July 27, 2021

To Chairman Boncore, Chairman Strauss, and members of the committee:

Thank you for the opportunity to present this testimony in favor of the following bill: An act to increase regional transit accessibility in the Commonwealth (HB3412 and SB2277) introduced by Senator Harriet Chandler and Representative Natalie Blais. These bills will create more robust and sustainable public transit options outside of the Greater Boston Region and are critical to building a healthy and sustainable future for Massachusetts.

Our transportation system is wreaking havoc on the climate, as it now accounts for 40% of the greenhouse gas emissions produced in Massachusetts, more than any other source. Transportation is also our country’s single largest contributor to the global climate crisis. That means not only are our transportation decisions threatening our state’s 1,500 miles of coastline with increased flooding, they are also causing more extreme temperatures, shifting weather patterns and an increased prevalence of deadly diseases around the world.

On top of destroying our environment, transportation is also threatening public health. Each year, approximately 325 people die in vehicle crashes in the Commonwealth annually, while hundreds more suffer from the adverse health effects of air pollution, including asthma and respiratory diseases. In fact, Worcester and Springfield, the second and third most populated cities in Massachusetts, both of which are serviced by RTAs, are ranked as the 11th and 12th worst cities in the United States to live in for those with asthma. We now know that air pollution also makes us more vulnerable to the devastating effects of COVID-19.

These problems are driven by the Commonwealth’s car-centric transportation system, which has been designed, built and centered around fossil-fuel powered automobiles. While electrifying our personal vehicles will be key, they are only part of the solution to our health and climate woes. To see true progress, we need to incentivize more Bay Staters to switch their mode of transportation by getting them out of their carbon-spewing cars and onto electrified public transit, which is both a cleaner and healthier option.

This new legislation will help us do just that, by ensuring that all residents of the Commonwealth enjoy a more efficient, accessible and sustainable statewide public transportation system. By increasing base operating funds for our 15 RTAs to $94 million, along with an automatic annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase, we can help ensure that RTAs have adequate and predictable funding to increase their ridership by improving and expanding their networks, which serve over 50% of the state’s population, as outlined in our recent report, Increasing Regional Transit Across the Commonwealth.

Additionally, this bill will help RTAs electrify their fleets, the vast majority of which run on diesel, a toxic fossil fuel that produces harmful carbon emissions as well as dangerous pollutants when burned. This is a crucial step if we are going to reach our state’s climate goals, which call for Massachusetts to be net-zero by 2050.

This bill would direct MassDOT to support RTAs in the development of comprehensive electric bus rollout plans through increased levels of capital funding. With these electrification plans in place, we can not only begin to reduce our state’s transportation-related emissions, but also protect our air quality and improve public health for all residents of Massachusetts, including those who live in high-pollution areas.

As we begin to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot return to the transportation status quo here in Massachusetts, which included rising air pollution, increased carbon emissions and the country’s worst traffic. Instead, we must transform our transportation system by incentivizing Bay Staters to get out of their single occupancy vehicles and onto electrified public transit.

We can achieve this by investing in our RTAs, which serve the over 250 communities outside of the Greater Boston Region, and which can help us create a new “normal” in which the easiest and cheapest ways to get around are also the healthiest and most climate friendly.

We have the opportunity to make Massachusetts a leader in affordable, efficient and sustainable regional transportation, and more importantly, to build a better, cleaner and healthier future for our children and grandchildren. Let’s not pass up that opportunity. For this reason, I urge you to report HB3412 and SB2277 favorably out of this committee without delay.

Thank you for your hard work on these bills and for considering our testimony.

Sincerely,

John Stout

MASSPIRG Transportation Advocate

[email protected] – (857) 285-3605