THE PIONEER BLOG

Greg Sullivan

The Myth of the Underfunded MBTA

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When the MBTA collapsed last month under the weight of snow and frigid temperatures, former General Manager Beverly Scott and countless others were quick to blame the problems on years of underinvestment in the system.  But a comparison to other large transit systems reveals that the MBTA is not underfunded.  In fact, as measured by both passenger miles traveled and vehicle revenue hours, the T received the most capital funding of any of the nation’s 10 largest transit systems between 1991 and 2013, the last year for which data are available. Previously, we demonstrated that MBTA commuter rail capital spending per 1,000 passenger miles traveled was the highest of any major American commuter rail system between 1991 and 2013.  This […]

Jim Stergios

Tocqueville on the threat of a mild despotism

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Pioneer focuses on four policy issues that we believe are critical to making Massachusetts freer and more prosperous — a world-class education for all, accessible and affordable health care, government that can do big things but is not overweening, and a dynamic economy. That’s the mission, but the mission is informed by a deep belief in a republican form of democracy (both small r and small d) and a standard issue copy of Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America on the night table. Bedtime reading brought me to a passage in Volume II that is both powerful and worthy of reflection.  Not because of this or that individual law, but because of, if you will, the accumulation, the “network of small complicated rules, […]

Scott Haller

Will MBTA Win Back Riders?

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Yesterday the MBTA Board of Directors approved a plan to compensate T riders for dismal service since the storms of late January and February. It will take more than a few perks, however, to erase the months of devastation that the T’s inconsistency has caused for the average worker. The plan calls for a single free day of rides on all forms of transportation on April 24th (the Friday of Massachusetts’ school vacation week), as well as a 15 percent reduction in monthly and weekly passes in the May. The plan’s estimated $5 million cost comes at a time when the T’s apparently forgotten maintenance backlog approaches $7 billion and its out-of-control debt pushes $9 billion when interest is included. […]

Greg Sullivan

Setting the Record Straight on MBTA Expansion

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Pioneer has previously written that rapid expansion was a major cause of the MBTA’s recent meltdown.  More recently, we wrote that MBTA is the only American commuter rail system that lost ridership between 2003 and 2013. In a recent blog post, the Frontier Group questioned Pioneer’s assertion that the MBTA “has expanded more than any other major transit system in the country over the past 25 years.” This table, which is based on National Transportation Database data, demonstrates that, since 1991, the MBTA has added more than twice as many rail miles, counting commuter rail, subway, and trolley lines, than any of the other 28 other transit systems operating at that time. FIGURE 1:  Rail miles added by transit authority, 1991-2013 The […]

MuckRock

Mayor Walsh’s office turn public records requests about the Olympics into PR

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Stop me if you’ve heard this one already. A prominent politician conveniently can’t find any emails related to a controversial topic. Then, following a period of public rancor, s/he magically produces said emails, with all the controversial bits removed. Sure seems like that’s been happening a lot lately, huh? Shortly after it was announced that Boston was a frontrunner to be the U.S. Olympic Committee’s choice to compete to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, MuckRock (along with a number of Massachusetts journalists) put in a public records request to Mayor Walsh’s office for all emails between Walsh and the Boston 2024 organizing committee, as well as any reports or proposals that one would imagine would be generated when you’re planning […]

Jim Stergios

Getting our priorities straight on the BCEC and the MBTA

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Scot Lehigh and Shirley Leung in the Globe today both focused attention on the idea of, as Lehigh put it, “tak[ing] the $1 billion in bonding bandwidth it last year dedicated to expanding the Boston Convention Center & Exhibition Center and instead apply[ing] it to helping improve the MBTA.” The background here is that at the end of January, Gov. Charlie Baker put the brakes on a $1 billion bond offering approved last summer to pay for expansion of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC).  The Governor ordered a two-month delay so his finance team could address emergency 2015 budget issues while simultaneously preparing the governor’s 2016 budget proposal. Pioneer had long called for state leaders not to move […]

Jim Stergios

Getting our priorities straight on the BCEC and the MBTA

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Scot Lehigh and Shirley Leung in the Globe today both focused attention on the idea of, as Lehigh put it, “tak[ing] the $1 billion in bonding bandwidth it last year dedicated to expanding the Boston Convention Center & Exhibition Center and instead apply[ing] it to helping improve the MBTA.” The background here is that at the end of January, Gov. Charlie Baker put the brakes on a $1 billion bond offering approved last summer to pay for expansion of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC).  The Governor ordered a two-month delay so his finance team could address emergency 2015 budget issues while simultaneously preparing the governor’s 2016 budget proposal. Pioneer had long called for state leaders not to move […]

Jim Stergios

A run through the budget jungle

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There were some protesters outside the press conference where Baker discussed his FY2016 budget proposal this afternoon.  But the fact is there is not much to protest here. This budget is characterized by lots of programs level funded.  I understand that some advocates want much more funding for their specific program of interest, but the pain, to the extent that there is any, is spread across all areas of government.  And it is worth remembering that the budget is increasing by $1.1 billion dollars, or 3 percent, to $38 billion total. Notwithstanding that growth in the budget, the administration still needs some big moves to make revenues match up with spending.  Going into the budgeting process, the estimated shortfall in revenues […]

Editorial Staff

The Civil Rights Issue of Our Era

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Black History Month may have come and gone but Pioneer believes we must fight year round to ensure that all children have access to a high-quality education without regard to zip code or race. Massachusetts has in the past and must continue to lead the way in this fight. As numerous political leaders across the spectrum have come to understand, education is the Civil Rights issue of our era. It is important to keep pushing for improvements in the school “system” in Boston (where the school district is hiring a new superintendent) and all across the state. But Pioneer is not pinning its hopes for our younger generations on the arrival of another “Superman” or silver bullet solutions. We believe that […]

MuckRock

Help Us Sift through the MBTA’s Contract with Keolis

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Last March, French transportation company Keolis won a $2.6 billion contract to run the MBTA’s commuter rail. A little under a year late, and what was shaping up to be a promising relationship has quickly gone sour, with the MBTA levying six-figure fines for poor service and worse conditions as early as November – months before the nightmare of Massachusetts’ record snowfall that would cripple the service, leaving commuters stranded and fuming. What happened? That’s what we want you to help us find out. Shortly after the deal was finalized, Pioneer worked with MuckRock to get a copy of the contract between the MBTA and Keolis. Since the snow – and the scrutiny – hit, we’ve been reading over to […]

Editorial Staff

Pioneer in the News (February 2015): Fixing the MBTA

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Boston Business Journal op-ed: ViewPoint: What will save the T? A state-appointed financial control board would be a start BNN News: What it will take to get the MBTA on Track CBS Boston: Free Commuter Rail Rides Frustrate Monthly Pass Holders Boston Herald: Carr: Break out the shovels for this load NECN: Fixing rhe MBTA Boston Herald: Editorial: Rx for the MBTA The Patriot Ledger: OUR OPINION: State must consider receivership of MBTA Boston Herald: Editorial: Starting from scratch The Boston Globe: The T’s long, winding, infuriating road to failure The Worcester Telegram & Gazette: Runaway Trains WGBH “Greater Boston”:  Growing Calls For MBTA System Changes Fox 25: “What’s behind the MBTA mess?” WCVB: Explaining the T’s Problems Howie Carr Show:  Clip of interview with Greg Sullivan Boston […]

Scott Haller

MBTA Commuter Rail Only System in Country in Decline Over the Last Decade

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Earlier this month, Pioneer Institute reported on the MBTA commuter rail’s problem with timeliness. After further research, however, it is clear that this finding barely taps the surface of the long-brewing problems that the unpopular agency now faces. Thousands rely on the MBTA every day, and yet commuters continue to face commutes characterized by long, uninformed waits and frigid temperatures. The natural question is, what went wrong? Statistics from the National Transit Database (NTD) show that the MBTA is the sixth largest commuter rail system in the country in terms of annual ridership, serving just over 35 million passengers in 2013. Unfortunately, ridership has been declining since its peak of 40 million passenger trips in 2003, bucking the national trend […]

Greg Sullivan

Why wasn’t the T funding snow storm preparation?

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Canceled commuter trains are becoming the norm leading to continued paralysis of our city.  It is truly a hard thing to imagine—people standing on platforms for hours, often without information.  And this in sometimes frigid temperatures. How did we get here? Between 2003 and 2013, the MBTA was the only one of 18 commuter rail transit systems in the U.S. to suffer a net decline in annual passenger trips, a drop of 5,341,272 trips per year, representing a 13% loss in annual ridership, according to data reviewed by Pioneer Institute from the National Transit Database.  The following graph compares the MBTA commuter rail loss of annual passenger trips to the commuter rail transit systems with the biggest gains in trips […]

Jim Stergios

Working from facts on the crisis at the MBTA

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With all eyes on the MBTA, it is probably to be expected that dueling visions would emerge on a Thursday afternoon, just after the noon hour, as to what ails the T and how to fix the Authority.  That came in the form of a Public Statement from Pioneer and a report from the group Transportation for Massachusetts (MASSPIRG, Conservation Law Foundation). I had a chance to speak with Kirstie Pecci of MASSPIRG on WGBH’s Greater Boston  about the challenges faced by the T.  Good conversation, but a few clarifications would be helpful. The T is important to the Greater Boston area, but really services as an essential cog in the role of the Hub across Massachusetts and the region.  […]

Mary Connaughton

How is Keolis Fined for Late Commuter Rail Trains?

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Your toes are numb, the faces around you sullen and the service alert on your phone says the next train will arrive at a different time than the LED screen overhead.  The train you planned on taking to work broke down and was cancelled.  You’d warm up at the local diner if you knew the next train was delayed by 67 minutes like the LED screen said, but is missing it worth the gamble? Traveling by commuter rail defies predictability these days.   Thankfully, the MBTA toughened the penalty clause enforcement with its contract with Keolis, the new commuter rail operator.  Heavy fines for poor performance have already made headlines.  The fear of further penalties should incentivize better performance. But will […]