It’s been reported over and over again that the MBTA has its share of problems. The aging system is shuffling a record number of passengers as it deals with mountains of debt. And it’s not going to get much better anytime soon.
But one key to a good urban and regional economy is a high-quality, reliable public transportation system. Last week, columnist Scott Van Voorhis focused his attention on the traffic congestion and the lack of public transit options in the Route 128 corridor. But throughout the Greater Boston area, more commuters are relying on the T to get from Point A to B.
Cue last week’s news, reported by The Boston Globe, that the MBTA would soon extend weekend hours on all subway routes to 3 a.m. The expansion would be made possible by $20 million in state funding and corporate donors (the Globe shelled out $500,000 in cash and in-kind contributions as the first corporate sponsor).
The news means that Boston can compete with other East Coast cities that offer an array of transit options after midnight. As the Globe noted, public transportation systems in New York City, Chicago and parts of Philadelphia run 24 hours a day. Washington, D.C., has weekend service until 3 a.m.
It’s a good start, but of course, there are costs to expanding service.
“What I hope people understand is that nothing you do in transportation comes at no cost,” Rick Dimino, president of A Better City, a business organization that focuses on transportation, infrastructure and land development, told Banker & Tradesman. Dimino was recently named to Boston Mayor-elect Marty Walsh’s transition team, and he previously served as Boston’s transportation commissioner.
But the extra service will indeed be a boon to Boston’s thriving tech and financial services industries, in addition to being a much-needed service for service and health care workers. And, yes, the “cool factor” might even increase for this town.
On the other hand, the T’s limits are currently being tested. The MBTA’s own statistics make that clear. According to the T, average daily ridership for October increased by 4.3 percent over the same month last year, and totaled 1.382 million passenger trips per weekday – the highest weekday ridership recorded since the MBTA was created in 1964 (no doubt the Red Sox World Series victory parade contributed to some of this).
All of this has an impact on the growth of the city and surrounding communities. Adding late-night hours is good, but the fact remains that more people will be using public transportation over the next few years. Investment in improving existing service should be a priority – because without those improvements, Greater Boston’s growth will, in fact, hit a ceiling. Boston’s connectedness has only helped fuel the city’s strong construction growth since the recession hit.
Our public transportation infrastructure should be able to keep pace with that growth so that we don’t have many speed bumps ahead.
