More Wi-Fi on the rails

The Wi-Fi experiment on the Worcester commuter rail line has been successful and the MBTA is preparing to roll out free wireless Internet access on all 13 commuter rail lines.

"It's an investment that will make a big difference in riders' lives. It will allow people to work on their way back and forth to work and maybe even leave the office a little early to attended a daughter or son's sporting event," MBTA general manager Dan Grabauskas said last week.

The T has experimented with Wi-Fi access aboard some coaches on the Worcester line since January.

On Oct. 10, the MBTA's board of directors authorized spending $1.38 million to provide Wi-Fi on all commuter rail lines.

"That will pay for equipment, service, and installation on 258 coaches throughout the lines," Grabauskas said.

Beginning in December, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will begin equipping 30 coaches a month, until the 258 have free wireless access. "That will be at least one coach on each trip - sometimes more - with Wi-Fi," Grabauskas said.

He estimated that the yearly service fees from the T's Internet provider will be about $300,000 a year.

"I know money is tight, but we think it's a sound investment," said Grabauskas.

"We will make the money back if only 300 new riders get monthly passes for a year. And it will help us hold onto riders as the price of gas goes down."

A new solution has been proposed to alleviate traffic congestion between Manchester, N.H., and Boston, a "bus on the shoulder" lane along Interstate 93.

"A lot of people are skeptical, but it seems to have worked in a lot of other places," said Kit Morgan, rail and transit administrator for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.

The "bus on the shoulder" option is presented in the preliminary draft of a transit investment study prepared by HNTB, a Chicago-based transit planning company.

The study was commissioned by the states of Massachusetts and New Hampshire to help officials make long-range plans.

The buses would shuttle commuters, from park and ride lots in New Hampshire to Boston, in express buses that would travel along a 12-foot wide breakdown lane.

According to a report released earlier this month by the public interest group, MassPIRG, about 13 percent of all commuters in New Hampshire work in Massachusetts.

And vehicle travel in Massachusetts has increased 57 percent since 1980.

The return of rail service from Manchester to Boston has also been proposed to reduce highway congestion.

"The bus lane had been used successfully in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Ottawa," Morgan said. "It is cheaper than rail and will take up less room than an HOV lane, which needs barriers to protect it. There would be costs and benefits for both states if we build the bus lane.

"It's something we will have to get together and discuss," Morgan said.

Starts & Stops appears every other Sunday in Globe Northwest. Transportation comments and questions may be sent to starts@globe.com.