MBTA 25-Year Vision for Public Transportation
(As of September 12, 2002)

• Provide safe, cost-effective, and efficient services that increase ridership and respond to the expanding mobility demands of individuals and communities.
• Maintain existing infrastructure in a state of optimal repair to improve quality, convenience, accessibility, and reliability of service.
• Transport customers in a system that promotes a desirable quality of life, supports the sustainable development of communities, improves the quality of the environment throughout the Massachusetts Bay region, and distributes benefits and burdens equitably.

Goals and Objectives
(As of September 12, 2002)

1. Preserve and modernize the transit system and improve accessibility
• Support infrastructure projects that improve customer service, ensure the safety and security of passengers, and enhance the efficiency of the system.
• Adhere to a timely schedule for infrastructure maintenance.
• Provide better access to the system for all customers, with particular focus on meeting the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

2. Improve mobility for area residents and visitors now and in the foreseeable future
• Increase transit mode share in the Massachusetts Bay region.
• Provide transit access to commercial and residential centers both in the urban core and the suburbs, taking into account anticipated growth.
• Enhance the interconnectivity of all transit services by promoting seamless transfers at intermodal facilities, eliminating the need for transfers where possible, and providing improved customer information on available connections.
• Improve the on-time performance of MBTA services through improved monitoring of routes and modifications to rights-of-way.

3. Minimize transportation-related pollution of the environment
• Reduce the MBTA's environmental impact on the commonwealth by implementing projects and programs that increase the use of low-polluting fuels and efficient engine technology in all transit vehicles and that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Minimize community disruption and negative environmental impacts.
• Construct and operate facilities that reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality by providing residents of the Massachusetts Bay region with an attractive alternative to traveling in private automobiles.

4. Promote the equitable sharing of the transportation system’s benefits and burdens
• Expand capacity and reallocate resources to relieve passenger crowding on vehicles and facilitate ridership growth.
• Identify and remove structural and operational transportation barriers faced by disadvantaged populations.
• Enhance the mobility of transit-dependent populations located both in the urban core and suburban areas.

5. Serve as partner for community development within the MBTA service area
• Implement transportation investments that sustain and stimulate regional economic development.
• Respond to communities’ requests for transportation improvements that support transit-oriented development and sustainable-land-use plans.
• Improve mass transportation in a manner that enhances the competitiveness of local businesses and the economic vitality of neighborhoods, with special emphasis on disadvantaged areas.

The following documents helped to shape these proposed goals and objectives for the PMT: the 1994 PMT; the Boston MPO Transportation Plan 2000–2025 (interim); MBTA enabling legislation establishing "forward funding" for the MBTA; and the MBTA Blue Ribbon Committee’s report on forward funding