Tagged: Massachusetts transportation

A new report from the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group highlighting the decline in the average number of miles driven by the average American is supporting the call for investments in public education in the commonwealth.

The report released by the MASSPIRG Education Fund titled “A New Direction: Our Changing Relationship with Driving and the Implications for America’s Future” says that on average, the amount of miles driven by Americans has been on the decline for the past eight years.

A train carrying construction debris derailed Tuesday morning in the Berkshire County town of Sheffield.

Train cars that derailed on tracks owned by the Housatonic Railroad toppled over around 1:15 am on Tuesday and are now being cleared by the railroad company, according to Sheffield police chief Eric Munson.

The  $500 million tax bill approved this week by the Massachusetts House to fund transportation should address the immediate financial needs of the state’s 14 regional transit authorities.  But advocates for public transportation say it is a regressive approach that does not meet the demand for more bus and train service. 

Democratic leaders in the Massachusetts legislature and House Republicans both answered Governor Deval Patrick’s 2014 transportation budget with plans of their own, but the governor is warning that a plan too small would hurt low and middle income families .

Operators of the largest public transit system in western Massachusetts are not planning to hike fares or cut service to close a projected budget gap.  The expectation is that there will be more state funding for the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority and the rest of the state’s regional transit systems.