OF MAJOR AIRPORTS in the United States, Boston’s is closer to the downtown than most. Yet despite the short distance, getting to Logan at rush hour can be challenging. Pick your poison: a taxicab or ride-hail in traffic? A similarly-congested ride on the Silver Line bus? A traffic-avoiding multi-seat ride on the Blue Line? A […]
James Aloisi
Posted inOpinion
Finding a new way to make a difference
I KNEW I WOULD LIKE Rocketman, the Elton John biopic. I love his music, grew up with it, and I’m proud to say that I know the actual lyrics to Rocketman and Bennie and the Jets. The movie did not disappoint – what a great performance by Taron Egerton — but it did surprise me in […]
Posted inOpinion
Opportunity moment in transportation
1/ The death of Lee Iacocca is a metaphor for the passing of an auto centric era. This great corporate titan of auto-mobility embodied much of the false optimism & bravado that fueled a profoundly unsustainable approach to mobility. — Jim Aloisi (@JimAloisi) July 3, 2019 3/ In #mapoli an Administration that appears stuck in […]
Posted inOpinion
Baker must step up on transportation crisis
LET ME TELL YOU a story about political leadership. The year is 1969, and Illinois has a new Republican governor, Richard B. Ogilvie. Ogilvie took office knowing that the state was in a fiscal crisis, and he recruited a group of talented people to help him figure out how to keep the state from going […]
Posted inOpinion
Kicking the tires on battery-electric buses
THERE IS GROWING CONSENSUS that our transportation system needs to move away from fossil fuels toward a cleaner electric-powered future. This is not only an environmental issue. It goes directly to the quality of service and the cost and reliability of the equipment. Whether we are talking about the intercity rail system or the inner […]
Posted inOpinion
Closing HOV lanes is hard to understand
IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT that you are on a diet – not a New Year’s resolution diet that lasts for nine days, but a serious, honest-to-goodness effort to change your eating habits. One thing is certain: you won’t reach your weight goal unless you start eating smaller portions. Portion control is a proven way to […]
Posted inOpinion
Time for me to say a few ‘thank yous’
I’VE BEEN AN ACTIVE and willing participant in the arena of politics, policy-making, and advocacy for most of my life. It’s what I like to do. It helps me understand and engage the pressing issues of the times we live in, and it fulfills my values. Engaging the politics and policymaking of any place, whether […]
Posted inOpinion
On TNCs, Red-Blue connector, and tolls
IT’S BEEN A BUSY TIME for transportation policy making in Massachusetts, and a promising moment when there appears to be some alignment among legislative leaders that something bold and significant needs to be done to change course and properly fund our transportation needs now and into the future. I want to focus today on two […]
Posted inOpinion
Inaction is not an option with TNCs
THERE’S BEEN A LOT OF TALK, and a good deal of concern, about the impacts of transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft on traffic at Logan Airport and in surrounding communities and roadway systems. Now, for the first time, we’ve moved from talk and concern to meaningful action. Acting Massport CEO John […]
Posted inOpinion
A tribute to East Boston’s premier activist, advocate
A LIGHT WENT OUT in East Boston last week. More than a light, a beacon that guided more than one generation of local activists and civic leaders. Mary Ellen Welch died, and even typing those words seem incongruous because she was such a vibrant force of life, such a dynamic and compelling person. For decades, […]