Massachusetts received a double batch of good news this week in the struggle against its transportation problems. But residents shouldn’t let that lull them into complacency.
First, the committee charged with recommending a future direction for the MBTA’s commuter rail system endorsed the most far-reaching alternative under consideration. Under the framework the Rail Vision Advisory Committee recommended to the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board on Oct. 28, the commuter rail system would be fully electrified, with trains running every 15 to 20 minutes. If endorsed by the FMCB and the Baker administration, it would not only completely transform the state’s congestion challenges but could also help address our housing crisis by putting more communities within reach of the buyers who work in Greater Boston’s core communities.
“Complete transformation” of a system that is currently only serves people willing or forced by necessity to endure slow trains and relatively infrequent schedules won’t come cheap, however; cost estimates run somewhere in the area of $28 billion.
That’s where last week’s second piece of good news comes in. A coalition of 20 business groups gathered by Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jim Rooney last Wednesday issued a call for Beacon Hill to raise significant new revenues to support several key transit expansion projects.
The group praised the reforms put in place at the state Department of Transportation by Gov. Charlie Baker and Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, which Rooney told Banker & Tradesman gave them confidence that the huge transportation projects the state needs could actually be built.
To make sure the state doesn’t choke on its own economic success, the coalition pitched a two-pronged strategy: Use the in-planning, multi-state carbon fee called the Transportation Climate Initiative and the state’s and MassDOT’s bonding authorities to pay for big projects like the commuter rail transformation, but also raise the gas tax and fees on Uber and Lyft trips to give the state’s mass transit networks and roads and bridges a much-needed immediate infusion of money.
Most importantly, though, the business coalition stated that any new revenue should be conditioned on specific outcomes. This should be applauded by any fan of good government. It will also help the state’s transit agencies respond to the reality that they are now in a competition with private cars and ride-hailing companies, and cannot simply think of themselves as providers of mobility to those who have no other option.
It’s a rare occurrence that business groups back widespread tax increases. The ball is now in the legislature’s court to craft a funding package that won’t under-deliver like its last effort in 2013.
But Banker & Tradesman readers shouldn’t think that our transportation crisis is nearly solved. Thanks to the incredibly balkanized nature of transportation planning, towns and cities still are in the driver’s seat when it comes to the most important, fastest and cheapest transit improvements out there: bus lanes. Readers must get active in their communities, push for these changes and support leaders who back them. Our economy and climate depend on it.
