The business community and our regional economy rely on the MBTA to be safe, reliable and adequate for current riders who’ve built their lives around its service. The T’s planned cuts will not deliver this for too many in Massachusetts.
No matter what happens on Nov. 3, the commonwealth needs to act on our own state legislation to combat climate change, boost clean energy and reduce carbon emissions.
A serious conversation is starting about how the MBTA might adapt if ridership remains low for the extended future. And the business community and riders have an opportunity to establish new and better goals for public transit in the process.
It is unclear if our transportation system is prepared for this next chapter of our economic recovery. Business leaders, elected officials and policy makers are now seeking additional information on commuter projections to anticipate the expected travel demands of workers throughout the region.
If we prioritize future improvements to our transportation system and open spaces, the choice is clear: Massachusetts should not rebuild an elevated section of the Mass. Pike.
The challenges from COVID-19 differ by industry, but our approach to transportation will be a common thread that impacts workers across many sectors of the economy and geographic areas of Massachusetts.
In this uncertain and difficult time, we need of strong leadership from the public, private and nonprofit sectors of Massachusetts to overcome the challenges from COVID-19. So far, what we are seeing right now from our workers and business leaders is a reason to be hopeful.
As the Senate prepares its own proposal to boost transportation spending, we must reflect on the magnitude of our looming transportation challenge and imagine the legislation that could emerge this year.
Freeing the T should not just be an idea about bus fares; it should also be about eliminating unnecessary restrictions related to procurement methods, management and oversight of capital infrastructure projects.
Massachusetts is currently the only state in New England that does not have some type of commission looking at the cost and funding solutions necessary to protect against and avoid risks posed and expenses incurred by climate change.
A consensus approach to delivering additional transportation revenue is emerging, with overwhelming support from the business community, municipal officials and transportation advocates.
A consensus is emerging: More revenue is needed to improve our infrastructure, but also should be designed to influence behavior with an overarching goal of getting cars off the road and increasing the use of public transit.
The Massachusetts economy and population both continue to grow, but our underperforming transportation system is a major risk to our economic future. To fix this, we need a high-quality, appropriately priced, modern approach to commuter rail service.
Highway tolls can be the key component to a comprehensive transportation plan, where we set a fair price on all modes of transportation, provide better options for mass transit and build in credits to address equity concerns.
While TNCs are now an established part of our transportation ecosystem, we need to focus on influencing their role in being ultimately a contributor to enhanced shared mobility, congestion relief and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
While we have made some progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, more must be done across sectors to adapt and to prepare for the impacts of climate change. Fortunately, our most powerful elected officials are already rising to the occasion.
A comprehensive transportation finance plan is needed to provide more money for transit infrastructure repair, operations and ongoing maintenance; otherwise we are putting the repair budget priorities at odds with the limits in the operating budget.
Winter has come and gone, and while we appreciate the good fortune of a mild start to 2019, metropolitan Boston and areas of coastal Massachusetts still need to prepare for the storms to come.
Elected officials, the business community and the transportation stakeholder community all are in agreement that Massachusetts needs to act soon – and in a comprehensive manner – to address our current needs and secure our future economic prosperity.
If Massachusetts wants to maintain its reputation as a great place to live, and as a global leader with a dynamic economy, our transportation infrastructure must improve to keep pace with our growing needs.
