Granby01033

I'm not a big fan of privatizing profitizing government functions. In some cases, of course, it makes sense to farm things out to a vendor; for example, our town government can't afford a full-time town planner or town counsel, and it makes sense to hire private contractors. But selling or leasing things major assets to the highest bidder is not an automatic recipe for success.

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority faces several challenges. Over the years, its management has been inept, unethical, and probably criminal.  Yearly upkeep of toll roads is expensive, and tolls, which have been a major source of revenue for the MTA, are not enough to keep up with costs. The Commonwealth in the form of the MTA also owes billions on the Big Dig. How do we pay for it all?

Gov. Deval Patrick has suggested doubling tolls in the Boston metro area. House Speaker Sal DiMasi has suggested raising the gas tax. Senate President Therese Murray and State Senator Baddour seem to be pushing for leasing MTA properties to a private contractor. Aside from that, Murray and Baddour, who chairs the Joint Committee on Transportation (Chicopee's Rep. Joseph Wagner is also a member), have called for a comprehensive plan to reform the Commonwealth's transportation system. They don't want to pump new funding into a broken system.

If reforming the system isn't a simple enterpise, paying for it is even more complicated. Patrick suggested heaping the Big Dig costs to Boston drivers who "benefit" from the project by doubling tolls. The costs to those drivers, however, is, by some estimates, huge (as much as $1800 dollars a year). 

A gas tax increase of 11.5 cents would bring us to 35 cents per gallon. (We're now at 21 cents) That increase would raise more than $300 million a year and cost the average driver about $65 a year. (You can figure out your cost per gas tank by multiplying the number of gallons by 11.5. A ten gallon tank would cost $1.15 more with the increase.

Yet another option is are variable rate tolls. This market-based option charges higher tolls at peak hours. Traditional commuting times would cost more than less traditional times. This plan could also have the added benefit of reducing congestion as drivers adjust to take advantage of cheaper drive times. It might also lead people to use more public transportation.

Leasing the Turnpike would seem to deal with management issues and provide some revenue for the Commonwealth's struggling transportation system. Companies would bid on a contract to lease MTA properties, and the winner would assume the management and maintenance of the roads and bridges and what not. And the Commonwealth would receive money in return.

But the devil is in the details. Some states and municipalities have already leased transportation properties and relied on a steady stream of revenue. Tolls will rise with the rate of inflation to keep up with costs. Contracts can be pretty long, however. Anywhere from 50 to 100 years.

And then there's the politics of it all. Where will the financial burdens land? The whole state? The Boston area?

It's a lot to think about and plenty of people are thinking about the issue.

Mark