Another clue on declining T ridership
By 
New Census data offer another clue about why transit ridership is falling all across the country, including at the MBTA.
The data indicate 8 million workers nationally are now doing their jobs primarily from home, according to a report in Governing. For the first time, telecommuting narrowly edged out public transportation when respondents were asked how they get to work. Driving remains far and away the most popular way of getting to a job.
Telecommuting has been gaining in popularity, with 5.2 percent of workers saying they worked primarily from home last year. The number of telecommuters would probably be even higher if occasional telecommuters were included. The biggest growth was at private companies, with 4.3 percent of all private wage and salary workers working from home last year, up from 2.7 percent a decade ago.
Driving remains the primary way workers go to their jobs, with Census data indicating more than 75 percent of workers commute by car, a percentage that’s virtually unchanged from a decade ago.
Telecommuting is clearly one cause. Other likely culprits include the rise of ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft, relatively low gas prices, and the unreliability of transit service. Several recent reports, focused primarily on the West Coast, suggest increasing numbers of lower-income workers are buying cars and abandoning public transit.
The decline in ridership raises profound questions for the MBTA and its strategy for the future. For example, does it make sense to expand service at a time of declining ridership, or should the focus be on improving existing service in an attempt to reclaim lost riders?
Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, in an interview earlier this year, said workers have a number of commuting options to choose from and are probably using a combination of all of them — taking the T some days, driving others, riding a bike when it’s sunny, or working from home when it’s raining. In the future, she said, autonomous vehicles may figure into the equation as well.
So far, the T’s peak-period service hasn’t seen a decline in ridership, so the transit agency is pushing ahead with plans to improve service on the Red, Orange, and Green Lines. T officials are also pushing dedicated lanes and synchronized traffic lights to improve bus service, which has seen the biggest decline in ridership. Commuter rail is a bit of a mystery — ridership appears to be growing, but the T’s assets remain underutilized.
“We’re not smart enough to know what the future is going to look like because it’s a moment of real disruption in transportation,” Pollack said. “The disruption of the last five years has been [ride-hailing apps]. The disruption of the next 10 years may well be autonomous vehicles or something else we don’t even know about yet.”
BRUCE MOHL
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera likens members of a law firm organizing a class action lawsuit against Columbia Gas to vultures. (MassLive) Without gas, residents of Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover go old-school, taking quick showers at portable showering facilities and hanging laundry out to dry. (Eagle-Tribune)
The chairman of the board overseeing the redevelopment of the former naval air base in Weymouth is raising concerns of a conflict of interest after Abington appointed the former CEO of the defunct Tri-Town Development Corp, the quasi-public agency that preceded the current board, as its newest representative. (Patriot Ledger)
The fight over consolidating Roxbury Prep Charter School in one location on the line between Roslindale and West Roxbury is balkanizing the neighborhood. (WBUR)
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were both teenagers, is negotiating to testify sometime next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee about her allegations. (New York Times) Democratic congressional nominee Ayanna Pressley, who has spoken about her experience as a victim of sexual assault, says she believes Ford. (Boston Herald)
An analysis by the Washington Post shows that despite President Trump’s claim that Canada is “ripping us off,” the $4 trillion in trade is nearly evenly divided between imports and exports, making the country our best trade partner.
ELECTIONS
A Herald editorial pans Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Gonzalez’s proposal to tax high-value college endowments to fund education and transportation initiatives. Education leader Paul Reville calls the plan “spectacularly bad.” (WGBH)
Massachusetts voters strongly back her reelection, but they are not as keen on the idea of Sen. Elizabeth Warren mounting a campaign for president in 2020. (Boston Globe)
A new 30-second campaign ad from those seeking to overturn the state’s transgender antidiscrimination law features a man in a hooded sweatshirt in a women’s locker room, watching a teenage girl from a bathroom stall before exiting the stall as the girl unbuttons her shirt. (Boston Globe)
Independent candidate for Suffolk County district attorney Michael Maloney says Democratic nominee Rachael Rollins accepted his invitation to hold a debate, details of which have yet to be worked out. (Boston Herald)
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
The pro-growth YIMBY movement (Yes, in my backyard) comes to Boston for a convention and faces backlash from those who say more high-end housing that regular people can’t afford will not solve the housing crunch. (CommonWealth)
Ten years after the Great Recession and near-collapse of the global financial system, there needs to be renewed focus on lifting those at the bottom, says a Globe editorial.
NOAA has filed court documents seeking nearly $2.5 million more in fines and penalties from jailed fishing magnate Carlos Rafael, New Bedford’s so-called “Codfather,” and named 20 of his captains in the superseding charging documents,which could make them vulnerable to civil actions. (Standard-Times)
The New England Patriots are the second-most valuable team in the NFL worth $3.8 billion, coming in behind the perennial financial leader Dallas Cowboys at $5 billion, according to Forbes magazine. To put that in context, owner Robert Kraft “overpaid” for the team, buying it in 1994 for a then-record $172 million.
A team of Canadian reporters says Ticketmaster is aiding and abetting ticket scalpers, but the company blames a few bad apples inside the company. (WBUR)
EDUCATION
The state has put Cape Cod Community College’s nursing program on warning after two consecutive years of unacceptable passing rates by students taking the licensing exam. (Cape Cod Times)
Boston School Committee members indicated they have no grounds to bar interim superintendent Laura Perille from applying for the permanent post if she wants to, but committee member Michael O’Neill said he would like to see the job go to someone who has a record as a district superintendent, which Perille does not. (Boston Globe)
With their three primary schools deteriorating, Easton officials are looking for solutions, including combining all three into a single school. (The Enterprise)
HEALTH/HEALTH CARE
Groups opposed to the Beth Israel-Lahey merger rally at the State House, urging Attorney General Maura Healey to block it. (Salem News)
Boston Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s, and Massachusetts General Hospital paid a total of $1 million in fines to settle charges that they violated patient confidentiality by allowing a TV series to film inside their hospitals. (MassLive)
TRANSPORTATION
The Baker administration plans to detail how it will pay the $1 billion tab for South Coast Rail — but not until after the election. (CommonWealth)
With additional help from the state, the Worcester Regional Transit Authority approves a budget that avoids service cuts. (Telegram & Gazette)
Rental electric scooters, which some firms want to bring to Massachusetts communities, are apparently against state law unless they’re equipped with brake lights and turn signals. (Boston Globe) A Dallas man became the first known fatality on a rental scooter after he fell from the Lime scooter he was riding on without a helmet and died from multiple head injuries. (Washington Post)
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia, with clearance by the state Ethics Commission, has launched a solar company. He is the sole owner and said he’s already been given pre-approval to sell electricity to National Grid. (Herald News)
CASINOS
The state Gaming Commission has decided to reopen discussions for a third commercial casino license in the wake of the federal decision on the Mashpee Wampanoag land in trust, paving the way for a group seeking a Brockton license to have a second roll of the dice. (The Enterprise)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS
The widow of slain Weymouth police sergeant Michael Chesna lashed out at the man accused of killing him, Emanuel Lopes, during his arraignment in Norfolk Superior Court. (Boston Herald)
Three State Police lieutenants were indicted in connection with the ongoing overtime scandale in the department. (Boston Herald) Howie Carr slams the staties over the pension payouts they’ll continue receiving at least until they are sentenced. (Boston Herald)
Is the podcast bubble bursting? (Columbia Journalism Review)