Focus40 Outreach

Focus40 would not be successful without the participation from a broad range of stakeholders. A multifaceted engagement strategy has involved customers across the MBTA service area and specifically targeted low-income populations who are often underrepresented in public processes. Outreach efforts included one-on-one conversations with customers, workshops and large public events.  

In Fall 2016, the Focus40 Street Team spent 100 hours talking directly to customers at stops and stations throughout the system to collect ideas, ultimately reaching more than 1,500 individuals. In addition to welcoming comments through this website, the Focus40 team continues to meet with municipal leaders, members of the business community, transportation interest groups, and community organizations. All of this engagement has led to the draft Focus40 Plan.

Internal Engagement

Get Involved

Share your feedback on the draft Focus40 Plan

Download the draft Focus40 Plan and learn how to submit feedback on the Focus40: The Plan page.

Question about Focus40?

Email us at Focus40@dot.state.ma.us.

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Past Events

The Ideas of March Open House

March 15, 2017
MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA

The Ideas of March event highlighted the 3,000 ideas we collected to help develop a vision for how the MBTA can meet the needs of the region in 2040.

Event Materials:

• Focus40 Presentation
• Focus40 Public Engagement
• What we Heard from You
• Making Streets Better for Buses
• Draft Focus40 Goals & Objectives
• Addressing Overcrowding; Accommodating Growth
• Regional Access to Public Transit
• Access to Jobs through Public Transit
• Upcoming Service Improvements
• Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure: Board 1 & Board 2

Focus40 Interactive Open House

October 13, 2016
Bolling Building, Dudley Square, Boston, MA

This Open House presented preliminary goal statements, potential future scenarios, and upcoming MBTA investments for public feedback. We also invited attendees to share their investment ideas for the T’s future.

Event Materials:

Focus40 Overview

• What is Focus40?
• Transit Priorities Survey
• Draft Focus40 Goals

Other Inputs into Focus40

• Upcoming Service Improvements
• Internal Ideas to Improve Performance
• Capacity Gap Analysis
• Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure (PATI)
• Leveraging Existing Plans

Draft Future Scenarios

• Draft Trends
• Draft Future Scenarios Summary
• Draft Future Scenario A
• Draft Future Scenario B
• Draft Future Scenario C

Rider Insights and Personas

• Rider Insights: Board 1 & Board 2
• Personas

Focus40 Kickoff Event

May 24, 2016
Northeastern University, Boston, MA

The Focus40 Kickoff event highlighted the current state of the MBTA system as well as emerging trends in the areas of technology, demographics, climate, and mobility. A panel discussion was centered around what these trends might mean for the MBTA. Over 200 people participated in this interactive open house.

Future Trends Boards

Mobility

• Will more options impact ridership?

Climate Change

• Sea level rise – Back to the future?
• What does it mean for the MBTA?
• What does it mean for the region?

Demographic Shifts

• How will the MBTA serve a growing urban core?
• Will lower-income populations have less access to transit?
• How will transit needs change as we age?

Technology

• The answer to all of our problems?

State of the System Boards

• Rapid Transit
• Commuter Rail
• Accessibility
• Maintenance Facilities

Transit Priorities Survey

Over 1,400 people responded to our transit priorities survey and told us how they would set their own priorities for MBTA infrastructure investments.

Key Findings from the survey:

• Fixing the existing system is most important to survey respondents
• Rapid Transit is where respondents would invest the largest share of funding
• Making service more reliable is the top priority for improving existing services
• New or extended Rapid Transit is the highest priority for providing new MBTA access for areas that are not currently served

Rider Insights

Although we ourselves use the T everyday, we needed to get outside our own experience of the system in order to understand the values and behaviors of riders throughout the system.  We worked with Continuum, a human-centered design firm to examine the needs and desires of our customers. Continuum conducted a series of ride-alongs, intercepts, and behind-the-scenes interviews to understand the experience across all T transit modes, including the subway, bus, commuter rail, ferry, and the Ride.