MBTA

Last week, Richard A. Davey Jr. was appointed the new general manager of the MBTA, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The Boston Globe's transportation reporter rides the T with him and talks transit.

It is now official: the new Massachusetts Department of Transportation will be the singular transportation and transit agency for the entire state. With the swearing in of its five-member board, the agency can begin its work.

In an effort to save billions of dollars, the State of Massachusetts may merge the MBTA, the Highway Department, and the Turnpike Authority into what is being called the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority.