Transportation topics from the gas tax to the state of the MBTA

Thanks to the furor over proposed increases to highway tolls, transportation issues are again front and center in Massachusetts. For context, visit our archived transportation stories from CommonWealth magazine.

Of particular note is staff writer Gabrielle Gurley’s recent feature story on the "growing chorus of support for an increase in the gas tax." And last year Charles Chieppo warned in a Perspective column that we may face both an increase in the gas tax and the expansion of tolls to new roads. ("Unpriced highways, which give the false impression that roads are free, result in unbridled demand that the Commonwealth cannot afford to meet.")

Also read David Luberoff’s essay on how mass-transit projects don’t necessarily improve traffic or the environment (one of the most provocative features to ever run in the magazine), and check out Gabrielle Gurley’s profile of besieged MBTA general manager Dan Grabauskas.