Tracking Transportation

Keeping track of transportation

DeLeo calls off transpo tax debate – for now

Speaker says House will try again next year 'to get this right'

By Bruce Mohl and Andy Metzger gas tax, House, Robert DeLeo, taxes, TCI 0 Comments Nov 14, 2019

HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO is putting off a debate over tax legislation to fund transportation improvements until next year, throwing into doubt whether anything will happen in an area that advocates and business groups say is in desperate need of more funding. After expressing some uncertainty Wednesday about his plans to take up the tax(...)

Chamber backs free bus service in Worcester

Business group calls for 3-year, no-fare experiment

By Bruce Mohl Transportation 0 Comments Nov 13, 2019

TUCKED INSIDE this week’s transportation funding proposal from the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce was an unusual request. In addition to offering support for a statewide tolling initiative, a hike in the gas tax, and an increase in rideshare fees, the business group said some of the new revenue should be used to experiment with(...)

DeLeo unsure about tax bill timeline

Says ‘stay tuned’ on whether action next week is possible

By Andy Metzger gas tax, Robert DeLeo, tax, taxes 0 Comments Nov 13, 2019

HOUSE SPEAKER Robert DeLeo expressed some uncertainty Wednesday afternoon about whether the House will be able to advance a tax package before the end of the year. “Right now we’re still working on it. It’s still something that we’re working on,” DeLeo said after a Democratic caucus. “I would advise you to stay tuned in(...)

Allston/ commuter rail/ Harvard/ I-90/ Pollack/ Salvucci/ Turnpike/ West Station

Fed review of I-90 project begins with a blackout

Locals want plan for mobility through Allston during construction

By Andy Metzger 0 Comments Nov 8, 2019

RECONFIGURING THE MASSACHUSETTS TURNPIKE in Allston and building a new transit station there will create construction disruption approaching the scale required for the Big Dig, so it was either inauspicious or fitting that the first federal public comment meeting Thursday night ended early because of a power outage. The meeting was nearing its final phase(...)

Biz group outlines roadway pricing proposal

Says $50 billion is needed for transportation over next 20 years

By Bruce Mohl Massachusetts Legislature, MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 7, 2019

THE BUSINESS GROUP A Better City estimates Massachusetts will need to raise a minimum of $50 billion over the next 20 years to meet transportation needs, and is proposing a series of specific revenue measures, including increased taxes and assessments on gas; higher rideshare fees; a surcharge on commercial parking spaces; and new tolls on(...)

T notes: GLX will be big money loser

Commuter rail revenues keep rising

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 5, 2019

THE MBTA IS FORECASTING that the cost of running the Green Line extension in its first full year of operation will far exceed the revenue gained. According to projections provided to the T’s Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday, the cost of running the Green Line extension will be $44.6 million while the revenue(...)

Text of resolutions approved by MBTA control board

Four deal with overhaul of commuter rail, one with buses

By Fiscal and Management Control Board MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 5, 2019

The following is the text of the five resolutions unanimously adopted by the Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday to deal with the overhaul of the MBTA’s commuter rail and bus systems. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation said the text is the final version, but hasn’t been signed yet by control board chair Joe(...)

Spilka won’t commit to take up tax bill

Baker says he wouldn’t favor ‘big increase’ in gas tax

By Andy Metzger Massachusetts Legislature, MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 4, 2019

WHILE HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO plans to advance a transportation revenue bill within the next few weeks, Senate President Karen Spilka is taking a more cautious approach, and might not follow suit if the House does act on a tax bill. After meeting with DeLeo and Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday, Spilka would not commit(...)

T board approves commuter rail vision

Calls for subway-like service on ‘most dense corridors’

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 4, 2019

THE MBTA’S OVERSIGHT BOARD unanimously approved five resolutions on Monday designed to start transforming the state’s commuter rail network into more of a subway-like system with electrified trains arriving every 15 to 20 minutes on the “most dense corridors.” The initial phase of what could be a decades-long process, according to the resolutions, would be(...)

Biz officials: New transportation funds needed

Baker’s stance unclear; ‘It’ll be a tough veto’

By Bruce Mohl Charlie Baker, MBTA, Taxes and Budget Issues 0 Comments Nov 4, 2019

THE DERAILMENT on the Red Line in June may have been a turning point. After Gov. Charlie Baker visited the crash site, he decided it was time to accelerate repairs on the MBTA and greenlight more shutdowns of the system to speed up projects. The derailment also galvanized the debate over new transportation revenues –(...)