Several astute readers have noticed a trend in articles about the state's roads, bridges, subways, trains, and buses. Everybody who runs them says they are out of money.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, despite a fare increase, is "broke" and running another deficit. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, despite toll increases and new efforts to clean house, is spending rainy-day money on basic operating expenses and has long-term financial problems that will prevent workers from making major repairs on roads and bridges.
The federal government held up $1 billion in matching money for transportation projects statewide in December, because Massachusetts did not set aside enough of its own cash to fix its crumbling bridges.
Everyone is hoping these financial pressures will not mean more toll increases and higher T fares, but the threat is chasing us all like a state trooper hopped up on
None of this should surprise state leaders, who had a report delivered to them Sept. 17, outlining problems and potentially painful solutions to the $19 billion in transportation needs forecast for the next two decades. The authors, a group of politically connected poobahs appointed by the Legislature, walked away wondering why they were not sparking much discussion.
Governor Deval Patrick has said little about the report, except that he wants to find savings before raising taxes. He has spent months quietly test-marketing a plan called MassTrans, which would merge some of the state's transportation bureaucracies, eliminating the Turnpike Authority, in hopes of greater efficiency. He has said money from casinos, if approved, could mitigate some of the transportation woes. The authors of the Transportation Finance Commission report have said these steps alone will not solve the problem.
When a Patrick official raised the specter of imposing tolls on Interstate 93 last month, he was quickly disowned by higher-ups in the administration. Taxes, tolls, and fare increases are the third rail of politics. If only the T could afford to power the real third rail.
Many lawmakers were expecting to see details of the governor's MassTrans plan at the beginning of February. That would at least start the dialogue. But the plan has not been released and the clock is ticking toward what could be more toll increases next year. Patrick told reporters last week that he was not close to completing the plan, according to State House News Service.
"The administration is fully aware of the challenges facing our roads and bridges after 16 years of neglect," Mac Daniel, a state transportation spokesman, said in a statement. "We are currently working on a long-term transportation reform plan for the Commonwealth. In the interim, the swift passage of the Transportation Bond Bill will help us to resolve immediate critical improvements needed on our roads, bridges, and rails."
The bond bill is a $2.9 billion wish list, passed by a legislative committee last week. It's only the first step.
The Allston man waited more than 25 minutes during rush hour Wednesday morning for a number 66 bus, which is supposed to arrive every 10 minutes.
For years, he has been taking the ride from Allston to Harvard, the T's sixth-busiest bus route, and says the huge rush-hour gaps in service are commonplace. "I know folks who have waited a good 45 minutes in a snowstorm," he said.
It is a lament among bus riders that goes back more than a decade.
"You're standing out there waiting for the bus and it ain't coming," Blake said.
MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said the T added another bus to the route, which also goes through Roxbury and Brookline, last winter and believes there are now enough in service to accommodate the 11,100 daily passengers. He said the 66 goes through 40 traffic lights, making it especially tricky to keep buses from stacking behind one another, which can create gaps in service.
In response to complaints, the T recently reassigned supervisors to monitor the route and prevent these gaps. By the end of this week, the T will finish installing Global Positioning System equipment on Route 66 buses, another measure meant to help keep them better staggered.
Blake will wait for proof. He said other complaints have been fruitless: "It's maybe different for an hour or a day, but nothing changes."
Globe correspondent Sarah M. Gantz contributed to this column. Please send complaints, comments, or story ideas to starts@globe.com The column can be found at boston.com/starts.
