|
Charlie Baker on Technology
|
|
|
$18 billion transportation bond bill, the largest ever
We filed an $18 billion transportation bond bill last year, the largest ever. $11 billion would be invested in road and bridge improvements, with another $7 billion for additional expansion and modernization of transit, commuter rail and bus services.
Our 2021 budget proposal will include an increase of $135 million in operating funds for the T. This will ensure the T has the resources it needs to implement the recommendations of its Safety Review Panel and continue service improvements.
Source: 2020 Massachusetts State of the State address
, Jan 21, 2020
Over $8 billion on infrastructure for the T
Public transportation is an area in which the Commonwealth sat on its hands for far too many years and we're all paying the price for it. Over the course of the next five years, the T plans to spend over $8 billion on infrastructure, much of which will
be invested in its core system. This is more than twice what has ever been spent in any 5-year period.This will be no small task. One of the reasons previous administrations didn't invest in the core system is the complexity of upgrading and
modernizing a system that operates 20 hours a day, seven days a week. But it's a challenge that must be identified, scoped and overcome.
The T also needs to leverage its automated fare system once it's in place in 2020. For the first time,
that system will give the T real time data on how its riders use the system. That creates huge opportunities to improve service. To think differently about fares, routes and pricing. And to modernize operations to better serve customers.
Source: 2019 Massachusetts governor inaugural (State of the State)
, Jan 3, 2019
My job is to make sure the T works, not to ride it
Commuters on the MBTA should not expect to see Gov. Charlie Baker among the straphangers anytime soon. Responding to a frustrated MBTA rider who called in during a radio appearance, Baker said he is focused on improving the reliability of the MBTA
system but views it as his job to "make sure folks like you can have a reliable and predictable trip," not necessarily to ride it himself.Baker, who is driven from event to event by his State Police detail and has previously declined to participate
in the T-riding challenge, doubled down on his decision: "The governor is not a point-to-point person. It's very rare that I go from one place to the same place more than once, and that makes it extremely hard to think about how to factor that in,"
Baker said. "And frankly, I really do believe that my job is to make sure that we make the T work for the people who need it to work. Period."
Source: The Metro on 2018 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
, Mar 8, 2018
Hundreds of millions to fix decades of neglect on the MBTA
We've allocated more than $700 million in local road and bridge funding--the largest investment in years. And another $3.6 billion has been spent on hundreds of road re-surfacing and improvement projects. All in we've repaired or replaced 80 bridges
and paved enough miles of roadway to crisscross the Commonwealth five times.Our public transportation system collapsed during the brutal winter of 2015. But three years later the T is investing hundreds of millions of dollars more on upgrading
its core infrastructure than it has in years, modernizing its operations and rescuing projects like the Green Line Extension.
There is more to do on the T. Much more. But for the first time in years the plan to modernize the system is in place
and moving forward. Fixing decades of neglect doesn't happen overnight. But make no mistake we will deliver the public transit system the people of this Commonwealth deserve.
Source: 2018 State of the State speech to Massachusetts legislature
, Jan 23, 2018
High speed wifi in Western Massachusetts
When we took office, more than 50 communities in Western Massachusetts didn't have access to high speed internet services. I first heard about this when a local official told me horror stories about what life was like without it: students who
often did homework sitting in the car next to the library after hours--to get access to their wifi. That community--Mt. Everett Regional High School--c'mon; the parking lot?--now has high speed internet.
And the vast majority of the communities that had none when we took office either have it now or have plans to install it.
Thanks to this Legislature's help with funding for the build out they will all have this must have infrastructure over the next two years.
Source: 2018 State of the State speech to Massachusetts legislature
, Jan 23, 2018
Lynn ferry service wasn't worth the $700,000 operating cost
Democratic gubernatorial Democratic gubernatorial candidate Setti Warren promised to revitalize the city by reinstating ferry service and extending the
Blue Line. "There's no reason why we can't put ferry service back to Lynn," he said. "It ran for two summers until it was cut.
We need to restore it so people can get in and out of the city and expand transportation."The ferry from the Blossom Street Ferry Terminal in Lynn to Boston's Seaport operated a pilot program in 2014 and 2015.
But the service was decommissioned last summer by the Baker administration, which argued it didn't generate enough riders to justify the $700,000 in state funds annually to operate it.
Source: Lynn Daily Item on 2018 Massachusetts gubernatorial race
, May 26, 2017
Last Mile program: high-speed internet for rural communities
We all know that High-speed internet has become central to the ways we communicate, learn and do business. But too many communities in Western Mass still don't have access to this essential service. That's why this past May we completely overhauled the
Last Mile program for our rural communities.We started with 53 towns lacking high speed internet access. And while there's still more work to be done, in just six months we've moved a dozen towns forward.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to Massachusetts Legislature
, Jan 24, 2017
Page last updated: Mar 15, 2020
