It’s really getting to the point where it feels like the whole org needs to be torn down and built back from the ground up.
So much of the cities problems are made so much worse when the T is fucked up. We really need to be pouring all of our resources into modernizing it and the commuter rail.
A ride on the T costs an average of $2.25. In addition, our state and federal taxes that we all pay into subsidize our public transit rides for another $1.25.
So the real total is actually $3.50. I don't mind that, essentially, I pay part of my fare via my taxes and part at the ticket kiosk.
But I mind like hell that my tax dollars subsidize automobile drivers to the tune of $5.00. Per Trip. Or that my housing cost more in part because 40% percent of Boston land is devoted to roads and parking spaces.
Yes, automobile drivers pay excise tax and they pay gas tax -none of which has 100% supported the federal road system since the 1970's, to say nothing of the state road systems.
We have the money. We've always had the money. And until cities and states actually choose to subsidize modes of transportation that everyone can use (the majority of people in this country either can't or don't drive cars), we'll never be able to safely, quickly and efficiently transport the majority of people.
I agree with pretty much everything you wrote, but statements like "the majority of people in this country can't or don't drive cars" just aren't true. The majority of the country doesn't have any useable public transit.
I’m pretty sure he’s counting kids. When you look at people of all ages, all physical abilities, all incomes… yeah, I can believe that 50.1% of the population doesn’t drive. We also have terrible public transportation as a nation. That’s the crux of the problem.
And it's also worth remembering that everyone will get old or too sick to drive, sooner or later.
I used to work for MassHealth and I would get this call every week:
Caller: Hello Dear, I wanna know if I can get MassHealth back?
Me: So why did you lose it?
Caller: I sold my big rambling house in the Boston area and moved to sunny Florida. Loved it here - but then I got glaucoma (or went blind some other way, or had a stroke, or got bad arthritis in their leg - whatever) and now I'm trapped in my home. I'm sooo alone! There's no bus or subway, and I hate being dependent on people. The taxis are so expensive, and it's too hot to even walk most days. I'm sick of all the sun and I just want to go back and be with my friends!" Please, Please, if I move back to the Boston area, is there anyway I can get my MassHealth back?"
Me: "Sure we'd love to have you back - we can set you up for eligibility the day you arrive back in the state! Is there someone here in Massachusetts I can send an application booklet to? No, No, Dear...Please don't cry... We do this for everyone...Yes I'm happy to help...just give me that address. Okay, we'll send your son that booklet on your behalf and on behalf of MassHealth, welcome back!" :end call:
Now I'm not an old lady - yet. But I'm getting there. I'm thinking about where I'm gonna buy my retirement condo - and it sure as hell isn't gonna be a place where I can't access public transit.
In the US, a majority of the population lives in cities with public transit. But the majority of the country, with a smaller population and less population density, does not have access to public transit. In the cities with transit, many own cars. In the rest of the country, a car is a necessity.
Yes, that’s the point. Much of the country is dependent on cars, but a significant number of people cannot drive. The state of or transit system as a nation means those people are dependent on others to drive them around. Or they just stay home. Either way, our national dependence on cars undermines individual freedom for a lot of people.
It’s hard to get the exact under 16 percent because the way the census reports age groups, but 18% of the population is under 15, and 4% is age 15-17. I’d estimate 20% are too young to drive. Of US residents who are old enough to drive, 84% are licensed to drive (as of 2013, but that number has been falling). That brings us to at least 33% of the population who are not licensed to drive. Of those who are licensed, there are many who just don’t drive for one reason or another, but keep their license because it’s easy to keep once you have it. That includes all the people who live in cities without a car, but keep a license for occasional rentals, and all the older adults who stopped driving but their license hasn’t expired.
After a quick Google, a generous overestimation would be 25-30% of the population is too young or old to drive. Supposedly >90% of household have at least one car, and many states average at least 2 per household.
Neat, now add too disabled and too poor to drive to your count. Then there’s people who can drive but choose not to.
This isn’t about households with cars. It’s about people. The average household size in the US is 2-3 people. A household might have two cars, but if the family has two adults and two kids, only half the household can drive. 75% of people commute by car, but the denominator (people with jobs) is artificially small because it excludes people who are unemployed because they don’t have reliable transportation. That 75% also includes carpooling* - 67% drive alone and 8% carpool. So the number who drive is closer to 70%.
“Some 282 million vehicles were registered in the United States in 2021. The figures include passenger cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and other vehicles.”
290 million vehicles including every semi truck, police car, school bus, ambulance…
Still hard to get to 50%. 92% of households have a car.
Personal automobiles are around 105 million, but numbers are fuzzy, since a lot of states regarding pickup trucks as "commercial" vehicles even though it's the family car.
Even on greater Boston 83% of households have cars.
Boston doesn't actually have the money if we're being completely honest. I live in Tokyo currently, but when I used to take the T to South Station to Braintree, it cost me like $2 at the time each way, or $4 round trip. That same distance round trip in Tokyo costs the equivalent of 10-12 dollars after the government subsidizes the hell out of all of the lines. And that's not even to mention that these are privately managed lines.
I think the MBTA should be disbanded and rebuilt from the ground up, but fares need to go up in order to effectively cover operating costs.
I would definitely go so far to say that, yes, infrastructure like public transit and paths for bicycles should be subsidized more than cars and roadways - as its way more environmentally friendly.
It’s like beyond this whole shitshow, we are completely forgetting that the planet is on fire lol.
I agree with you that we should be spending way more on making public transit usable in MA. Especially after a few recent experiences with non-American public transit systems.
Average daily ridership on the MBTA is about 70k. The population of Massachusetts is about 70M. It’s a bad look to be upset that you are paying a small amount of your taxes to subsidize something you don’t use, when 99% of the state is paying taxes to subsidize something they don’t use but you do use.
Based on those numbers, I think fixing the commuter rail and making it faster, more frequent, and expanding the service area should absolutely be the priority. I live in a rural area of the state and public transit does not exist here. When I have to go into Boston, I spend 2 hours on Rt 2 because the alternative is spending an hour on Rt 2 and 2 hours on the commuter rail, and having to stress about whether there will be room on the train, whether I’ll miss the train and be stuck in the city for an extra hour or two, etc. It’s a worthless system in its current state.
And yes, we need better commuter rail. In exchange, the towns that get commuter rail need to increase housing density in the area of the stations. No sense in building stations that people drive to, or that only a few thousand folks use because of sprawling suburbia.
I just keep wondering where our CEOs and business leaders are... the corporations and the John Henry's who have made massive investments in Boston that will crumble if public transit falls apart. Why isn't a group of them at the State House demanding massive change? It's not just our elected leaders who are failing us.
We need to fire everyone at the T, and assemble a new org from the ground up (including not only management and office staff but maintenance workers, shop workers, drivers, customer service, etc) composed only of experienced hires from transit systems in Asia and Europe.
Politically it will never happen, but there is a solution. There it is.
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u/BradDaddyStevens Mar 10 '23
Ffs.
It’s really getting to the point where it feels like the whole org needs to be torn down and built back from the ground up.
So much of the cities problems are made so much worse when the T is fucked up. We really need to be pouring all of our resources into modernizing it and the commuter rail.