Public transportation is one of the defining characteristics of urban life. Few thriving cities lack good public transit and few suburbs have efficient, heavily used systems. I find it hard how one can argue against the two being deeply intertwined.
Apparently, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, aka the T, aka greater Boston's public transit system, isn't terribly interested in maintaining Boston's position as a thriving city. Unless the Legislature steps in to fill its $160 million deficit, T officials are considering stopping commuter rail service after 7 p.m. on weekdays and totally on the weekends; cut bus and subway service by half after 8 p.m. on weekdays and all through the weekends; and eliminating six stops on the Green Line and some bus routes. (The Globe's story on the T's plan is here.)
Doing this would effectively end all commuter train traffic and dump hundreds of thousands of more cars on the area's already congested highway system. What professional living in the suburbs but working downtown would take the train to work knowing that if that day's work kept her at the office past 7 -- which is always possible in law, finance, engineering, etc, etc -- she would be marooned in the city or pay a ridiculous amount for a 25-mile cab ride? That means driving and paying ridiculous amounts for a monthly parking garage pass downtown. Who wants to do that when parking at suburban office parks costs nothing? Obviously, this also poses a problem for employers, who could be faced with a decision of buying or subsidizing lots of parking spaces for their staff or just moving to the suburbs themselves. That then further complicates things for the staff, who probably live all through the suburbs and now travel into downtown, but would then have to work their way to one specific part of the suburbs no matter where they live. I haven't even addressed city nightlife or general life. Ugh, this is ridiculous.
Of course, this isn't the first time a public entity has leaked a worst-case scenario to the press and won't be the last. A friend who works in transportation describes it as a negotiating tactic, so when such a disaster is averted, officials are hailed as heroes for getting the city out of a tough spot.
Gov. Deval Patrick actually has a pretty logical solution: Raise the gasoline tax. He's proposing an extra 19 cents per gallon and, on his Web site, provides a helpful breakdown of how each of those cents would be spent. Six would go to preserving the T's service without a fare hike. Unsurprisingly, state legislators don't like the idea and have indicated they won't raise the tax by more than 10 cents per gallon. Politicians never want to say they voted for any type of tax increase, but we have to think about what is worth paying for, even if it sometimes includes a higher tax: Keeping greater Boston a thriving place is one of them. Yes, legislators represent districts, some of then not at all served by the T, but they also represent the whole state. Unfortunately, they rarely act like it, but now is a time for them to start.
Thanks for the Thrills for the post's title. I always liked their debut record much more than my friends did. The album art looked like an Abercrombie & Fitch photo shoot and they were Irishmen playing faded-jeans late-60s California pop, but it all had a great forlorn sound to it.
Update: The fiscal 2010 budget approved by Gov. Deval Patrick earlier this week increases the state's sales from 5 to 6.25 percent, from which about $295 million will be used annually for transportation, including the T. Crisis averted -- for now. Raising the sales tax doesn't solve the systemic problem plaguing all transportation systems. Every three or so years they say they need to raise fares, showdown ensues, a mild resolution is reached. Rinse and repeat.
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