Transportation for Massachusetts, a statewide coalition of 47 organizations advocating for a better transportation system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, respectfully submits these comments to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority regarding the Late Night Service Pilot.

As the pilot for Late Night Service – which extended the hours of operation for all MBTA subway lines and 15 key bus routes to approximately 2:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights – is being reviewed to determine whether it will continue past June 2015, Transportation for Massachusetts urges the MBTA to extend the continuation of this pilot for an additional six to twelve months in order to provide sufficient opportunity for realization and evaluation of its success.

The implementation of Late Night MBTA Service stands to deliver on a part of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s goal of championing a 24-hour city and positioning Boston as a global business and tourism destination. The service provides direct benefit to shift workers who rely on commuting after traditional business hours, young people patronizing businesses, and corporations who serve customers into the early morning. Unfortunately, the businesses that have benefited from the Late Night Service Pilot have not actually sponsored the program, as was initially conceived.

While university student groups have been among the most outspoken advocates of the service, it is clear from the results of a survey conducted by MassCommute – a statewide coalition of twelve Transportation Management Associations – that people from a range of ages and backgrounds have benefited from the ability to access transit after midnight on weekends, and that people have utilized the service for much more than entertainment purposes:

“I often have critical experiments that extend into the late night, or need late-night check-ins. I also am living cross-country from my husband and children and have flights that arrive to the airport late at night, leaving me having to take an expensive taxi ride. I have been waiting for Boston to extend their service to late night. Please keep this important service available!” -Research Scientist

“This service is absolutely essential to keep me living in Boston/Cambridge and for this city to truly call itself a world-class global city like Chicago, NY, and many others.” -Student

However, metrics for evaluating the success or failure of the pilot were never put in place. Clear goals for each line and route would also allow the MBTA to evaluate whether adding or subtracting certain elements would enhance the service or make it more cost effective. In addition, it is unclear whether the MBTA provided sufficient marketing support to achieve success. For instance, ridership, with about 820,00 riders in the first nine months, was relatively robust, but would likely have increased by aggressive marketing of the new service.

Transportation for Massachusetts recognizes the dire budgetary circumstances and lack of resources faced by the MBTA today, and that the Board faces hard choices between competing priorities. However, we believe that significant untapped opportunity exists to bolster the success of the Late Night T program by way of strategic marketing and corporate sponsorship. To support the continuation of this service, which is instrumental to Boston’s economy, we offer the following recommendations:

• Extend the Pilot for six to twelve months.
• Set clear goals for each line and route of the Late Night Service Pilot.
• Designate a point person and/or committee within the MBTA to aggressively market the service.
• Make a concerted effort to solicit financial support from the corporate sector, particularly those companies whose profits and/or workforce are significantly influenced by availability of late night transit access.

Thank you for consideration of the above. Please contact Transportation for Massachusetts with any questions or need any further information.

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The Governor’s proposed budget provides modest increases for transportation funding over last year’s appropriations, but proposes $15 million less for the MBTA than the 2013 Finance Act anticipated for FY16 and $30 million less in snow removal funding than the average annual amount expended over the past 5 years. A substantial commitment of state resources is necessary to protect our transportation system and the jobs that depend on reliable and safe mobility.

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Boston, March 5, 2015 – Adequate revenue is necessary to maintain and operate a reliable, future-ready statewide transportation network to bolster our economy and serve our families. Our transportation network, including roads, bridges, regional transit, the MBTA, and walking and biking facilities, has been chronically underfunded. The MBTA faces $6.7 billion in needed repairs, almost $4 billion is needed to fix bridges across the state, and regional bus systems provide infrequent and limited service due to lack of funding. On Wednesday, Transportation for Massachusetts submitted a call to rebuild and fund our transportation system, signed by over 12,000 residents.

In his first months in office, Governor Baker made important strides towards solving our transportation challenges. He asserted responsibility for the MBTA’s system breakdowns and established a Special Panel with a short turn-around and high standards to review the MBTA’s finances, governance and operations.

We appreciate the difficult fiscal reality in which this budget was developed. This is a challenging budget for transportation, and, as proposed, will not facilitate the significant progress we need to improve transportation for residents across the state. We look forward to working with the legislature and administration in the coming months to help them meet the urgent need for improvements in transportation across the Commonwealth.

As the winter storms have shown, we have a fragile transportation system on which millions of people’s livelihoods depend. Ongoing efforts to reform and streamline operations are essential, but they are a complement and not a substitute to financial commitment. Other regions of the US and the world are making these investments and Massachusetts must be prepared to compete in the 21st century.

In our initial review of the transportation implications of the Governor’s budget, we note the following:
1. The Governor’s FY 2016 budget appropriates $187 million directly for the MBTA, $15 million less than the $202 million set out in the Transportation Finance Act of 2013; while this represents an increase over FY 2015, it is less than was promised less than two years ago.

2. The snow and ice removal funding is increased to $70 million. While this is a more realistic number than in previous budgets, it is still $30 million less than the actual $100 million five-year average cost of snow and ice removal

3. The 2013 Transportation Finance Act set aside $80 million for the Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) in FY 2016 so they could provide improved levels of service. Because the Governor’s FY 2016 budget explicitly lists only $40 million for the RTAs, he RTAs should receive an additional $40 million through the MassDOT budget.

4. The budget proposes to allow MassDOT to move funds between MassDOT, MBTA, and RTAs. It is a good idea to permit MassDOT to move a portion of its funds to the MBTA or the RTAs. Transit authorities, however, need fiscal certainty to be able to plan. MassDOT should therefore not be able to remove funds promised at the beginning of the year. Transportation for Massachusetts recommends a revision that would only allow one-way transfers from MassDOT to the transit agencies.

5. The budget for RTAs is contingent on the RTAs making progress on comprehensive service planning, which was an unfunded mandate in the 2013 Act. If RTAs are unable to meet the terms of MassDOT, this provision could become a punitive measure, reducing RTA budgets to FY13 levels.

6. The proposed budget allows MassDOT to seek additional revenue from advertising. It is important that MassDOT be encouraged to diversify and expand opportunities to increase revenue. The recent experience of MassDOT and the MBTA, along with best practices from other transportation agencies, should be instructive in setting realistic expectations for additional revenue from this source.

We look forward to discussing the budget with the Administration and the legislature with the goal of agreeing on prudent investments in our transportation services and infrastructure to support a robust, 21st century economy.

Transportation for Massachusetts is a statewide coalition of 47 member organizations supporting investment and innovation in mobility across the commonwealth. We support policies and programs that contribute to economic growth, public health, sustainability and access to opportunity.

Governor Baker’s appointment of Stephanie Pollack as Secretary of Transportation shows the Governor’s commitment to reform, and to making transportation policy and project decisions based on good information and in the interests of the entire commonwealth. Our ability to compete and thrive as a state depends on a robust transportation network, and we acknowledge the Governor’s leadership in appointing an experienced professional to guide MassDOT.

Secretary Pollack has a deserved reputation as a well-respected expert in transportation finance, and comes to this important job very familiar with the strengths and challenges in the agencies that she will lead. She is committed to the well-being of the commonwealth’s residents of every station in life, and has consistently supported transportation investments that create economic growth and opportunity, and which complement responsible environmental policy as well as forward-looking economic development strategies.

Massachusetts has a strong leader at the helm of the Department of Transportation, and we applaud Governor Baker for this well-qualified appointment.