What's New
On April 17th Governor Patrick signed a $1.6 billion transportation bond bill into law that includes $700 million to fund public transportation improvements and expansions.
The lion’s share of the public transit funding is for the Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford, incase the project does not qualify for federal New Starts grants which would cover over half of the cost.
Other funding in the bond legislation will be for additional stops on the Fairmont Commuter rail line, more parking at transit hubs, and a study to link the MBTA Blue and Red lines.
While this bond legislation is a great move forward in seeing more public transportation in Massachusetts, especially in advancing the Green Line into one of the most densely populated communities in New England, we must be ambitious about expanding and improving our public transit system.
Last month MASSPIRG released a comprehensive study of public transportation systems nationally and in Massachusetts, entitled A Better Way to Go: Meeting America’s 21st Century Transportation Challenges with Modern Public Transit. The report’s key findings were that existing transit in Massachusetts saved 154 million gallons of oil in 2006, which translated into $403 million in savings for the economy. And transit saved 21 million hours of traffic delay for commuters and reduced carbon emissions by 1.2 million metric tons in 2006, the equivalent of taking 225,000 cars off the road.
In June the legislature is planning to take up an additional bond bill, with a proposed $100 million to study additional transit projects such as the Blue Line extension to Lynn, the Urban Ring, and commuter rail service to Fall River and New Bedford.
