June 2021
Get it Rolling
A brief guide to mobilize busimprovements in Greater Boston
Get it Rolling lays out steps to help municipal staff, community leaders, and advocates launch successful bus improvements in high ridership, high delay corridors.
Correcting transportation inequities and injustices of the past can start with better buses. Simple, low-cost, and quick bus improvements create better service for communities, neighborhoods, and riders who have been disproportionately impacted by inadequate transit service in the past. These projects can ease delays during peak commute hours, facilitate mobility throughout the region, contribute to local and regional climate goals, and increase safety on our streets.
The workbook provides an overview of how to improve bus transit, implement pilot programs, and communicate with community members. It identifies crucial stakeholders and project milestones, offers examples of successful strategies, and distills lessons learned.
Case Studies
The information this guide sets forth was drawn from over thirty in-depth interviews with stakeholders involved in six different projects.
These six projects are described in detail in the individual case studies below. You'll find examples from these projects throughout the full guide.
- Arlington’s inbound bus lane on Massachusetts Avenue
- Boston’s inbound bus lane on Brighton Avenue in Brighton
- Cambridge and Watertown’s inbound bus lane on Mount Auburn Street
- Everett’s inbound bus lane on Broadway
- Boston’s inbound bus lane on Washington Street in Roslindale
- Somerville’s bi-directional bus lane on Broadway
Credits
Primary author:
Marah Holland, Transportation Planner II
Secondary authors:
Sarah Kurpiel Lee, Assistant Director of Transportation
Eric Bourassa, Director of Transportation
Liana Banuelos,* Transportation Planner
*Former staff member
Editor:
Karen Adelman, Senior Communications Strategist
Report Design:
Kit Un, Visual Designer
We would like to thank the many partners that helped us create this document. At the start of this project, we conducted over 30 interviews to gather details about how these projects came to be. Throughout the writing of this document, we also had many partners review, edit, and provide comments on its content. We want to thank Wes Edwards, Eric Burkman, Andrew McFarland, Julia Wallerce, Jenny Raitt, Ali Carter, Daniel Amstutz, Stacy Thompson, Kristiana Lachiusa, Patrick Hoey, Matthew Moran, Tegin Teich, Andrew Reker, Laura Wiener, Jonathan Belcher, Scott Hamwey, Jay Monty, Tom Philbin, Matt Lawlor, Brad Rawson, Adam Polinski, Katherine Adam, Caroline Vanasse, Casey Waskiewicz, Aaron Clausen, Annette Demchur, Lisa Jacobson, Ralph DeNisco, Chris Dempsey, Travis Pollack, Julie DeMauro and Sandra Clarey for their contributions to this report.