In a phone interview with StreetsblogMASS on Tuesday, Sabadosa said that while much of the transportation funding debate has focused on the MBTA's needs, she wants to make sure that legislators also improve conditions for the state's fifteen regional transit authorities (RTAs) that operate beyond the MBTA's service area in greater Boston.
"One of the big asks this year - and we’re we’re going to be serious about it - we need a dedicated stream of revenue for the RTAs," said Sabadosa. "The MBTA has its dedicated sales tax (a one percent slice of the state sales tax), but for the RTAs, every year we need to fight for level service funding."
Pioneer Valley Transit Authority buses at Springfield Union Station in July 2017. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Newflyer504, licensed under Creative Commons.
The state's RTAs have suffered considerably in recent years from state budget cuts. The largest of the RTAs is the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA), which serves Sabadosa's district. Ridership on PVTA buses declined from 12.2 million rides in 2016 to 10.1 million rides in 2019 after a streak of lean budgets forced the agency to raise fares and cut service.
"The current level of service is not at all convenient. It's not working for people," continued Sabadosa. "I do office hours on the buses; last month I met a father who has joint custody of his child, and every Friday afternoon he has to take the bus to Springfield to pick up his kid after school and it's a four-hour round-trip each time. That’s not practical.
"We’re putting people into ridiculous situations were they already have impediments to being able to work full time. So it's really not enough with $90.5 million (the current level of funding). We need $114 million. It really almost needs to be doubled."
Sabadosa also expects that the next transportation funding bill will include some form of gas tax increase, and suggested that if it does, better RTA services in more rural areas of the state could mitigate the tax increase's effects on lower-income, car-dependent households.
"The gas tax is regressive," said Rep. Sabadosa. "We do need to have a culture shift away from carbon. But (raising the gas tax) gets harder in western Massachusetts where people have fewer options."
Sabadosa also expressed a desire for the state to invest more in rail transit to the western part of the state, including continued funding for the new Valley Flyer service beyond its pilot phase and a new higher-speed rail connection that could serve commuters between Springfield and Boston.
"More and more people are waking up to the fact that east-west rail can be a reality. It’s an 80 mile trip from Springfield to Boston," said Sabadosa.
57 percent of the poll's respondents said that making the T free to ride would make them more likely to use transit; 37 percent said that fare-free service would make them "much more likely" to ride.