How is transportation funded in Massachusetts?
T4MA is committed to addressing the decades of inequitable transportation policies adversely impacting low-income. working class, and Black, Indigenous and communities of color. Understanding the ways transportation is funded in Massachusetts is an important foundation for this effort.
Massachusetts has significant gaps in transportation access, reliability, and connectivity. Year after year, transportation funding continues to be a tough conversation among lawmakers and other state leaders. The MBTA has a projected fiscal shortfall of a whopping $859 million in 2029 and a $24.5 billion backlog in state-of-good repair. Regional Transit Authorities do not adequately connect to one another, creating challenges for many residents in getting to where they need to go. Microtransit services in areas where there is no formal public transit coverage, funding is elusive with no dedicated revenue stream. There are more than 600 “structurally deficient” bridges in MA. The Greater Boston Area has some of the worst congestion in the world resulting in lost productivity and costs for residents and businesses alike.
These are serious problems, and we know that adequate funding is a key part of implementing equitable solutions.
Whether we’re talking about the MBTA, Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs), or roads and bridges, every transportation dollar spent in Massachusetts goes through Capitol Hill or Beacon Hill. But how that happens, and what money goes to fund what piece of the system, is complicated.
Our goal is to clarify how transportation is funded, why it matters, and to engage as many people as possible in this important conversation.
The Basics
The MBTA has a dedicated source of funding through a percentage of the state sales tax. One of the reasons that the MBTA is dealing with significant budget issues is that the sales tax has, for decades, been underperforming what was projected. Another major contributor to the ongoing budget issues is the legacy debt that the MBTA is still paying down.
- Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) do not have a dedicated funding source like this from the state budget. State funding for the RTAs is decided and thus advocated for, on a year-to-year basis. The passage of the Fair Share Amendment in 2022, which added a surtax on incomes over $1 million, has provided significant increases to RTA funding recently.
- MassDOT funding sources include operating revenue, federal grants, Commonwealth transfers, the Motor Vehicle Inspection Trust Fund, investment income and tolls. These sources are used for building and maintaining roads, bridges, and tunnels; the construction and maintenance of state-owned rail tracks; operating the RMV; and distributing Federal Transit Authority funds through the Community Transit Grant Program.
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
Total Revenue by Source, 2023
Source: MBTA: A History of Funding, January 2024 report
https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-01/A%20History%20of%20Funding%20MBTA%20Jan%202024%20TP%20VF%201.18.24VF%20posted%201.25.24.pdf
Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs)
Share of Total Operating Revenue by Source, 2014-2022
Source: RTA audited financial reports. https://rideconnector.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RTA_Report_QC_HFCA_5-7-24.pdf
Funding At The State Level
How we fund transportation at a state level is complicated. As Massachusetts continues to grapple with how to adequately fund our transportation systems in ways that are equitable, meet the needs of communities and are responsive to our climate mandates, many potential funding solutions are being discussed.
Here we break down what some of these potential options are, and which states are already implementing or considering them.
Options, Options, Options
Microtransit:
Microtransit describes smaller, more flexible, on-demand transportation models. These are funded through grants, private sector dollars, and/or earmarks in the budget and right now, they are highly reliant on grants. Examples: Quaboag Connector, Tri-Town Connector, FRTA Access Program.
As a result of the Fair Share Amendment, which created a state income surtax on income over $1 million in FY24, Massachusetts was able to spend an additional $477 million on transportation. These funds will be appropriated on an annual basis by the legislature for specific programs and initiatives. In FY24, Fair Share spending was capped at $1 billion (split between education and transportation), and in FY25, the spending will be capped at $1.4 billion. Of the money spent on transportation in FY25, $206 million was allocated to the MBTA, while RTAs received $90 million.
MBTA and RTA service areas
Building in Equity
Outside of the MBTA service area, bus frequency, connectivity and the amount of time spent in transportation become major issues that people utilizing public transportation have to manage.
We’ve seen time and again the power of people coming together and speaking up. Collective community advocacy was instrumental to the passage of the Fair Share Amendment and the adoption of the low-income fares policy for the MBTA.
At T4MA, we believe in the power of people coming together and advocating for a different vision of what our transportation system can look like and how we can get there. Your ideas and voice matter!
Current funding will allow us to fund the status quo for transportation in Massachusetts, and modest increases in funding can lead to some expansion of service across the Commonwealth. But if we want a system that truly meets all the transportation needs of people living and traveling across the Commonwealth and a system that will allow us to meet our very necessary climate goals equitably, then funding amounts and sources are necessarily going to have to increase.
We are going to need to think creatively and with an open mind about how to fund the vision of transportation justice that makes transportation accessible, affordable and safe for all people across the Commonwealth.
We are going to need more voices at the table, especially those with lived experience in public transit, who have experienced the realities of transportation injustice that are so critical to address.