Bus Facility Modernization
- Timeline: Ongoing
- Status: Construction (Quincy) | 15% design (Arborway)
We have a long-term plan to fully replace our bus fleet with battery electric buses (BEBs). These all-electric vehicles emit no greenhouse gases, allowing the MBTA to significantly reduce our carbon footprint. A newer, emissions-free fleet will provide more sustainable, equitable, reliable, and convenient service to riders—all initiatives of our comprehensive Better Bus Project.
To provide operational support for an enlarged and upgraded fleet, we need to improve our bus facilities. The Bus Facility Modernization program will allow us to provide our riders and employees with major benefits, including:
- More service during peak demand times
- Larger, roomier buses on some routes
- Cleaner air along bus routes and in maintenance facility neighborhoods
- Modern, efficient work environments for our employees
- More sustainable, resilient, and environmentally friendly infrastructure
We’re prioritizing facility upgrades along some of our busiest routes in areas where residents are heavily reliant on transit. These riders will be among the first to experience improved bus service and benefit from new zero-emissions vehicles.
Learn how modernizing bus facilities helps lower our carbon emissions
Building a Better T
As part of our $9.6 billion, 5-year capital investment plan, we're renovating stations, modernizing fare collection systems, upgrading services for our buses, subways, and ferries, and improving the accessibility of the entire system.
Our Plan for Modernized Facilities
Today, the MBTA operates a fleet of 1,100 buses from nine bus maintenance facilities across the network. The planning, design, environmental review, and construction of fully modernized facilities will require significant resources and multiple years to implement.
In April 2021, we presented to our plan to modernize the bus fleet and bus maintenance facilities. The plan defines:
- A goal of fully electrifying the fleet by 2040
- A prioritized path for facility replacements based on equity, ridership, and bus fleet and facility condition
- The scale of investment required to support new facility construction, including real estate purchase costs
We are prioritizing the modernization of certain facilities before others based on rider, worker, and community needs and the bus system's logistical requirements.
As we update facilities and purchase new buses, we will continue to refine our plan and share updates with riders.
Quincy Bus Maintenance Facility
As the oldest facility in our system, the Quincy Bus Maintenance Facility lacks the required technology and space to support newer buses. Because only older buses can run from this garage, Quincy routes experience limited service frequency and more reliability issues.
We’re constructing a new facility for a larger, more modern fleet. This will accommodate BEBs and allow for potential service expansion in the future while supporting our efforts to lessen our environmental impact. The new facility will be located across the street from Quincy Adams Station on the Red Line, within a mile of Quincy Center Station, where many Quincy bus routes start.
Construction Activities
In late 2023, construction activities started at the new Quincy bus maintenance facility site, located at 599 Burgin Pkwy in Quincy. Site preparation for the facility, including construction of a new shared use path, was completed in 2022.
What to Expect During Construction
Beginning mid-November 2023, the sidewalk along Thomas Burgin Pkwy from Quincy St to the Deco Apartments driveway will be closed to pedestrians. Detour signs will direct pedestrians through Quincy St, Penn St, Columbia St, and the new shared use pathway.
Additionally, there will be a temporary traffic lane closure as needed along the southbound side of Thomas Burgin Pkwy, next to the bus maintenance facility site.
Public Engagement
Now that the environmental review process and the design review phase are complete, and construction activities have begun, we encourage the public to view past public meeting presentations and submit any comments or questions to quincybus@mbta.com.
Arborway Bus Maintenance Facility
To support a 100% BEB fleet and advance the MBTA's decarbonization initiatives, we're designing a larger Arborway Bus Maintenance Facility. The facility will be located next to the existing one at Washington Street and Arborway in Boston, near Forest Hills station.
Today, the Arborway garage supports buses serving routes in neighborhoods with high proportions of transit-critical riders from low-income households and households of color in Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Hyde Park, Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, and areas southwest of Boston. The new, larger facility will support 60-foot BEBs that will serve more routes and reduce crowding in these areas.
The new Arborway facility is targeted to open by the end of 2027. As existing compressed natural gas (CNG) buses are retired starting in 2028, the new facility can start replacing them with zero-emissions BEBs.
Upcoming Modernization Projects
We’re moving forward with a number of other initiatives to address urgent needs at existing facilities. We are also planning to modernize other facilities following our renovations at Quincy and Arborway.
Facility Retrofits
We will continue to provide full bus service for riders during our facilities' design, renovation, and construction. We’re retrofitting some existing facilities and, when necessary, we’ll temporarily move some buses to alternate facilities in order to maintain bus service on all routes. The MBTA is making targeted investments to continue to meet operational needs while cost-effectively managing time-sensitive fleet replacements.
Upcoming Future Facility Improvements
We are prioritizing the modernization of our bus maintenance facilities based on equity, ridership, and bus fleet and facility condition. We plan to open updated Wellington and Lynn facilities by 2030, and the remaining facilities every two to three years between 2030 and 2040.
Project Renderings
The retrofit of the North Cambridge facility to accommodate charging infrastructure will support the first significant roll out of battery electric buses in the MBTA system.
The first of the new facilities, the Quincy bus maintenance facility will be state-of-the-art, all-indoor, and house up to 120 battery electric buses. Modern features will improve working conditions for MBTA staff and support fleet reliability.
A rendering of the future Arborway bus maintenance facility. Replacing a mostly outdoor CNG facility with an all-indoor multi-level facility for 200 battery electric buses allows the MBTA to modernize its fleet, improve working conditions, and create a parcel of transit-oriented land for future development.
An all-indoor multi-level facility for 200 battery electric buses allows the MBTA to modernize its fleet, improve working conditions, and create space transit-oriented development on this Riverfront parcel.
Past Events
Contact Us
For all questions and comments related to the Bus Facility Modernization program or the Quincy or Arborway Bus Maintenance Facility improvements, please contact Scott Hamwey at shamwey@mbta.com.
Recent Updates
Related Projects
Building a Better T
As part of our $9.6 billion, 5-year capital investment plan, we're renovating stations, modernizing fare collection systems, upgrading services for our buses, subways, and ferries, and improving the accessibility of the entire system.