Thread by @SenJasonLewis

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to our survey on #transportation and #commuting! We are pleased to share the results below. [1/12] #mapoli

Almost 800 people responded! The results aren't statistically significant, and probably include some selection bias, but we had great resources to develop the questions (H/t @skoczela for some helpful tips!) [2/12] #mapoli

We wanted to start by understanding how people interact on a regular basis with our transportation and public transit infrastructure [3/12] #mapoli

After that, we wanted to see how people feel about the current state of affairs... spoiler alert: not good. [4/12] #mapoli

We expected that many of our constituents, especially those who live in car-centric suburban communities, may have some reasons that they don't use public transit more often. Unsurprisingly, the biggest obstacles were frequency and reliability. [5/12] #mapoli

If the Commonwealth is going to take action on transportation, it's important for legislators like me to have a clear sense of the public's priorities for improvements. Almost 90% of our respondents called improving #PublicTransportation a "major priority"! [6/12] #mapoli

Over 80% of our respondents said they support raising new revenue to invest in transportation improvements.

We wanted to follow up by asking respondents about some of the proposals that have been floated or suggested to raise new revenue. [7/12] #mapoli

The open-ended feedback we received was enlightening. There were certainly several common themes, starting with the unhappiness that many feel about the current state of transportation in Massachusetts [8/12] #mapoli

Many residents also shared stories about their own challenges with using public transit more often-- reiterating those issues of reliability and frequency that we found earlier in the survey [9/12] #mapoli

Perhaps most importantly, we found that although many are willing to contribute more to improve our transportation systems, there are significant concerns about equity and economic justice when it comes to user-based fees and taxes... [10/12] #mapoli

... since user-based fees often disproportionately impact low-income & working class people.

On that topic, check out the @RaiseUpMA report on the progressive proposals to generate revenue for investment in our transportation systems [11/12] #mapoli

raiseupma.org/corporate-fair…

We're planning our next #CommunityConversation to discuss this survey & solutions to MA's transportation challenges. Stay tuned for more details.

Your input is invaluable as the Legislature prepares to debate transportation legislation in the coming months! [12/12] #mapoli