Tracking Transportation

Keeping track of transportation

A caution on hiking ‘regressive’ gas tax

Report says any increase should be accompanied by measures to cushion blow

By Michael Jonas gas tax, MBTA 0 Comments Oct 17, 2019

ADVOCATES HAVE LONG pointed to an increase in the state’s gas tax as a way to generate new revenue for transportation needs, often citing the much steeper increases in MBTA fares in recent years than in the state levy on fuel used by drivers. With the Legislature poised to consider new transportation revenue this fall,(...)

New subway cars compromise our values

We shouldn't be doing business with a country like China

By Michael Zwirko MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 15, 2019

I RIDE THE MBTA ORANGE LINE every single day. I’ve done so for the past 15 years. While I do get frustrated every so often with its service, it is still a reliable and affordable method of transportation for me and many other commuters in greater Boston. On top of that, it is also a(...)

Lawmakers urged to try congestion pricing

Sabadosa says approach not right solution for W. Mass.

By Chris Lisinski Transportation 0 Comments Oct 15, 2019

CITING THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION’S WARNING that traffic is at a “tipping point,” lawmakers and advocates renewed calls Tuesday for Massachusetts to follow its peers and adjust roadway tolls at different times of day in an attempt to reduce congestion. A version of the system, referred to as congestion pricing, is already in place in nine(...)

Straus raises alarms on RMV probe

Cites documents not provided by governor, but it’s unclear what they show

By Bruce Mohl Charlie Baker, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 15, 2019

A correction has been added to this story. THE HOUSE CHAIR of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee raised concerns on Tuesday that the Baker administration was withholding documents sought as part of the panel’s investigation of the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Rep. William Straus of Mattapoisett also said three internal documents he obtained from sources outside(...)

MetroWest RTA official spent $5,000 on lunches

Most of his peers spend far less, some none at all

By Colman M. Herman Transportation 0 Comments Oct 15, 2019

THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE of the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority spent more than $5,000 on working lunches in fiscal 2019 – a level of expenditure that far exceeds what his counterparts at other agencies spend. According to records obtained from 14 of the 15 regional transit authorities, Edward Carr’s expenditures on meals were the highest, with(...)

No more incrementalism, it’s time for Big Rail

What we need to do and possible ways to get the job done

By James Aloisi and Stanley Rosenberg MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 12, 2019

EARLIER THIS YEAR, the Global Traffic Scorecard ranked Boston’s traffic as the worst in the nation, outpacing famously congested cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. Traffic on I-93 south averages 10 miles per hour. Using population, transportation, and economic data, Northeastern University economist Barry Bluestone has projected that those speeds will gradually drop(...)

Time for radical action at the T

As an example, we should consider making it free

By Joseph Curtatone MBTA 0 Comments Oct 9, 2019

THIS PAST FRIDAY the MBTA had to empty out the station at Central Square in Cambridge because a Red Line car was billowing smoke. The service has experienced fires along the Orange and Green lines in recent months too. That’s not counting numerous derailments, one of which caused more than 100 days of reduced service(...)

Transpo notes: Baker sees 100m Uber, Lyft rides

CLF preparing lawsuit over HOV lane shutdown

By Bruce Mohl Transportation 0 Comments Oct 8, 2019

GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said he thinks ride-hailing apps will provide 100 million rides this year in Massachusetts. Data gathered by the Department of Public Utilities indicate ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft provided 64.8 million rides in 2017 and 83.1 million in 2018. If they do 100 million this year, that would be a(...)

Baker, Legislature at odds on transportation funding

Pollack: Carbon fee is cap-and-invest program, not a tax

By Bruce Mohl Massachusetts Legislature, MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 8, 2019

GOV. CHARLIE BAKER and the Legislature are at odds on how much money is needed to fix the state’s ailing transportation infrastructure. Baker appeared before the Legislature’s Transportation Committee on Tuesday, highlighting a series of major investments his administration has already made and a long list of others he wants to fund with an $18(...)

Baker backs Moulton’s RMV proposal

Defends how administration handled audit

By Andy Metzger Charlie Baker, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 7, 2019

ONCE SEEN AS POTENTIAL RIVALS, Congressman Seth Moulton and his North Shore neighbor Gov. Charlie Baker are rowing in the same direction on how to prevent a repeat of the bureaucratic nightmare at the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Notifications about infractions Massachusetts drivers committed in other states piled up unaddressed at the registry over a(...)