Rockers call for carpooling to concerts
Rock bands love to wax about sustaining the environment. But Wilco, which played at Tanglewood last week, has been working on a novel, more concrete solution to the climate crisis: getting fans into carpools.
A few weeks ago, the band launched a special tab on its website that lets fans register as drivers or passengers. A feature then connects would-be carpoolers to each other based on where they live and which show they are attending.
"The thing we were trying to look at is: What is the thing in any given show that probably has the biggest environmental impact?" Tony Margherita, the band manager, said by phone from his home in New Marlborough. "That's the thousands of people driving in their cars from their homes to the venue."
So far, about 100 people have registered, according to the band's publicist. Wilco's website managers are working on adding features such as automated mapping and passenger feedback. Margherita said he would eventually like to share the software with other bands.
Beyond saving money and curbing emissions, he likes the idea of linking the band's fans with each other. Carpooling with strangers is often a tough sell. But Wilco is one of many touring bands that builds a community of loyal followers.
It's a small step, but fan-based carpools may have a better shot at success than random work-a-day commuting programs. If the band's devotees do decide to ride together, they won't have to argue over what to play on the radio.
New York eyes raising fares
Guess who else is looking at raising tolls and transit fares? New York City.
Yes, Boston's rival to the south refuses to let the Hub go it alone in making commuters suffer. The region's Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced last month that it will need to make up a $900 million deficit next year with 8 percent increases in July, spread across different modes of transportation. It has not released specific proposals on how that would affect individual rates on buses, trains, and subways, and at toll booths at bridges and tunnels run by the MTA.
That's on top of a 3.85 percent rate hike in March, leaving just about everyone within two hours of the 212 area code fuming.
New York's situation should sound familiar to MBTA commuters. Despite increases in ridership, New York's MTA faces higher fuel costs and lower revenues from property taxes.
These should be gravy times for public transit, with new riders being forced by high gas prices to try buses, trains, and subways.
But the same fuel prices and sluggish economy that are boosting public transit are also plaguing it. Increased riders are not making up the cost of higher fuel. One in five transit agencies that responded to a recently released American Public Transportation Association survey said they had to cut service. Other cities, such as Denver, are looking at more hikes as well.
The MBTA faces a possible toll increase in 2010, which could be "hefty" if the state does not chip in more money, General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas has warned. The stated reasons are similar to New York's: higher fuel costs and lower tax revenue.
Ridership on public transit is up almost everywhere. But the newer riders may be the most fickle. They are giving it a try because they have done the math and found gas prices make driving more expensive. But the math is subject to change - if fares keep going up.
US motorists driving less
Another month, another decline in driving. The federal government announced last week that Americans drove 4.7 percent fewer miles in June than they did a year earlier.
The decline in Massachusetts was even sharper than the national average: 6.5 percent fewer miles driven.
Between November and June, Americans drove 53.2 billion miles less than they did between November 2006 and June 2007.
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