Fee eyed for those who drive into Hub
A city councilor is looking to turn Boston into a commuter toll zone so that people who drive into the city would have to pay to enter.
Saying the half-million commuters who drive into Boston each day are major contributors to traffic and parking congestion, Councilor Paul J. Scapicchio wants the city to look into requiring passes costing $1 to $5 daily and catching scofflaws by installing cameras to record license plates of cars crossing over from the suburbs without the passes. Today, he will ask for a council hearing to explore the idea.
Modeling his proposal on a similar program in London and an effort under consideration in San Francisco, Scapicchio said the fees would help fund public transit and road improvements in a city that has struggled in recent years.
''This program could remedy three problems: congestion, pollution, and the lack of revenue," said Scapicchio. ''This could discourage the use of our overburdened roadways and create a revenue source to fix our falling bridges and pothole-filled streets."
Such a measure would probably encounter stiff resistance from major downtown employers and from retailers that depend on the daily tide of shoppers pouring into the city. The Legislature, which would have to approve any tax increase for Boston, could also stand in the way, as it has on several recent tax proposals from the city.
But conservationists and some public officials, including Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Frederick P. Salvucci, the former state transportation secretary, already say they like the idea.
''Anything we could do to help reduce congestion on the streets of our city, we're willing to take a serious look at," Menino said.
Scapicchio, who represents the North End, emphasized that the idea is in the early stages and said council hearings would be the first step in a process of hammering out the best proposal. He said he would use London's program as a starting point for discussions.
Under that plan, motorists driving into an 8-square-mile section of London between 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. require a $10 pass that can be purchased ahead of time online, over the phone, or at locations throughout the area. A network of more than 700 cameras photographs drivers' licenses plates. Drivers without the passes are fined at least $90.
Six months after the system took effect in February 2003, traffic was reduced by 18 percent, with a 30 percent reduction in auto traffic and a 20 percent increase in bus and taxi ridership, according to the Commission for Integrated Transport, which advises the British government.
Salvucci, who will visit London in two weeks to look at the program, said it is successful because the revenue it generates goes into improvements to the city's public transit system.
''My understanding is that it wasn't an instant hit when they talked about it," he said of the London system. ''But the mayor had the guts to try it, and they did a good job of implementing it."
But he said there is no guarantee the plan would work here.
''Boston is a transit-oriented city, but it's certainly not London," he said. ''It really has to be considered carefully. Kudos to Scapicchio for putting the idea on the table. It's the kind of thing we should be looking for."
Philip Warburg, president of the Conservation Law Foundation, said the plan could reduce pollution in Boston at the same time it is funding key transportation projects, such as an extension of the Green Line from Lechmere to Medford and linking the Blue and Red lines at Charles Street and Massachusetts General Hospital.
''The Commonwealth faces very severe funding constraints in honoring transit commitments that it made 15 years ago and reaffirmed in the year 2000," he said. ''It behooves the Commonwealth to come up with the necessary funding mechanisms to deliver on those transit commitments."
Business leaders said any proposal that penalizes people for coming into the city could harm an already limping downtown economy and potentially cause businesses to think about expanding in the suburbs or moving out of the city altogether.
''At a time when we have seen lower employment and higher commercial vacancy rates in the city of Boston, we would be opposed to anything that adds a burden to either individual employees or employers," said Paul Guzzi, president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
The proposal would also face a tough battle on Beacon Hill, where legislators from the suburbs could be expected to oppose it.
The proposal won little praise from commuters who drive into the city regularly. Many said traffic and high parking costs are deterrent enough.
''We're coming into the city to do business, which generates income," said Jeff Regan, a Citizens Bank employee who drives from Methuen at least twice a week. ''Anybody in their right mind wouldn't be commuting in that mess unless they absolutely have to."
Keith Becker, who works in sales for
''People who drive in are already being punished by exorbitant parking rates," Becker said. ''I think we're getting taxed just so many places now."
Some, however, said they would grudgingly accept fees if the money went toward commuting alternatives.
''If I had to pay to drive into the city, I would much prefer that it go into public transit," said Jim Kerr, a lawyer from Lexington. ''If it were properly invested I would feel less resentful."
Globe correspondent Scott Goldstein contributed to this report.
