Urban Ring Project (MBTA)
| Parent | Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |
|---|---|
| Founded | Suspended, but partial implementation of some segments is proceeding |
| Headquarters | 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116 |
| Locale | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Service area | Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Medford, Somerville, Cambridge, and Brookline |
| Service type | Bus rapid transit |
| Routes | 1 circumferential, with 2 major spurs |
| Stations | 31 proposed |
| Daily ridership | 282,000–293,000 passengers per day in 2025 (estimated) |
| Fuel type | Diesel |
| Operator | MBTA |
| Chief executive | Beverly A. Scott |
| Website | www |
The Urban Ring is a proposed project of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, to develop new public transportation routes that would provide improved circumferential connections among many existing transit lines that project radially from downtown Boston. The Urban Ring Corridor is located roughly one to two miles from downtown Boston, passing through the Massachusetts cities of Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Medford, Somerville, Cambridge, and Brookline. The project is expected to convert 41,500 car trips to transit trips daily.
The Major Investment Study split the project into three phases, the first of which (enhanced bus service) was partially implemented. As of January 2010[update], the planning of Phase 2 has been suspended because MBTA and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have insufficient funding to build a substantial portion of that phase (projected to cost $2.4 billion). Some interim bus service improvements are under way in the absence of major funding.
Transportation advocates in Boston have complained that rail transit riders cannot travel from one outlying area to another without first traveling to the downtown hub stations, changing lines, and traveling outbound again. Some of the radial transit lines, notably the Green Line, are so overcrowded that service is very slow and limited in capacity because of rush-hour "crush loads". There are several crosstown bus lines, such as the #1, #66, CT1, CT2, and CT3 routes, but they are slow, unreliable, and subject to bus bunching because they must operate in mixed street traffic.
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