Commute Frustrations Boil Over in Massachusetts Poll

Daniel Boguslaw Kaufman shares the results of a new a poll of Massachusetts voters to determine public sentiment about transportation in the state.

The poll, conducted by MassINC Polling Group, is the bearer of bad news. "A tremendous anger is eating away at commuters which may force some of them right out of their areas," Kaufman reports.

According to Kaufman, the transportation woes of Massachusetts residents are tied to the housing market: "As housing prices soar in major metropolitan areas across the country, commuters are increasingly exposed to long and unsustainable travel times with a growing sense of dread."

A lot of the frustration expressed in the poll coalesces around public transit, and the beleaguered Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. "More than 60 percent of Boston’s subway, commuter rail, and bus riders say delays and construction on public infrastructure have caused them to be late for work. Within the city limits, more than half of those polled say getting around is probably only going to get worse, despite the promise of solutions from city officials on the horizon," writes Kaufman.

In a bit of supplemental, related, but separate news, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker recently announced that the long-delayed South Coast Rail line had secured permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and $1 billion in state bond funding.