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Would it be crazy to switch from a license-as-an-asset system to permit-with-an-annual fee system? Imagine a $10k/year fee to serve, but all existing licenses are converted to a ~60-year fee waiver, thus preserving their $600k value whilst opening up licenses to anyone who can pay the fee? If...

Somewhat relevant : https://archboston.com/community/threads/crazy-transit-pitches.3664/page-292#post-476342

In addition to what @TheRatmeister already said, you don't need to validate every passenger. You just need to validate enough to send a message to the bulk of riders that paying the fare is worth it. If there's only a 1% chance my fare is validated, but the penalty is a $240 ticket plus the...

Or, hear me out: Hire 10 fare inspectors, 5 for the GLX and 5 for the western surface branches. Loudly ticket fare evaders. The threat of public confrontation would be enough to get 97% of people to pay. At $100k/yr each it would take a thousand years for them to cost as much as a $1B fare gate...

Agreed in theory but, so what? We seize the property from the owners?

Sadly and ironically I've actually begun paying *less* frequently since the recent AFC2.0 rollout. That's because I ditched the Charlie Card in favor of my credit card, but the fare "validation" machines on the GLX don't take just credit. I would pay with my credit card using the new readers on...

Sure, and (1 - (1 - 0.01)^100yrs) = (64% chance of happening every 100 years), which in this sort of estimation game is close enough to 100% that it's reasonable to say "basically guaranteed to happen every hundred years" because the implications for building should be the same whether it's 64%...

Your detailed post probably deserves a more detailed response than this, but I think the answer is simply: Boston's inner core of 1.6MM residents (orange), which roughly corresponds to the "sea of gray" you see on our satellite view, is significantly denser than the core of American metro areas...

I understand that BLX to Kenmore is on the GLR map because it'd provide a Lime->Blue connection that'd otherwise be lost with Lime's terminus being cut back from Govy to Park. Imagine a world where there's funding & willpower for GLR, but not for the BLX to Kenmore. Was there any analysis of an...

Would that really be a good use of time and funds? I ride this path twice a week, and while I wish the crosswalk were a bit wider to accomodate 2-way ped+bike traffic, I never wait for more than 10 seconds and have never had a close call. I would rather that effort and money be spent on one of...

Because you'd rather they sleep in Davis Square or...?

Woof. Is there any reason to believe that this accusation is true, or is it as bad-faith an argument as it sounds?

Might be more about driving brand awareness than about getting people to make a purchase. A lot of folks haven't even "taken a look" at Rivian.

Because Medford/Tufts has higher demand than Heath, or because the GL trunk couldn't support more Heath<->Medford/Tufts trains?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baumol_effect

From the Globe, here is the summary of 2024 Ballot Question 3: So by default, I'm basically in favor of anything that makes car culture pay for its externalities. In this case, I imagine that means securing a living wage for rideshare drivers so that the state is not indirectly subsidizing Uber...

On my commute every day, standing on the Lechmere platforms, I love seeing the completed upper floors of this building peek above the brick streetwall. The deep red really does mix nicely, darker than the modern brick buildings but distinct from the historic Registry building. Now all we need is...

Honestly I love the idea of having an amusement park within Greater Boston, but the fact of the matter is there is capital ready and eager to clean up the waterfront and build the stadium, whereas that is not the case for an amusement park. If there were two competing proposals and one was...

At risk of mincing words, you're taking street to imply cars, which is only true for the past ~100 years. Faneuil Hall Marketplace indeed is divvied up by two pedestrian streets: N and S Market Street. They are streets in the old sense of the word: public places, always open, always traversible...

OK, let's support business growth in these places. Not easy, but not a "Maoist level of revolutionary change" either. The Inner Core contains mostly streetcar suburbs. 1.6 million people, almost a quarter of MA's population. Right, nobody in Camberville has kids, got it. Just because I want...