Creating a transportation plan for 21st Century Massachusetts

  

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This week’s Rush Hour Race got us thinking about our commutes to and from work, and how we get around the city in general. A world-class transportation system is vital to any state’s economy and to our well-being. Companies looking to invest in the Bay State rightfully expect excellent mass transit, railways and roads that allow for their employees, services and goods to travel easily and quickly within, to, and from Massachusetts.  

The Commonwealth’s infrastructure is in need of upgrading, but in a post-Big Dig world, how will we ultimately pay for it? And how much are residents and businesses willing to cough up for a viable plan, the final results of which we may not see (or appreciate) for years?

The cost of doing nothing may be too costly to contemplate. While people balk at raising a billion dollars a year through 2023 to pay for Governor Patrick’s proposed $13 billion transportation overhaul, we may be past the point of saying “we can’t afford it.” The system’s current rate of disrepair means that maintaining the status quo will lead to further and more costly repairs in the future.  

A report prepared by AECOM (PDF) for the Boston Foundation and the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership points out that letting the system continue on the same path will increase “operating costs for cars, trucks and railroads and heighten the likelihood of crashes—translating into costs associated with property damage, injury and loss of life.”

The AECOM report also notes that longer travel times and greater congestion drain “valuable time from productive work or the non-work activities that support a high quality of life.”

Continuing down the same path will cost us dearly, in more ways than you might think. AECOM estimates that by 2030 the price to maintain the current crumbling system will soar between $18.8 billion and $27.6 billion (in today’s dollars), with possibly 12,300-15,600 jobs lost—a cost far higher than the Governor’s proposed $13 billion outlay (even with inevitable overrides).

To stay competitive in a rapidly changing global economy, Massachusetts has to act quickly. What do you think the Commonwealth should do?

The Backstory: slightly longer but equally fascinating reads related to this post

• Read the MassDot report: “The Way Forward: a 21^st-Century Transportation Plan,” PDF
• Focus: MA transportation finance, Northeastern University, Dukakis Center for Regional and Urban Policy website, various links & reports
• Read the AECOM report: The Cost of Doing Nothing: The Economic Case for Transportation Investment in Massachusetts, PDF
• NECN Broadside with Jim Braude (video): Mass. Gov.’s transportation plan
• “State Senate Passes $300M Transportation Bond Bill” Bret Silverberg, Patch.com
• “Competing Mass transportation plans vary widely” Bob Salsberg/AP
• “Four Plans to Fund Massachusetts Transportation” Bret Silverberg, Patch.com
• “Pay now or really pay later for transportation” Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston Globe op-ed
• “Letting the T crumble: Why invest so much in building Boston, then underfund transportation?” Paul McMorrow, Boston Globe op-ed
• “Patrick’s plan will fix the transportation mess” David D’Alessandro, Boston Globe op-ed
• “Mass. gets scaled-back transportation plan” Martine Powers/Boston Globe

Headquartered in Boston, Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation provides auto insurance to personal and commercial auto insurance customers in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Plymouth Rock is a member of The Plymouth Rock Group of Companies, which together write and manage over $1 billion in auto and homeowner’s insurance throughout the northeast.

Here’s snarling at you: Study identifies Massachusetts traffic tie-ups

  

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New study pinpoints the 15 neighborhoods causing the most traffic volume (and what you can do to avoid them)

Remember the commuter-crazed opening scene from Office Space when the nonagenarian inching along with a walker is speedier than the main character stuck in his car?

If that’s ever happened to you, take heart: a new study by engineers at MIT and UC Berkeley, “Understanding Road Usage Patterns in Urban Areas,” used drivers’ cell phone signals to create the most detailed map of traffic patterns yet, in hopes of shedding light on who’s causing the endless waits on our way to work.

Turns out it’s only a few drivers that screw up rush hour for the rest of us. (Isn’t it always the way?) During peak traffic hours, a whopping 98 percent of Boston area roads are actually below capacity—which, if you do the math, leaves a mere 2 percent of our roadways with too many cars and not enough lanes. The backups on these 15 “census tracks” (geographic areas defined by the U.S. Census) ripple out to create stressful commutes for thousands, because the same small pack of drivers travel on the same few roads at the same time.

The researchers analyzed anonymous call logs (which identify cellphone transmission towers) for more than one million Bay Area and metro Boston commuters to pinpoint commutes across the two regions from start to finish—creating a new, more comprehensive and accurate way to tackle traffic engineering (earlier methods relied on pen and paper surveys to track traffic patterns and flow). The engineers then compared the call data with metro area census tracks to determine the most egregious hot spots for traffic volume.

Of the 750 census tracks in Massachusetts, the 15 trouble spots are in Everett, Marlborough, Lawrence, Lowell and Waltham. That’s because drivers who commute from these cities are forced to use fewer roads more frequently than residents in cities and towns who may drive less or have more transportation options: more roads, more public transportation, or the ability to commute by walking or biking, for example.

So what’s the solution to our Beantown-area traffic woes? Researchers suggest we start not by building more roads or adding more lanes, but by focusing on alleviating traffic in these 15 hot spots first.

A small shift could make a huge difference. If just an additional 1 percent of commuters left their cars at home and shared a ride, took the train or bus, telecommuted or walked or biked to work, everyone who drove into the city of Boston during rush hour would get home almost 20 percent faster at night. In other words, that 1-hour commute you slog through now would slim down to a more palatable 48 minutes. And while 12 minutes may not seem like a big difference, those minutes add up to a huge chunk of time over the course of your commuting and working life.

If you can’t live closer to your workplace (or in the city itself, where you can often get around faster without a car than with one) you may want to consider other options besides driving to work every day. You’ll reduce your stress levels considerably, and be able to sneak in some precious exercise and fresh air (if you walk or bike). You could also consider sharing a ride or taking the train, bus, or ferry to the office. That way, you can read, text, work, or just chill out on your way to work and avoid the strain on your body, your mind, and your vehicle.

What to learn more?

Dig a little deeper…Kevin Hartnett wrote about this in the Boston Globe last month; you can read his article and check out a detailed traffic flow map here.

Feeling nerdy? If you’re a math and statistics whizz, you can go straight to the source and read the MIT/UC Berkeley study by clicking here.

Headquartered in Boston, Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation provides auto insurance to personal and commercial auto insurance customers in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Plymouth Rock is a member of The Plymouth Rock Group of Companies, which together write and manage over $1 billion in auto and homeowner’s insurance throughout the northeast.

Car Rental Coverage and Customer Satisfaction

  

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As much as we don’t like claims, they are often the best opportunity to build customer loyalty through superior service.

My question today: are we setting ourselves up for success or failure?

Last year, JD Power & Associates surveyed customer satisfaction levels for people involved in automobile accidents.  As you might expect the “settlement” portion of the claim process was the largest factor in the overall experience-37% of the total (how fair did the insured feel the settlement was?).  The Company claim department will have the most impact on the “settlement” experience.  But there is one opportunity area where you can influence how the insured views the “settlement” and increase the chance of a superior customer service experience: rental coverage.

The JD Power survey revealed some interesting facts:

• Customers with inadequate rental coverage scored the same as those with no rental coverage at all for customer satisfaction scores-they both were below average.
• Insured’s who had inadequate or no rental coverage were 3 times more likely to switch Companies if they incurred extra rental expense than those with full coverage.
• 65% of the people surveyed had less than $30 per day rental coverage

Is there a rental car available for less than $30 per day? Is that likely to be a car that is comparable to the one the insured is replacing?  The answers to both questions is probably no. Selling your customer a rental limit of $30 per day or less is setting yourself up for a customer service failure-if they need a rental vehicle they are likely to have uncovered expenses.  They become a much higher risk to look elsewhere at renewal.

When discussing appropriate limits with your customer keep in mind that the few dollars saved by foregoing the coverage or buying the lower Rental limit may come back to haunt you at the time of a loss. The JD Power survey shows that incurring these extra expenses has a significant effect on the satisfaction of the insured with the claim process-enough so that they become a customer that is harder to retain.  Don’t set yourself up for failure-make sure you are talking about the risks and benefits of the correct limit for rental coverage with your customers.

Plymouth Rock's Gas Price Finder Can Save You Money

  

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High gas prices leave your wallet feeling low?

Before you head to the pump to fill up your tank be sure to check out Plymouth Rock’s Gas Price Finder to see what locations near you in Massachusetts will offer you the lowest gas prices. 

According to Boston.com, in the last week the price of gas in Massachusetts increased $0.14, which brings the total increase in past two weeks to $0.31 per gallon. As a result of the high gas prices many people are relying on public transportation. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) published a report showing the top 20 cities with the highest ridership ranked in order of their transit savings. Based on the purchase of a monthly public transit pass, and factoring in local gas prices for March 4 and unreserved parking rates, the highest was New York followed by Boston, which can save public transit commuters $1,099 monthly or $13,188 annually. 

Even though many people are relying on public transportation, what do you do if you are not able to take the T to work, school, or wherever you need to go? Well here are some tips to help you save money when spending at the pump:

• Check Plymouth Rock’s Gas Price Finder.
• Try to carpool with co-workers to work, or go grocery shopping/run errands with neighbors, so that only one car is on the road.  
• Several short trips can waste gas, especially in winter when you need the car to heat up, so if you can condense trips into fewer stops then you can save.
• Try not to add unneeded weight to your car (skis on the roof, the trunk packed to the brim, etc.)
• Obey the speed limit. The U.S. Department of Energy states: “each 5 mph driven over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas.” Rushing to arrive at your destination can cost real money!

Even though you can’t control the price of gas, you can control where you buy and how you conserve to avoid always running to the pump. So take a few simple steps to save yourself some money!