State of the System
Focus on today's MBTA
Planning for the future requires a clear understanding of the present. Focus40’s State of the System phase assessed the current condition, use, and performance of the MBTA’s range of services - bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, ferry, and The RIDE.
Bus
170 routes, 44 cities and towns
The MBTA bus network includes 170 routes across 44 cities and towns.
The MBTA operates four primary service types: Silver Line, Key Bus Routes, Express and Local. The bus network is a critical component of the MBTA system, carrying 446,000 passengers on an average weekday, or about 30% of all MBTA passenger trips.
Rapid Transit
Red, Blue, Orange, Green, and the Mattapan High Speed Line
The MBTA rapid transit network consists of the Red Line, Blue Line, Orange Line, Green Line, and Mattapan High Speed Line. Carrying almost 780,000 passengers on an average weekday, Rapid Transit serves 60% of the total MBTA daily ridership.
Rapid Transit State of the System Report
State of the Service: Red Line
Commuter Rail
14 lines, 50 communities
The MBTA commuter rail system is one of the largest in the nation, operating 14 commuter rail lines that serve 50 communities. With approximately 122,000 daily passenger trips on an average weekday, the commuter rail system represents almost 9% of the weekday passenger trips taken on the MBTA.
The commuter rail system fleet includes 82 rail locomotives and 421 coaches. It covers 388 route miles and includes 12 layover facilities, 3 maintenance facilities, and an operations center at Cobble Hill.
Paratransit
The RIDE
The RIDE paratransit service provides door-to-door, shared-ride transportation to eligible people who cannot use fixed-route transit (bus, subway, trolley) all or some of the time because of a physical, cognitive or mental disability. The RIDE service area covers 60 cities and towns and 712 square miles. The RIDE is a shared-ride service – customers may travel with others who are going in the same general direction.
Accessible vehicles are used to serve persons with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs and scooters.
In 2015, The RIDE provided approximately 8,000 daily trips accounting for .5% of MBTA passenger trips.
Ferry
3 routes out of Boston Harbor
There are three principal ferry routes operated by Boston Harbor Cruises, under contract to the MBTA. The two commuter ferries are the F1, which runs from Hingham to Boston (Rowes Wharf), and the F2, which connects Hingham and Hull to Boston’s Long Wharf and Logan Airport. The F4 Inner Harbor ferry connects downtown Boston to Charlestown. With over 4,000 weekday passenger trips, ferry service represents .3% of passenger trips taken on MBTA service.
