A Multimodal Tour

Prior to the start of the APTA Sustainability & Multimodal Planning Workshop, maximize your training and travel dollars by joining us first for a Multimodal Tour in Boston. This tour will be conducted by MBTA staff and will take you across over eight modes - BRT, commuter rail, intercity rail, light rail, heavy rail, bus, trackless trolley, and ferry - in MBTA's system.

Boston has the longest transit history in the Americas, with public ferry service dating back to 1635 and the nation’s first subway system.  Over its rich history, the City of Boston has grown and developed around its transit system making it one of the most walkable and transit-oriented cities in the country.   The MBTA’s multimodal tour will give participants the opportunity to ride on several of the MBTA modes, including BRT, ferry, light and heavy rail and trackless trolley.   The tour will also highlight other MBTA modes such as commuter rail, local and express bus service, as well as intercity rail and bus networks that serve downtown Boston.   The tour will also focus on the challenge of making a historic, 19th century transit system fully accessible to people with disabilities.   Participants will see some major TOD projects in development and the tour will focus on the challenge to making high capacity modes accommodate the major growth occurring around the stations.  

A Multimodal Tour

Prior to the start of the APTA Sustainability & Multimodal Planning Workshop, maximize your training and travel dollars by joining us first for a Multimodal Tour in Boston. This tour will be conducted by MBTA staff and will take you across over eight modes - BRT, commuter rail, intercity rail, light rail, heavy rail, bus, trackless trolley, and ferry - in MBTA's system. Participation will be limited to 35 and advance registration is required. Email APTA's Elizabeth Lovinggood at elovinggood@apta.com to register.
Boston has the longest transit history in the Americas, with public ferry service dating back to 1635 and the nation’s first subway system.Over its rich history, the City of Boston has grown and developed around its transit system making it one of the most walkable and transit-oriented cities in the country. The MBTA’s multimodal tour will give participants the opportunity to ride on several of the MBTA modes, including BRT, ferry, light and heavy rail and trackless trolley. The tour will also highlight other MBTA modes such as commuter rail, local and express bus service, as well as intercity rail and bus networks that serve downtown Boston. The tour will also focus on the challenge of making a historic, 19th century transit system fully accessible to people with disabilities. Participants will see some major TOD projects in development and the tour will focus on the challenge to making high capacity modes accommodate the major growth occurring around the stations.

Hingham Ferry Terminal

Sustainability & Transit-Oriented Development Tour

This tour will feature the sustainability elements and transit-oriented developments in MBTA's system. Participation will be limited to 35 and advance registration is required. 

The MBTA has made environmental sustainability and climate resiliency one of the focal points of its capital program and the sustainability tour will highlight a few of those projects.   The tour will include a stop at the new Boston Landing Station, which was developed in conjunction with a major TOD project and is one of only two ENVISION certified transit projects in the US.   The tour will also see the Green Line Extension (which will also be ENVISION certified) currently in construction.  The tour will highlight the challenges of bringing a new high capacity transit line into one of the most densely developed areas of the country.   The tour will also highlight the Green Line portal protection project, which is a $40 million project designed to protect the Green Line central tunnel system from flooding.   The tour will also include a visit to Greentown Labs, the largest clean technology incubator in the United States.  Greentown Labs has been the starting place for over 120 companies whose technologies span across many sectors of the energy space, from energy efficiency and transportation to renewable power generation and water technology.  

Technical Tours

• Fare Collection Model Lab Tour

• Sustainability & Transit-Oriented Development Tour

  This tour will feature the sustainability elements and transit-oriented developments in MBTA's system. Participation will be limited to 35 and advance registration is required. Email APTA's Elizabeth Lovinggood at elovinggood@apta.com to register.
  The MBTA has made environmental sustainability and climate resiliency one of the focal points of its capital program and the sustainability tour will highlight a few of those projects.   The tour will include a stop at the new Boston Landing Station, which was developed in conjunction with a major TOD project and is one of only two ENVISION certified transit projects in the US.   The tour will also see the Green Line Extension (which will also be ENVISION certified) currently in construction.  The tour will highlight the challenges of bringing a new high capacity transit line into one of the most densely developed areas of the country.   The tour will also highlight the Green Line portal protection project, which is a $40 million project designed to protect the Green Line central tunnel system from flooding.   The tour will also include a visit to Greentown Labs, the largest clean technology incubator in the United States.  Greentown Labs has been the starting place for over 120 companies whose technologies span across many sectors of the energy space, from energy efficiency and transportation to renewable power generation and water technology.  

  Note:  All tours will involve a significant amount of walking and accessing transit vehicles. While not all MBTA vehicles and stations are fully accessible, the ones on the tours will are accessible. Where appropriate, the MBTA will provide Personal Protection Equipment (hard hats, safety vests, protective eyewear, etc.). Participants should be sure to wear footwear appropriate for a maintenance facility or construction site.  

Registration

Lanyards sponsored by GIRO Inc.

 

Tabletop Displays

Networking Breakfast

Registration

Tabletop Displays

Welcome and Opening Remarks

MBTA and Partners Host Forum

MBTA faces a series of challenges and opportunities as it works to address the 21st century transit needs in an area that hosts the oldest transit system in the Americas.   Leadership from the MBTA will be discussing their recent accomplishments as well as plans that are underway that are designed to maximize mobility, improve efficiency, build resiliency and integrate technology and emerging transportation options into its core system  At the Workshop, attendees will hear from MBTA and its partners about how it is addressing the ever increasing and changing demands on transit as well as how it is rethinking the network to integrate technology so as to provide a transit network that continues to meet the needs of its customers and the communities it serves.  

Session sponsored by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

Educational Sessions

• Recent Topics in Scheduling
• Environmental Management Systems - Program Highlights and Lessons Learned
• Equity in Action
  

Educational Sessions

• Connecting to the Grid: What's Ahead for Our Fleets and Infrastructure?

  Lewis, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Equity and Low-Income Fares

  Burroughs, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Making the Most of a Moment

  Harbor Ballroom III, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

Speaker Luncheon

Lunch sponsored by HNTB Corporation

Educational Sessions

• Successful Public Engagement: Inreach and Outreach
• Integrating Health and Wellness for Livable Communities
• Sustainable Capital Projects and Process
  

Educational Sessions

• Bus Rapid Transit

  Harbor Ballroom III, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Environmental Management Systems

  Burroughs, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• The Future of Sustainable Transit Oriented Development

  Lewis, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  Session sponsored by Greystone Management Solutions

Educational Sessions

• Interactive Session: Bus Bunching Solutions
• Climate Action Planning - Mitigation and Resiliency
• Green Fuels and Fleets: From Policy & Planning to Implementation
  

Educational Sessions

• Climate Action Planning

  Burroughs, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Recent Topics in Scheduling

  Harbor Ballroom III, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Successful Outreach and Engagement

  Lewis, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

Evening Reception

Networking Breakfast

• Registration

  Harbor Foyer, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Tabletop Displays

  Harbor Foyer, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

Educational Sessions

• Bus Rapid Transit is Grown Up
• How Public Transit Can Lead the Transportation Revolution to AVs
• Active Transportation Corridors
  

Educational Sessions

• Data and Technology

  Harbor Ballroom III, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Social and Economic Sustainability

  Lewis, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Transit and Emerging Mobility

  Burroughs, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

Educational Sessions

• A Multimodal Potpourri
• Sustainability Programs and Plans
• Universal Design and Access
  

Educational Sessions

• A Multimodal Potpourri

  Harbor Ballroom III, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Integrating Health and Wellness for Livable Communities

  Burroughs, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Sustainable Projects and Programs

  Lewis, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

Speaker Luncheon

Educational Sessions

• Reimagining the Bus Transit Network
• Sustainable Development Case Studies (with a focus on TOC and TOD)
• Sustainable Business Practices
  

Educational Sessions

• Consistently Getting There Faster

  Harbor Ballroom III, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Station Area Planning for Mobility Hubs

  Burroughs, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Sustainable Business Practices

  Lewis, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

Roundtable Idea Exchanges

Networking Breakfast

• Registration

  Harbor Foyer, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Tabletop Displays

  Harbor Foyer, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

Educational Sessions

• Improving Speed and Reliability
• Mobility Hubs: Transit Centers of the Future
• Battery Electric Vehicles and Fleets
  

Educational Sessions

• Life Without Diesel: Planning for Emerging Vehicle Technologies

  Harbor Ballroom I-II, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Response to Declining Ridership

  Harbor Ballroom III, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

Educational Sessions

• Responses to Declining Ridership
• New Mobility Paradigm - Equitable and Environmental  Scenarios
• Innovative Strategies for Engaging the Public
  

Educational Sessions

• Partnerships for Sustainability

  Harbor Ballroom I-II, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

• Reimagining the Transit Network

  Harbor Ballroom III, Conference Level, Westin Boston Waterfront
  

Closing Session

Technical Tours

Our host, MBTA, has arranged three informative technical tours on Wednesday, July 31. Advanced sign up will be required to ensure that there is sufficient interest in the tour. Please reconfirm on site for the tour(s) of your choice at the MBTA information desk in the APTA registration area in the Westin Boston Waterfront. Tours will be limited to 20 people. Please email APTA's Elizabeth Lovinggood to register.

• Hingham Ferry Terminal – This tour will take participants on a 40-minute trip across Boston Harbor to Hingham, one of the oldest colonized communities in the US with English settlers arriving nearly 400 years ago. Hingham and its neighboring Town of Hull are served by ferry (as well as by commuter rail) to downtown Boston. At the Hingham Terminal, visitors will tour the new Hingham Intermodal Facility, which is the launch point not only for ferries to Boston but also to the Boston Harbor Islands, a 34 island National Park. The Hingham Intermodal Facility is a LEED Silver facility that includes a geothermal heat exchange system as well as a green roof. Participants will then make the 40-minute return trip back to downtown Boston.
• The Mattapan Trolley (also called the Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line) - This a 2.6-mile light rail line is within the City of Boston and neighboring town of Milton and connects to the Red Line.The line exclusively uses historic circa 1937 PCC streetcars for rolling stock. Unlike most rail lines running PCC cars, the line is an integral art of the transit system rather than a heritage/streetcar tourist attraction.Given the age and difficulty n maintaining these 80+ year old vehicles, the MBTA is exploring how the line an be adapted to meet the current and future needs of the communities.In addition to riding these vintage vehicles, articipants will hear from the MBTA about its plans for the corridor and how t is working with the communities and other stakeholders who are eager to see the character of the line remain unchanged.
• Everett Sops and Wellington Car House – This tour will take people to the Everett Shops, which is the heavy maintenance facility for all MBTA bus and rail vehicles.This shop includes hundreds of skilled trades performing sheet metal work, welding, electrical work, and other activities that keep MBTA vehicles in proper working condition.In addition, the tour will stop at the Wellington Carhouse, which is the maintenance facility for the Orange Line on the heavy rail system.Wellington is being completely overhauled to accommodate the new Orange Line.Participants will see some of the new vehicles which will be going through testing and inspection prior to being put into service later in 2019.