line station at Assembly Square in Somerville. The new station would be located between the existing Wellington Station in Medford and Sullivan Square Station in the Charlestown section of Boston.
Contact: Scott Peterson
Core Efficiencies Study
This study has three major objectives. The first is to review the Service Delivery Policy and determine whether existing standards should be revised and/or new standards should be added that would help to identify the most efficient services. The second objective is to consider the MBTA system in light of these standards, as well as demographics and development patterns, and to propose concepts and detailed plans for how the system might be adjusted or potentially redesigned to make better use of its identified efficiencies. The third objective is to take these concepts and plans and determine the extent to which they could be refined to accommodate various levels of financial constraint.
Contact: Robert Guptill
Federal Fiscal Year 2010 National Transit Database Directly
Operated Bus and Rail Passenger Miles and Boardings Estimates
The objective of this project is to develop estimates of passenger boardings and passenger miles for bus, trackless trolley, heavy rail, and light rail services directly operated by the MBTA. The data that form the basis of the estimates are collected through onboard ridechecks, station turnstile observations, and passenger surveys.
Contact: Liz Moore
Federal Fiscal Year 2010 National Transit Database Purchased Bus Transportation Passenger Miles and Boardings Estimates
The objective of this project is to develop estimates of passenger boardings and passenger miles for bus routes operated as part of the Suburban Transportation Program and other contracted MBTA local bus service. The data that form the basis of the estimates will be collected through onboard ridechecks.
Contact: Liz Moore
Inner-Suburban Mobility Study
Over the past few decades, inner-suburban communities in the MBTA service area along the Route 128 beltway have grown considerably in terms of both residential and commercial/office development. As a result, substantial intrasuburban travel demands have developed in a nominally circumferential sense. These changes in travel demands suggest a need to reexamine the orientation of bus services in inner-suburban communities.
   One specific area of interest that this study will address is the potential for new transit “hubs” or common service corridors that directly serve densely developed commercial and residential centers and promote circumferential connectivity. The experiences of other, similarly sized metropolitan areas in serving inner-suburban travel markets will be reviewed with respect to vehicle types used, service frequency, span of service, and coverage. This study will also consider the institutional and capital requirements associated with any reorientation or expansion of fixed-route service, whether provided by the MBTA or another entity. In addition, it will take into consideration existing and planned land use development along the Route 128 corridor.
Contact: Liz Moore
MBTA Bus Service Data Collection V
CTPS is conducting ridechecks, pointchecks, and timechecks to monitor service on the MBTA bus system. The data collected will be processed and presented to the MBTA, along with recommendations for service reallocations to correct schedule adherence problems or observed crowding problems.
Contact: Liz Moore
MBTA Fitchburg Line Small Starts Application Support
This project involves providing planning and modeling assistance to the MBTA Fitchburg Line Small Starts Application study team, which consists of MassDOT and the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority (MART). As part of this work, CTPS will perform a user benefit analysis for up to five model scenarios and assist MassDOT with preparing a Federal Transit Administration Small Starts grant application.
Contact: Scott Peterson
MBTA Greenbush Impact Study
The MBTA began commuter rail service on the Greenbush commuter rail line on October 31, 2007. The objective of this study is to examine the impacts of the Greenbush Line on travel patterns and on transportation facilities already operating in the area. CTPS will analyze passenger counts on other transportation facilities in the same area before and after Greenbush implementation. CTPS also will conduct post-implementation passenger counts on the Greenbush Line and survey current passengers to determine how their commuting patterns have been affected by the opening of this new service.
Contact: Liz Moore
MBTA Rapid Transit Station Intermodal Service Maps
CTPS is assisting the MBTA in the preparation of transit station maps that show intermodal service connections.
Contact: Liz Moore
MBTA Transit Quality Assurance Benchmarking
CTPS provides the MBTA and other transportation providers with technical assistance in assessing comparative service quality in targeted minority communities versus the transportation system as a whole. CTPS also collects data used in these assessments: information on crowding, schedule adherence, shelter placement, scheduled service frequency, service coverage, access to key destinations, vehicle age and condition, parking facilities, and other topics.
Contact: Liz Moore
North Shore Transportation Improvements
MassDOT is working toward completion of a draft environmental impact statement to identify a locally preferred alternative (LPA) for the Revere-to-Lynn corridor. The two main alternatives involve: (1) running parallel to the length of the existing commuter rail line with a trestle through Rumney Marsh, and (2) using the
narrow-gauge right-of-way that runs near the Point of Pines neighborhood and then parallels the existing rail line in Lynn. Pending a decision on an LPA, project advancement may require additional support work by CTPS.
Contact: Scott Peterson
Operational Improvements at Congested and High-Crash Locations
The level of service along an arterial roadway is largely dictated by the quality of flow through its intersections. This study focuses on isolated, highly congested intersections with signals and high crash rates. Congestion Management Process monitoring indicates that often drivers must stop at a red light when there are no vehicles or pedestrians on the crossing street, or drivers may have to wait through more than one signal cycle to proceed through the intersection. These conditions indicate that pavement sensors are either lacking or broken, or that signal-timing adjustments are needed. This project is an integral part of the Massachusetts Highway Safety Improvement Program and is also a SAFETEA-LU Safety and Security focus area. It will improve difficult or inappropriate operational conditions and promote safety and air quality.
Contact: Chen-Yuan Wang
Red Line–Blue Line Connector Study Support
Design for this project is a legal commitment under the amended State Implementation Plan. It will involve the development of a draft environmental impact report as well as planning and engineering documents for a 0.4-mile extension of the Blue Line from Government Center Station to Charles/MGH Station on the Red Line.
Contact: Scott Peterson
Route 126 Corridor Study
CTPS is conducting a corridor study of Route 126 from Bellingham to Framingham. It includes an analysis of multimodal transportation alternatives to ensure future mobility. The safety of pedestrians using the shopping centers near the intersection of Hartford Avenue and Route 126 is also being addressed. To limit the costs of this analysis, the study focuses on key sections/intersections that have been identified in discussions with the SouthWest Advisory Planning and MetroWest subregions.
Contact: Seth Asante
Silver Line Project Support
CTPS will continue to assist the MBTA with Silver Line planning.
Contact: Scott Peterson
South Coast Commuter Rail Extension Ridership Forecast Study
CTPS is assisting MassDOT in development of environmental and other planning documents needed to advance the proposed extension of MBTA commuter rail service between downtown Boston and the cities of Fall River and New Bedford. The extension project will include construction of passenger stations and terminal layover facilities.
Contact: Scott Peterson
Strategic Visioning for MBTA Bus Service
The purpose of this project is to determine future strategies that the MBTA could adopt to continuously improve the performance of the present bus network, including the Key Route system. Specifically, CTPS will identify those segments where bus travel time is exceptionally longer than the comparable journey by auto in the same corridor; study payment methods by bus route and determine what bus routes have the highest level of farebox interaction, which can slow down bus service; study the number of bus trips dropped by route, determine what conditions resulted in trips´ not being operated, and identify possible strategies for selecting which trips would be dropped in emergency conditions; review average distance between stops by route for local (non-express) segments of routes and review peer data and industry data to develop an optimal standard for bus stop spacing; and review recent ridership on segments of routes closest to rapid transit stations and compare to pre-2006 ridership to determine if the post-2006 fare restructuring has resulted in an increase in short trips via bus to rapid transit stations. In addition, CTPS will review the existing Key Routes to screen for ease of BRT implementation.
Contact: Liz Moore
Support to the Green Line Extension Environmental Review
An extension of Green Line service from a relocated Lechmere Station through Cambridge to Somerville and Medford, with a spur to Union Square, is a legal commitment under the amended State Implementation Plan. CTPS is providing needed analytical support, including travel demand forecasting, for the development of a draft environmental impact report and federal environmental review documents.
Contact: Scott Peterson

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