BAY STATE GRIDLOCK PAVED WITH SUCCESS
Three answers to easing traffic fueled by the robust economy
When I started six years ago as the CEO of Massport, which includes Logan International Airport, I assumed my biggest challenges would be with airplanes and airlines. I was wrong.
The biggest challenges we face after safety and security are ground transportation and traffic congestion. Anyone who drives to or from the airport is apt to experience significant backups. Why is that?
There are several explanations. First, we have a very strong economy, as indicated by our very low unemployment rate. This is obviously a good thing. More people working is good for families and good for our community. But those folks have to travel to and from work. More employment means more drivers.
Second, we are experiencing a new transportation choice. Whether you prefer Uber or Lyft or one of their competitors, you are participating in a new disruptive wave of transportation. The popularity of app-based ridehailing services is having a major impact on traffic congestion.
Here are some key facts. In 2014, to be picked up at Logan by a taxi driver, you had to be serviced by one of Boston’s 1,825 cabs. On an average day in 2014, 5,000 to 6,000 passengers took cabs from Logan.
Fast forward to 2018. There are currently more than 180,000 Uber and Lyft drivers who have credentials to
operate at Logan. A recent national study suggested that those vehicles were traveling without passengers more than one third of the time that they were on the road. That equates to 164 million miles of driving with no passengers in Boston alone.
So while we still offer taxicabs as an option for passengers, the number of daily cab trips is down to the 3,000-4,000 range. And Uber and Lyft trips have grown from zero to 10,000 pickups per day. So total airport trips, and therefore traffic, are up. So whether you compare 1,825 with 180,000 or compare 0 with 10,000, it is easy to see the impact on traffic congestion.
What can we do about it? There are steps we can take. Logan officials are working with Uber and Lyft to apply their carpooling options — Uber Pool and Lyft Line — to their airport service. This means if two people from Newton are leaving Terminal C at the same time they can share an Uber or a Lyft. This means one car instead of two cars, which means less traffic.
We can support the MBTA. While employment is growing, MBTA ridership has declined slightly. So let’s celebrate the MBTA improvements like new subway cars and new social media options, and encourage commuters to “Reconsider the T.”
Further, Massport needs to continue to grow its successful Logan Express service, which served 1.8 million passengers last year, by expanding its current sites, by perhaps adding new sites, by adding more frequent service and by providing expedited service through Logan Airport checkpoints to those choosing Logan Express.
There are things Massport can do, working with MassDOT and the city of Boston, which also need to continue to promote transit, shared rides, and reduction of congestion.
We are fortunate to live in a community with a vibrant and diversified economy but with many 300-year-old streets.
When we act collectively we can do big things — like clean up Boston Harbor, construct the Big Dig and add a new Silver Line to the MBTA.
The challenges related to ground transportation and traffic congestion will take no less of an effort.