The MBTA recently added two new super express trains will make it much quicker to get from Boston to Framingham, cutting about 10 minutes off the regular express train.

I took one of the outbound express trains a day after it started. The were plenty of MBTA personal at the Back Bay terminal letting passengers know that next train would be the super express train and that the regular train would be arriving shorly after.

The train itself had fewer cars than other cars during the rush hour commute. There appered to be 2 cars short and none of the cars were double deckers which sit more passengers.

During the commute they counted all the passengers twice, by two different individuals. One was counting the number of passengers in the car and the other the total number of passengers on the train.

I thought there would be more available seating, but I was one of three people in the last car that was standing during the entire commute. I suspect that the train afterwards had more room than normal. There were a lot of people getting off at Framingham, my best guess would be less than half the train got off at the Framingham stop.

There's rumors that the MBTA will add additional express trains later this Fall. Also the Yakee Station should be finished this Fall, and that will adjust the train schedules so that the trains can run a bit more frequent. They had to adjust the schedules last Spring for the construction.

Some big news for those that park at the Pearl Street Garage. From the Framingham Patch:

Officials are discussing a plan with the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority to operate a shuttle bus from the the town's Pearl St. parking garage to the MBTA commuter rail station.

"The hope is that this service together with the fact that we have opened the garage up for free commuter parking will increase its use," Town Manager Robert Halpin said. That in turn will make the parking lot safer for all, he added.

A followup to last week's posting about the Commuter Fringe Benefit offered by the IRS. The state of Massachusetts also has a Commuter Deduction. According to the Massachusetts Filing and Payment information page:

If an employer pays for an employee's MBTA pass, the amount by which the value of the pass exceeds $125 a month is included in the employee's income and reported as wages on the employee's W-2. To calculate the commuter deduction in these circumstances, the employee first deducts the $125 a month ($1,500 a year) from the cost of the pass; the remainder is the amount qualifying for the commuter deduction. The amount of the commuter deduction is the portion of the qualifying expenses that exceeds $150, and the total amount deducted cannot exceed $750.

May sure to to talk to your tax adviser on how to fill out the Massachusetts Schedule Y if you a commuter rail rider. This is a good deduction to take advantage to offset the price increase in done in July.

Boston MBTA Commuter Rail riders should be aware of the change to the IRS pre-tax benefit for purchasing a monthly pass. In January, Congress changed the transit pass ceiling from $125 to $245. This means that for most commuters, more take-home money. (Framingham is in Zone 5 and it cost $252 for the monthly pass.)

In addition this change is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2012! It's unclear how the IRS will handle the retroactive change. There could be a payroll adjustments, or some 1040 federal tax form adjustment.

Here is the official change as mentioned in the Revenue Procedure 2013-15:

Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit.
For taxable years beginning in 2013, the monthly limitation under § 132(f)(2)(A) regarding the aggregate fringe benefit exclusion amount for transportation in a commuter highway vehicle and any transit pass is $245. The monthly limitation under § 132(f)(2)(B) regarding the fringe benefit exclusion amount for qualified parking is $245.

Over the past few years we have tried many different pizza places all over New England. We have tried different styles from traditional to deep dish. We also visited many different places local hangouts to franchises.

You can find Pizza Hut, Unos, and Dominos in Framingham. They all offer some special that we do use every once in a while. However, what makes a town great is the local flavor. Something that is different than any place else. A place that makes you want to go back when you move away.

The place that we keep talking about over and over is Sweet Tomato Pizza in Newton. We found the one in Newtonville when we lived in Newton a few years ago. The restaurant seating is very small, most of their business is take out. They do have some seats outside which makes a date night very nice on a nice warm summer day. The pizza is a simple flat bread with a little cheese and tomatoes. Very simple and yet very good. Every time we drive by Newtonville we say, we should stop and get a pizza at Sweet Tomato.

The other place that we like is Pepperoncini's in Framingham. They are located on Concord Street at the Hartford Street intersection. The pizza is great and the sauce has a nice distinct flavor. They usually put a Pepperoncini in the middle of the pizza. We look forward to getting a pizza from here as it is usually a special treat. The pizza is a bit more expensive than some of the other places that we try, but well worth the price.

The restaurant is very casual and you can see all sorts of local sport memorabilia on the walls, about half the restaurant is a bar while the other half is general dinning. They have TVs all over the place, and just about every seat has a view of the TV so if there's a game going on, nobody will miss a play. The place is very family friendly and they have plenty of high chairs for the young ones. Pepperoncini's offer a large menu selection from Pizza to Hamburgers.

If you should decide to do a take out, make sure that your calling the right place. Once when I called, I called their Marlborough store and didn't realized it until I got to the Framingham store. They were very polite about it and was able to make up the order in a surprising amount of time. The take out pick up is at the bar, which might be an issue if there's a big game going on, so plan your time according.