CommonWealth Journal

The Chairs of the House of Representatives and Senate of the Legislature's Transport Committee had a reciprocal debate this year over the priorities of transport legislation. Winthrop Senator Joseph Boncore called for a dramatic paradigm shift, and Mattapoisett MP William Straus questioned whether the shift has come too great a cost.

The two lawmakers appeared on the Codcast where they gave a brief rundown of the legislative considerations expected to take place this year when the Transportation Committee sets the guidelines for the coming year. Both officials said they thought driving would quickly return to pre-pandemic levels, although it may not match traditional rush hour traffic. They said the transit trip would likely take longer to get back on your feet.

The Straus-run house passed a major transportation finance bill with higher taxes on gasoline, businesses, and rental cars shortly before the COVID pass in March last year. The Senate didn't respond to the House bill last year, but the two branches passed a bond bill that includes some revenue measures, including higher fees for Uber and Lyft trips. These measures were rejected by Governor Charlie Baker.

This year starts differently. Boncore has filed what he calls the Transportation New Deal. It reinvigorates the measures Baker vetoed, along with a 4 cents increase in gas tax for three consecutive years and a number of new policy measures, including free tariffs on all buses operated by the MBTA and regional transport authorities that are part of the Passenger incomes have been adjusted to other modes of transport and a task force on road charges to make recommendations on pricing for traffic jams and toll equality.

"It is really a wide range of values ​​that the Senate believes are necessary to make our system a fairer one," said Boncore. "The Transportation New Deal, as we call it, sets out the guidelines I believe we need to take to modernize our transportation system and ensure we begin to see public transport as a public good."

Straus said he was all about treating transportation as a public good, but he was concerned about the cost of Boncore's approach, which he put at $ 1 billion. "It is important to focus on the goals. It is equally important to focus on how you get there and that will likely be the kind of legislative debate we will have. I am optimistic, although we clearly have some Will have disagreements when we get there, ”he said.

Boncore said releasing buses would dramatically improve equity in the transit system, as bus drivers are typically colored people and people on lower incomes. He said toll-free buses would also attract more drivers, brake traffic and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Straus said the demand for free tariffs has gained momentum in recent years, but using the gas tax to pay those tariffs means many poor people who drive vehicles will bear much of the burden. "The system has a certain cost, and you cannot, in the name of equity, see the cost unfairly for just part of the traveling audience, and that is part of the dynamic that I see here," said the representative.

Straus said one way would be to cut tariffs on specific buses in specific areas, rather than system-wide.

Boncore prefers a nationwide approach. "Of course there is a cost, but there is a cost that our constituents and drivers have borne for too long in this CommonWealth and that is the cost of doing nothing," he said. “We have to build out of this pandemic. We have to make our transport system fairer. We have to pay the cost. To the best of my knowledge, toll-free buses cost anywhere from $ 60 million to $ 90 million. That would free up the buses in the MBTA system and in the RTA system. So I worry that others will think that this could cost a billion dollars because I just don't see it that way. "

Boncore said bold action is needed. "It is time in public transport and in our transportation system to change the paradigm of how we think about these things. Something has to change because the product we offer as the Commonwealth is not good enough and the people in that Commonwealth earn more. What are the costs associated with our roads? These are free. Nobody pays usage fees on our roads. "

Straus pointed out to his Senate colleagues that there is an excise tax on the streets – the gas tax. He also said MBTA documents indicate that bus revenue totaled $ 97 million in 2019. He said the abolition of bus tariffs could also trigger the loss of income from the T's paratransit service, as the tariff for paratransit trips is tied to the price of the corresponding bus and subway tariffs.

According to Boncore, paratransit fares don't have to match those of buses and subways if the paratransit trip doesn't follow a bus or subway route.

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editor, Commonwealth

about Bruce Mohl

Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce joined CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he held various positions in business and politics for nearly 30 years. He covered the Massachusetts State House and was head of the Globe State House bureau in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe's Spotlight team and won a Loeb Award in 1992 for reporting on conflicts of interest in the state pension system. He was the political editor of Globus in 1994, reporting on consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine's website and has written on a variety of topics, with a particular focus on politics, taxation, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.

about Bruce Mohl

Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce joined CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he held various positions in business and politics for nearly 30 years. He covered the Massachusetts State House and was head of the Globe State House bureau in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe's Spotlight team and won a Loeb Award in 1992 for reporting on conflicts of interest in the state pension system. He was the political editor of Globus in 1994, reporting on consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine's website and has written on a variety of topics, with a particular focus on politics, taxation, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.

While Boncore is pushing for the tariffs for buses to be abolished, the MBTA is developing a new system for collecting tariffs. Boncore indicated that the T is moving in the wrong direction. "The only billion dollar proposal currently on the table is $ 1 billion for tariff collection," he said, citing the gross cost of the project.

While the tone of their discussion suggested stark differences, at the end of the podcast, both lawmakers said they agreed on many points, starting with many of the initiatives Baker vetoed the Transport Loan last year. "I am pleased that this bill has sparked these discussions," said Boncore. "It's causing a stir, that's the intention."

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