If only the commenters on the Boston.com's article "Mass House approves bailout for cash-trapped T" (http://is.gd/4tel5i) could see this article. It's painful to hear the citizens rail against the MBTA when it's quite clear that love it or hate it, it's integral to the success of greater Boston and the commonwealth as a whole. Imagine the gridlock and pollution, the lack of professional opportunities for those without a car, the amount of land that would need to be earmarked for parking, without a functioning public transit system.

One more thing: many MBTA buses, often cast as the 'smart' alternative to expansion of rail service, are already operating at or over capacity. Just last night, the 5:33pm 94 bus from Davis to Medford Square was crammed to the brim with passengers while still others were told they needed to wait for the next bus -- due to arrive 20 minutes later -- because there was literally no room for them.

The system does need investment, but there will be no money for it if the state keeps giving special tax breaks...see liberty mutual, state street, etc. make the business climate better for all, not a favored few.

Although people will say it's not practical in the winter (mostly untrue), if your trip is less than ten miles one way, an electric-assist bicycle solves all these problems. And if you had dedicated lanes it would actually be faster than driving a car or taking the T. Why limit future development in the city because we're being held hostage by drivers who think they are somehow entitled to billions of dollars in road money so they can live in 4000 square-foot homes in Littleton? There is no other choice you can make in life that will improve your lifestyle more than sleeping, working and shopping for food within a ten minute walk. Of course that's hard to organize and pay for. Electric-assist bikes (ebikes) are wonderful because they're fast, small, crazy-efficient, non-polluting, quiet and safe if used in large numbers. The more they are used the safer they become. With the coming age of better batteries ebikes represent a cost optiono/saving measure that can be promoted with a few simple changes to physical infrastructure.

A non-electric bicycle also does pretty well for trips less than ten miles, and if your destination is in Cambridge, Somerville, or Boston, it could easily be faster to bike right now, even without dedicated lanes. I've timed trips to Kendall Square and Porter Square, driving, taking the T, and biking, and they all take about the same time, especially when you factor in parking and the walk from parking to destination. (My starting point is near Waverley Square in Belmont; if the commuter rail matches my schedule and destination, that is by far the fastest.) Biking is often fastest. If you added an electric assist, I think it would usually be fastest. Dedicated lanes would make more people feel comfortable, and more direct bike routes with fewer stops would make the trips faster and easier (I ride in traffic, it is possible, it is safe with training and experience, but it is no fun at first). Removing scary choke points or providing better routes and signs around them would also help. Increased biking in the further-out suburbs could add more passengers to the T. Some stations (the ones my friends consider using) are limited by lack of parking. Bikes don't need much room to park and folding bikes go with you on the train, so ridership could increase without additional expensive parking.

Thanks dr2chase-The reason I said ebikes is because I'm taking about a disruptive technology that is macro in scale. I agree with you about bikes. I'm just too familiar with the flippant dismissal from those who would say it cant be done. Ebikes tend to create bikers.

The Globe should ask the T this question: by what means do you count riders and what methodology do you use to forecast? My understanding from managers at the T is that they have never been able to accurately count passengers on subway lines or commuter rail lines.

"Surging T ridership and booming construction around transit stations, the study from the Urban Land Institute found, are poised to overwhelm the MBTA, potentially limiting future development and slowing the regional economy." The developers of these projects will be required to mitigate their impacts on the surrounding roads but are not required to do the same for the T. Several large apartment and condo complexes have sprung up in the area around the Braintree T station. The developers include proximity to public transport in advertising these properties. At the same time it has become impossible to find a space in the decaying parking garage in Braintree if you get there later than 7AM. The developers who are profiting from the T should be required to offset their impact on it.

Raise the fares, riders should pay for their convenience. After all you do not have to purhase, park, maintain, fuel, or insure an automobile, and car owners do not ask you for subsidies for any of sales, excise, or gasoline taxes or tolls during the life of their cars. Pony up and stop whining, or audit and oversee your public transit money pit.

Do a little research on where the money comes from for building roads and repairing roads and then adjust your statement here as necessary. Your statement is almost as ridiculous as demanding that kids go out and sell lemonade to pay for the public schools. Everyone pays for the roads through a complex combination of local, state and federal taxes.

The study was not done by the T

Stephanie Pollack, the author of the report, is the Associate Director of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University. Follow her and/or the Center on Twitter @Steph_Pollack and @DukakisCenter. http://www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter

Auto drivers actually benefit tremendously from investments in public transit. Imagine if just 5% of regular T riders stopped riding and started driving to work. Boston traffic would get considerably worse. See the Boston.com blog by Barry Bluestone: "The MBTA: The Auto Driver's Best Friend." http://www.boston.com/business/blog/economy_equity/2012/04/the_mbta_the_auto_drivers_best_friend.html