Section 1 –

WHEREAS, the current Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Fairmount

Commuter Rail Branch travels 9.2 miles through sections of the neighborhoods of Roxbury,

Dorchester, Mattapan and Hyde Park that make up the largest geographic area within the city of

Boston not served by rapid transit (subway service);

WHEREAS, one fifth of population of the City of Boston lives within one half mile of

the Fairmount Branch rail line, 83% of whom are Black or Latino, and 25% are children (40% of all of Boston’s children);

WHEREAS, 26.0% of trips from predominately Black census tracks across in the region

start within one half mile of a Fairmont Branch station, and an additional 12.6% of trips start on

bus routes that intersect with the Fairmount Branch;

WHEREAS, median household income within the Fairmount Branch corridor is $10,000

less than that of Boston as a whole;

WHEREAS, research shows that commuting time is the single strongest factor, above

crime rate or elementary school test scores, in determining the odds of escaping poverty;

WHEREAS, service on the Fairmount Branch is ill-suited to the travel needs of inner city

neighborhoods and compares poorly to the service levels enjoyed by other Boston

neighborhoods, based on frequency, span of service, reliability, fare policy, and connectivity to

the rest of the transit network;

WHEREAS, very modest improvements on the line have spurred a three-fold ridership

increase between 2012 and 2016;

WHEREAS, the Fairmount Branch consists of an existing capacity and right-of-way that

could be improved in a much more cost-effective fashion than building new infrastructure;

WHEREAS, the communities hosting the Fairmount Branch have long championed the

vision of operating the Fairmount Branch as if it were an urban Rapid Transit line under the

Indigo Line brand, with levels of service similar to the Red, Orange, Blue or Green Lines;

THEREFORE BE IT ENCACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, That the Massachusetts General Laws read as

follows:

Section 2 –

Definitions. As used in this chapter the following words shall, unless the context clearly

requires otherwise, have the following meaning:

“Indigo Line project” shall mean the two-year service evaluation conducted by

the Department of Transportation in partnership with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation

Authority and the operator of commuter rail service to determine the impact of service

improvements on changes in ridership of the Fairmount-Indigo Line in accordance with section 3.

“Adequate Service levels” shall mean transportation service along the Fairmount-Indigo

Line during the Indigo Line project period meets the provisions of section 3 of this act.

Section 3 –

Indigo Line project. The Department of Transportation shall conduct a two-year service evaluation along the Indigo Line in partnership with the Massachusetts Bay

Transportation Authority and the operator of commuter rail service pursuant to Section 3. The

service evaluation shall assess the impact of adequate service levels, as established in

Section 3, on ridership of the service. The service evaluation shall begin no later than 180

days after the effective date of this Act.

Section 4 –

Adequate Service Levels. During the Indigo Line project, the Massachusetts Bay

Transportation Authority and operator of commuter rail service shall ensure that: 1) No less than

three train-sets are dedicated to Indigo Line service; provided that such train-sets shall

consist of no more than 3 coaches and 1 locomotive to minimize acceleration/deceleration time;

provided that such train-sets shall be specially wrapped and marked as Indigo Line trains;

provided, further, that such train-sets shall not be diverted from Indigo Line Service

for any purpose except maintenance directly upon such train-set. 2) Indigo Line train

service operates with headways no longer than 30 minutes during off-peak hours, and no longer

than 15 minutes during peak hours. 3) Riders may pay for Indigo Line train service

with fare media including, but not limited to, Charlie Cards or its equivalent successor product,

M7 Passes, Student Passes, Youth Passes, and other discounted fare media available to people with disabilities, seniors, and students. 4) Fares levied to access the Indigo Line at all

stations on line from Readville to South Station shall be at the same rate charged to ride the

subway network, with free transfers to connecting bus lines and to the Red and Silver Lines at

South Station. 5) Bus service at Indigo line stations are synchronized with train

schedules to the maximum extent feasible.

Section 5 –

Marketing and Outreach. The Department of Transportation in partnership with the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the operator of commuter rail service shall

conduct, in close coordination with community groups in the corridor, a public relations

campaign to raise awareness of service levels during the Indigo Line project; provided that

such a campaign include information about the fare media that may be used during the Indigo

Line project, the frequency of service, and the location of stations. The marketing campaign shall

Include, but not be limited to, improvements to signage for Indigo Line stations, and

inclusion of the Indigo Line on Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Rapid Transit Map,

also known as the “spider map.”

Section 6 –

Evaluation and Data Collection. The Department of Transportation shall gather and

report baseline data of ridership along the Indigo Line to the Joint Committee on

Transportation no later than 30 days after the effective date of this Act; provided, that historical

data reported pursuant to this paragraph shall have been collected within 2 years of the report.

The Department of Transportation shall gather ridership data along the Indigo Line no

more than every 6 months during the service evaluation. Within 30 days of the end of the

Indigo Line project, the Department of Transportation shall report to the Joint Committee on

Transportation an evaluation of the results of ridership data collected during the Indigo Line project. Such evaluation shall state the marginal cost of implementing the service evaluation, the annual marginal cost of maintaining service levels, and the projected impact on ridership of maintaining adequate service levels. Data shall be conducted at dates and times when ridership is at its greatest volume, taking into account fluctuations based on school calendar and season. Data

should include demographic information of riders using the Indigo Line, including race, age, student status, and income level. Data collected shall include reverse commute trips or trips that do not begin or end at South Station and the analysis shall explicitly document the lower marginal costs of carrying riders during the off-peak and in the reverse commute direction.  The Department of Transportation shall work with community groups in the corridor to determine how to permanently implement improvements on the Indigo Line consistent with the evaluation findings.