The 495/MetroWest Partnership yesterday released a position paper on the commonwealth’s transportation finance situation, "Fairly Funding Transportation." It calls for continued reform in the state’s transportation infrastructure, in response to a report on transportation funding issued in January by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), "The Way Forward: A 21st Century Transportation Plan."

The report identifies the price of fully funding the commonwealth’s transportation needs at an average additional cost of $1.02 billion annually over the next 10years.

In an announcement yesterday, the partnership voiced its support for revenue increases as long as revenues are collected equitably from all transportation users; are dedicated to the transportation system; distributed fairly across all the state’s regions and travel modes; and disbursed in an open and transparent manner.

The partnership calls for cessation of toll collecting on the Massachusetts Turnpike, as the debt authorizing the tolls has long been retired. It calls for new tolling mechanisms to be implemented across the state.

It also calls for an indexed increase in the gas tax. It calls for reasonable fare and fee increases across the MBTA and RTA systems, as well as registry and license fees. It qualifies MBTA fare increases, suggesting that the next moderate fare increase not occur until FY 2015.

The partnership advocates public-private partnerships and targeting new revenue streams.