IN 1897, MASSACHUSETTS launched the first underground subway in North America and this form of public transportation revolutionized what it meant to live in the city, opened doors to education and employment, and allowed citizens to share in the freedom of moving about with greater ease at less cost.
Now it’s high time for Massachusetts to innovate once again and to chart a new course — one that prioritizes the needs of all residents, fosters sustainability, and strives for equity. The governor’s transportation funding task force must seize this opportunity to deliver a funding roadmap that not only addresses immediate challenges, but also lays the foundation for a transportation system that truly serves everyone, from Boston to the Berkshires.
Historically, we have underinvested in our public infrastructure as a Commonwealth. This has led to a $24 billion state of good repair backlog at the MBTA. Some of our regional transit authorities, which serve over 250 cities and towns statewide, are unable to run service on nights and weekends and we have more than 400 structurally deficient bridges across the state. In addition, the Boston area has some of the worst congestion in the world.
Decades of underinvestment in public transportation has not only left us with crumbling infrastructure and excessive greenhouse gas emissions, it’s also contributing to poor health outcomes. In fact, Springfield, Worcester, and Boston are among the 100 worst cities in the country for asthma rates.
Gov. Maura Healey wants to address the problem through her transportation funding task force. This isn’t a novel idea. In 2018, Gov. Charlie Baker’s Commission on the Future of Transportation came up with recommendations on this same topic. Before that, in 2007, the Transportation Finance Commission had a similar mandate.
Other states are light years ahead of Massachusetts. They have implemented recommendations, passed legislation to better fund transportation, and are beginning to reap the benefits of more federal dollars flowing to their states and build upon the other investments of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Massachusetts’ task force should look to those states for guidance on how to fund our transportation system in a more equitable manner.
Last year the state of Minnesota passed a robust transportation funding package that consists of additional taxes and fees, such as indexing the gas tax to inflation, fees on deliveries over $100, a new vehicle sales tax, and a new Twin Cities metro area tax to invest in roads and transit across the state. Minnesota projects its new law to raise more than $1.1 billion over the next two years and $9 billion over the next decade.
New York state has also recently passed legislation to fund statewide transportation projects through a mix of fees and taxes. Importantly, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, which runs buses and subways in New York City, has closed their projected $600 million budget deficit and is projected to be on firm financial footing through 2027. The legislation increased tolls and fares while also increasing the payroll mobility tax and included a one-time infusion in state aid as well as increased efficiencies in the system, which helped to eliminate service cuts and layoffs for the country’s biggest transit system.
Colorado passed legislation in 2021 to invest over $5 billion statewide in roads, public transit, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The law increased fees on deliveries, per-ride fees for rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft, and registration fees on electric vehicles.
In 2020, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia both increased their respective gas taxes to fund transportation. Virginia increased their gas tax by 10 cents over two years and indexed future increases to the Consumer Price Index, while Washington added a per gallon surcharge of 53 cents on the sale of gasoline, gasohol, and other motor vehicle fuel, in addition to the existing motor vehicle fuel sales taxes of 23.5 cents.
In March of the same year, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a funding package that was a mix of new corporate taxes and fees to raise between $500 to $600 million in revenue to invest in transportation. While the bill never made it to then-Gov. Baker’s desk, passage of the Fair Share Amendment in November 2022 thankfully began providing additional funding for transportation across the state — but not enough to address the needs created by decades of underinvestment and invest in new projects.
The revenue options passed into law by other states provide insight into what is possible and feasible in Massachusetts. They also underscore that finding and aligning revenue cannot be a one-off, single-faceted approach. And that our Commonwealth must strive to balance our climate goals while also changing travel behavior to harness together realistic, non-regressive revenue streams.
To address these challenges, Transportation for Massachusetts will be launching a series of public events this spring to explore and discuss our transportation funding options. We’ll share in-depth research on some of the options mentioned above and hear from experts from around the country — and the world — who have tackled these same issues in their communities.
Now is the time for Massachusetts to embrace innovation once again. We urge the governor’s transportation funding task force, and ultimately our Legislature, to draw inspiration and courage from the successes of other states and countries. This task force must provide clear, viable recommendations for long-term, non-regressive revenue options so that we too can better fund public transportation, roads, bridges, and complete streets for a more sustainable and equitable future.
Reggie Ramos is the executive director of Transportation for Massachusetts, an organization committed to finding policy solutions that ensure transportation justice for all residents and communities. Andrea Freeman is the policy director of the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, a Springfield-based nonprofit dedicated to building measurably healthier and more equitable communities.
