As Beacon Hill prepares to revisit transportation issues early next year, lawmakers should listen to happiness researchers, who have found that morning commutes are the most miserable time of the day. We can’t build our way out of traffic congestion by laying down more highways. Our commutes will only become bearable if Massachusetts starts charging drivers for peak-hour travel — and that, in turn, could yield money to ease the state’s transportation financing woes.
The Texas Transportation Institute estimates that congestion costs our region $2.4 billion annually. As the Commonwealth performs much-needed maintenance on our roads and bridges, such as the Larz Anderson Bridge over the Charles that carries me to work, congestion intensifies, ramping up the pain.
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Another Harvard elitist who wants to tax us to death...what's in the water over there?
What's in the water? Socialism. Socialism that benefits only the ruling class in the long-run.
I agree that the gas tax should be higher. Much higher, say $2 per gallon more. That would cut down the size of cars, and the usage, and at the same time raise enough revenue to pay for roads. Massachusetts as a state produces no gas or oil, we "import" it all. Even if a higher gas tax were offset by reduced income or sales taxes, it would have a beneficial effect on our air, our roads and our economy.
Tolls are uneven, unfair, unnecessary, wasteful and an inneficient tax to collect taxes. The Mass Turnpike has been an expensive self sustaining boondoggle at the expense of those unlucky enough to have to travel east-west as opposed to north-south. Toll collection requires a huge infrastructure of machinery - booths, toll collectors, rfid devices and sensors, not to mention the time wasted and gas burned while sitting, waiting to pay a toll. Toll roads are hard to get on and off, waste a lot of valuable real estate in an attempt to line cars up for a single set of toll booths. For this they are in no better - usually worse - condition than the free interstates.
So when this writer promotes putting tolls on more roads, he really is proposing an expansion of the bureaucracy and size of government. He proposes more delays, more wasted real estate, more government emploees, and more machinery. All in an effort to stop people from using the roads as much? Ludicrous.
The City of Boston has done a lot to improve conditions, limiting downtown parking to residents and those able to pay an outrageous amount to rent 80 square feet of pavement. The state hasn't done enough to provide efficient, reliable alternatives, or sufficient parking near train stations. That is where the efforts should be focused. Raising the gas tax would motivate commuters to move to public transportation, but only if it gets them there on time.
This is nuts. What will happen, of course, is that drivers will be forced to pay more and get nothing in return. And I wonder where all that additional revenue will go? I can see it now - the $150,000 a year toll collector!
Never mind; this was written by 'a Harvard economist'....
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I'm surprised the Globe didn't run this article on Moonbat Monday.
Imagine a gas tax not increasing every year in Massachusetts? So, with the gas tax, the annual auto excise tax, the inspection fees, registration fees, paying for MBTA functions/pensions, turnpike tolls (east-west only), we should add a "peak use" tax on commuters? So now only the wealthy will be able to get to work on time?, oh, of course, tolls will be keyed to EBT cards. Silly me.
More toll booths would be a disaster for commuters. As it is, the roads are already clogged with incompetent dullards absolutely incapable of proper driving; slowpokes who insist on driving at 5 mph in a drizzle (making sure to leave 1/2 mile of space between them and the next car, of course) or infantile maniacs barreling along at 80 in a blizzard.
Can you imagine the endless backups more toll booths would cause? This means more wasted gas, more lost productivity and more aggravation. Then there would be the impact to the secondary roads, as "clever" drivers seeking to avoid tolls would flood these streets and tie up intersections, inflicting misery on local drivers just trying to run errands or get to their nearby homes.
No, no more tolls. Increase the gas taxes, fix the MBTA, promote incentives to get employers to let their staff work from home, but above all we must avoid anything that would make traffic even more dysfunctionally painful in this region.
Since moving here I've noticed y'all can't drive even in the best of circumstances. Tolls would not exacerbate this any worse since it's already there at worst. Half the drivers on the road have no business operating a motor vehicle. Getting them off the road is a better solution.
Dream on that this will happen anytime soon in this state. Of course this is the same MassDOT that thinks it is smart to close 3 of 4 lanes on I-93 in downtown Boston on a holiday weekend until 11AM in the morning. Way to promote tourism on a peak fall weekend. My advice - avoid Logan, avoid downtown Boston. Take your money somewhere else and save yourself the headache. Only state I know that will not put a moratorium on road work during a holiday weekend. The City should be fighting this timetable!
We have a problem. Raising the tolls isn't the solution. It'll only clog up the non-tool roads more. In addition, most of those people traveling during rush hour are not doing so by choice, but because their job demands that they be at their workplace during certain hours. Get employers to become more flexible with time and working at home, and THEN we can discuss toll increases.
People should pay with transponders attached to their cars.These GPS enabled devices can track where you are and when automatically.You just get a bill at the end of the month.There would be different charges depending on what time of day it is and what route you take. No need for tolls!
The larger issue of course is that people generally live too far from where they work; they also buy homes instead of renting in an unstable economy. This forces the commute when people lose their jobs or quit. The other major problem is that too many young families move out of the city because they don't want their children going to school with minority children. This is a huge problem that no one wants to discuss. I'm not sure what the solution to that is.