Tagged: PVTA

The Massachusetts Senate on Thursday is expected to take up a transportation finance bill.

The Senate leadership is proposing to add $120 million to the $500 million dollar transportation bill approved earlier this week in the Massachusetts House.  The Senate bill calls for the same tax increases as the House including a 3 cent per gallon increase in the gasoline tax.  The additional money would come from existing revenue streams.  Republican State Senator Michael Knapik says higher taxes is a hard sell to the public

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. 

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is poised to vote on raising taxes, including a 3 cent increase in the gasoline tax, to fund the state’s transportation system.

   The $500 million dollar tax increase faces an uncertain fate in the Massachusetts Senate, according to Democratic State Senator James Welch of West Springfield.

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.