News & Events
Waltham West Chamber of Commerce Sustainability Breakfast
Waltham West Suburban Chamber of Commerce
Invites you to a Seminar & Continental Breakfast
Increase Profitability via Energy Efficiency
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Presentation by:
Nstar, National Grid & the Chamber Sustainability Team
Embassy Suites Boston/Waltham
550 Winter Street, Waltham
7:30 a.m. — Registration
8 – 9 — Program & Discussion
No Charge
If you have any questions please feel free to send us an e-mail to registration@walthamchamber.com or give us a call at 781 894.4700.
MBTA Proposes Service Reductions and Fare Hikes
January 12, 2012
In an effort to close the agency’s $185 million budget gap, the MBTA has unveiled two proposed scenarios that include both reductions in service and fare increases. Both proposed scenarios include the elimination of some bus routes, cancellation of weekend Commuter Rail Service, cancellation of Commuter Ferry service, and 35%-43% fare increases on all MBTA modes, including the RIDE. For Waltham commuters, Bus routes 554 and 170 are on the chopping block under both scenarios. Both scenarios also call for the elimination of MBTA funding of Suburban Bus Program routes, which would impact funding for the Lexington Lexpress and Burlington Bee. Please see the table below for a more concise overview of the two proposed plans. The MBTA will hold 20 public meetings between January and March at sites throughout the MBTA service area. Citizens are encouraged to attend the meetings to provide feedback on how they would be impacted by the proposed cut. After completing the public outreach process, the MBTA plans to implement the changes on July 1.
Infographic : Comparison of Major Transit Agency Average Fares - Prepared by 128 Business Council
Impact of Proposed MBTA Service Cuts on 128 Business Council Service Area
For More Information:
List of Proposed Bus Route Eliminations (P. 24-25)
Fare & Service Proposals Overview
128 Business Council Winter Coat Drive
The 128 Business Council held a winter coat drive on all our commuter shuttles during the week of December 12-16. Our riders contributed dozens of warm winter coats that will go to those in need in our community. A special congratulations goes to our Needham Shuttle riders who led the way with the most donations. Thank you to our riders for all your contributions!
October 19, 2011
Every year, the 128 Business Council sponsors "Commute Another Way Day", a day to celebrate commuters who use alternative means of transportation. As part of Commute Another Way Day we asked our members to submit their best story about their daily commute. The winner, Noah Glushien told us about how his daily ride on the Needham Shuttle has made his commute so convenient that he has been able to forego the expense and hassle of buying a car. Noah won the grand prize, an Apple iPad.
Here is Noah receiving his iPad from TMA Program Manager Pat Sullivan.
October 14, 2011
The 128 Business Council invited Bentley University students to tell us about their best Bentley Shuttle story. One story was selected at random and the student won an Apple ipad courtesy of the 128 Business Council.
Here is the winner receiving their iPad from Executive Director Monica Tibbits.
July 28, 2011
On July 21, the 128 Business Council staff toured the Winter Street Bridge construction site with Resident Engineer Kirk Elwell. As the project wraps up, Kirk walked us through the final stages of the project and helped us envision what the final bridge alignment will look like. The new bridge is scheduled to open to traffic by August 19th, and the "collector/Distributor" lanes on Route 128 below the bridge will be completed by mid-September.
(Workers layer a waterproofing material on the roadbed)
(Looking out over the new bridge from Third Avenue)
(Looking east towards Totten Pond Road over the new bridge)
July 19, 2011
A big thank you to Bill Malcom of Collective Brands, who participated in our Alewife Shuttle Rider Survey and was the winner of a $50 AMEX gift card! Here is Bill receiving his prize from Lisa:
May 23, 2011
Plan to divert Boston's trucks south has suburban officials worried - Boston Globe
128 Business Council Executive Director Monica Tibbits was quoted in a recent story regarding plans to divert truck carrying hazardous materials around Boston via Route 128.
May 9th, 2011
128 Business Council Provides Transportation for International Steampunk Festival
The City of Waltham and the Charles River Museum of Industry and innovation played host to the International Steampunk Festival on May 7 & 8, 2011. The event brought thousands of visitors to Waltham over the weekend to enjoy a variety of activities and exhibits.
A 128 Business Council shuttle driver poses with Steampunk Festival participants
February 22, 2011
Corridor still a wealth of new ideas - Boston.com, February 20, 2011
Executive Director Monica Tibbits discusses plans to expand commuter shuttle services in the 128 Corridor.
"Commuting along Route 128 has been a nightmare this winter, with monster snowstorms triggering epic traffic jams.
But getting to work along the corridor could get a little easier and faster if the 128 Business Council gets its way.
A major provider of shuttle bus services, the council is eyeing a big expansion this year.
In particular, the privately backed group, supported by the companies and developers along the highway, is gearing up to boost the number of shuttle bus stops while extending the service’s reach.
The plan calls for adding another 15 to 20 stops to the 40 currently on the schedule while expanding the shuttle service north to Burlington and south to Dedham, according to Monica Tibbits, the council’s executive director.
Shuttles operated by the council provided 470,000 rides last year. With the expansion, the number would jump to 600,000 or 700,000 a year, Tibbits said.
Look out, MBTA — those are big numbers."
December 20, 2010
128 Business Council Highlighted in Boston Globe article as an organization working to find solutions to traffic on Route 128
"Another group, the business-backed 128 Business Council, is involved in more than transportation planning; it’s actually moving thousands of employees to and from work with its Alewife MBTA station-based shuttle system.
Several major companies pay dues to the council, which is on track to shuttle more than 460,000 employees this year. That makes it second only to the MBTA, notes Monica Tibbits, the council’s executive director.
But the council is also distressed by the mounting traffic on Route 128, with Tibbits noting in particular last spring’s floods, which created some nightmare backups.
Looking at long-term ways to ease gridlock, Tibbits’s group has taken a keen interest in a proposal floated by the Patrick administration.
Jeffrey Mullan, secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, is exploring the idea of converting a shoulder lane on the side of the highway and reserving it for buses and shuttles only.
Tibbits says bravo to that.
“If the driver congestion continues at the rate it has been increasing over the past five or 10 years, we are going to hit critical mass,’’ she warned. “We have nowhere else to go.’’
"Employers, state explore ways to ease route 128 traffic gridlock" - Boston Globe, December 19th, 2010
December 7, 2010
On May 18, 2010 128 Business Council Executive Director Monica Tibbits was a participating panelist at"Next Stop: A national Summit on the Future of Transit." The Summit was hosted and sponsored by The MBTA Advisory Board, MassINC, the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and the 128 Business Council.