Through fare hikes and service cuts the struggling MBTA has recently cobbled together another temporary plan to keep itself running. Boston can’t get along without the T, but it is not serving us well.
Our metropolitan area is already the 8th worst in America for traffic congestion, according to INRIX, a company that collects traffic statistics. On most of the rapid transit lines, cars are crowded at all hours of the day. Communities like Medford beg for the T to extend lines so their residents can get to work. The equipment the T uses now is old and breaks down too often. The T parking lots that allow drivers to ditch their cars for a faster trip into Boston are full early in the morning. Routes that should be rapid transit, such as the Silver Line, have been downgraded to buses because there’s no money to dig a tunnel underground.
We know how much downtown folks like us depend on the T to get around. We know that the more people ride the T, the fewer cars go on the road, making it easier to get around when we have to drive. The T gives us an economic edge over cities without good public transportation. Everyone appears to agree on these points. The T is “fundamental to our economic success and prosperity,” said state Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz.
If it’s so fundamental, then why haven’t we heard more from our elected officials about solving the problem? They’re working on it, said downtown Boston’s legislators. Long-term, they agree it will take a range of options to solve the T’s problems.
First, said Chang-Diaz, it is not just the T, but the commonwealth’s whole transportation system that needs help. Springfield, Worcester and the rest of the state have regional systems with as many problems as the T. Roads and bridges all over are in disrepair. It isn’t fair to the rest of Massachusetts to fix only the T, said Chang-Diaz. Moreover, it isn’t possible, since legislators outside of Boston will not support an MBTA fix if their regions aren’t helped too.
Boston’s legislators agree. State Rep. Marty Walz says her dream is that residents in all Massachusetts communities can get around car-free, but she knows the problem with roads and bridges . “All transportation modes are now underfunded,” said Walz.
Next, the MBTA needs to finish cleaning up its act, such as reducing needless staff and dealing with the fare evaders. “If you’re the customer and you see things that are wasteful, you get mad,” said Walz. “If customers feel it’s a well-run system, and everyone is paying their fair share, they don’t mind paying their share fair.”
The T has made progress along those lines. It has contracted station cleaning to an outside vendor, and the stations are noticeably cleaner. Walz pointed out that Red Line trains now make do with one operator rather than two. And MBTA employees recently became part of the health insurance plan run by the state’s highly effective Group Insurance Commission, saving about $30 million a year, state Sen. Anthony Petroccelli pointed out.
State Rep. Aaron Michlewitz said the legislature should consider other tweaks, including the agreement that has the MBTA paying MassPort $1 million in annual rent. This fee was imposed to make up for revenue lost when the Silver Line’s route took away some MassPort parking. But now new parking lots have been added. “Does this make sense now?” asked Michlewitz.
There is need for more revenue in general, but especially in transportation. The T has an operating deficit of more than $160 million and makes annual debt payments of $450 million. Our roads and bridges need about $20 billion over the next 20 years to bring them up to par, said state Sen. Anthony Petruccelli.
Raising the income tax is one option. New tolls, especially near the New Hampshire border, could be imposed with high tech “open-road” systems that automatically charge your account as you drive along at a normal speed. Raising the gas tax is still a possibility since Massachusetts’ gas tax is low compared with other states.
But reform comes before revenue, said Petruccelli. Governor Patrick’s tax expenditure commission has been scrutinizing the tax code to eliminate exemptions that seem wasteful rather than incentivizing. “We’re reluctant to take the tax levy route without looking at what we can save by scrubbing the tax code clean,” he said.
Both Petruccelli and Chang-Diaz mentioned the sales tax exemption that buyers of airplanes and airplane parts enjoy as a particular frustration. Why should airplanes be exempt when boats and cars are not? This exemption was passed during the Romney Administration, but has not been eliminated. Supporters say it has increased airplane ownership by 40 percent and brought jobs, but it is hard to figure out how buying airplanes helps Massachusetts since we don’t have an aircraft building industry.
To raise more revenue, Chang-Diaz is pushing federal legislators to enable states to collect sales taxes on Internet purchases. This has the added benefit of leveling the playing field for local businesses, which enrich our economy and enliven our streets. If they have to collect a sales tax, why shouldn’t multi-national corporations have to also?
Walz is upbeat about our T, however. “Any company in America would be pleased to have the problem the MBTA has—customers want more service,” she said. “This is kind of cool. It’s a good problem to have.”