Massachusetts taxpayers were told in 2022 that raising taxes and directing billions in new tax revenues to transportation would dramatically improve quality and reliability. Voters were told the surtax would fix the system. Barely three years later—here we go again.
The result of those billions is few gains at the T or on our roadways, worsening congestion, and a transportation system riddled with structural problems. The MBTA is each year deeper and deeper in the red, with no credible plan to reverse course.
The T now “boasts” the highest bus maintenance costs in the country, an out-of-control pension system, and procurement practices that fail to deliver value. Pioneer Institute’s 2025 policy brief documented surging MBTA operating costs, a finding reinforced by a recent front-page Boston Globe investigation.
The response from Transportation for Massachusetts and MassBudget is, predictably, more money. When added funding fails, the answer is always more. Without reform, oversight, performance standards, and capturing real savings, new taxes and fees will deliver the same result: higher costs, little improvement, and continued dysfunction. This is not a revenue problem. It is a management and accountability problem. It’s long past time to start managing the T and our transportation dollars in a way that serves those who use and pay for our transportation system.
