Dear Editor,
The following letter was submitted to the Massport Board members.
Dear Massport Board Members,
AIR, Inc., Mother’s Out Front, GreenRoots, Friends of Belle Isle Marsh, and other member organizations of the Logan Community Clean Air Coalition wish to endorse Massport’s proposal to institute rational ground access fees and improve transit options to Logan.
Logan is one of a growing number of airports, like Seattle, Los Angeles, Newark, and others, that are drowning under excessive roadway and curb congestion caused by unregulated private vehicle access. Not only does this congestion degrade the airport’s performance, it also burdens the residents of adjacent communities with excess air pollution. The fact is: private passenger car vehicular access to Logan has severe costs and the fees Massport charges for access to Logan’s curbs should reflect those costs.
But how would increasing ground access fees help? Realistic fees for access to the terminal curbs will help if at the same time Massport couples them with giving travelers a far better way to get to Logan.
And how can Massport do this?
The first half of the answer comes from Switzerland, where post offices, bus and train stations have offered airport baggage handling for decades. Swiss travelers’ luggage is scanned at bus and train stations and gets checked-through to their flights and final destinations. The technology that makes this possible means that we can add baggage checking services anywhere.
The other half of the answer comes from Philadelphia, where American Airlines is offering ‘land flights’ between Allentown PA and Atlantic City, and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). Travelers can book their travel out of the smaller local airports using the normal American Airlines reservation system online. On the day of travel, they head to their local airport, where they check their bags normally, and clear TSA security as usual. Then, instead of boarding an aircraft for the 50 mile trip to PHL, they board a high quality bus on the secure side of TSA at those outlying airports and are dropped right at their gate in PHL.
These aren’t the kind of buses that take you to the local mall. They are luxury coaches set up with seating and amenities that meet modern aircraft comfort standards -a cross between an aircraft cabin and a bus. They’re outfitted with first class width, leather airline style seating, WiFi, overhead storage bins, onboard entertainment, power outlets, and onboard restrooms, just like an airplane.
If the Swiss can check luggage at bus stations, and TSA can allow ground access links between facilities, Massport can reimagine its Logan Express system as a series of state of the art, full service, world-class remote airport terminals which provide land flights between them and Logan. Land flight service could even be expanded to replace air travel routes for trips under 150- 200 miles, saving airlines considerable expense and dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Of course Massport would need to be trusted to do this properly. But new Massport CEO Rich Davey has a legitimate transit background and he’s been publicly talking about this sort of idea. There’s no doubt that this system would work, nor is there any question that it would be wildly popular. So we need to get behind this.
It’s not hard to imagine how much smoother getting through Logan would be if Boston’s cramped and crowded airport were streamlined by moving a bunch of baggage handling, curb congestion, and security screening activity off-site.
It’s also not hard to imagine how much less stressful traveling out of Logan would be if you could just take an Uber to the Framingham or Braintree Logan Remote Terminal, -or if you could drive your own car to the well-lit, secure and affordable parking garage attached directly to the heated and air conditioned ‘New Woburn or Danvers Logan Remote’ and check your bags and clear security, right there. You then would not need to drag your luggage in and out of your ride, and through the terminal, like a beast of burden.
The more you think about it, the better this idea sounds, and the less an outrageous price hike for a service you no longer want to use actually matters. Now imagine that these airplane buses could fly right through the barbary of Boston’s regional standstill traffic on high speed bus-only dedicated bus lanes, cutting your trip time in half.
Increasing existing ground access fees is part of a policy that can drive up use of true HOV/Transit options. But it could also cause an uptick in private pick-up and drop-off activity. So if Massport wants to use pricing increases to drive down congestion, they’ll need to prepare an effective curb activity monitoring program and prepare for implementation of an airport roadway or curb access fee.
Massport has a choice of how to implement these changes. We urge the Port Authority to move forward with this fee proposal, but to do it by first offering the traveling public significant relief from the stress and frustration of getting to Logan by investing in immediate improvements to the pricing, comfort and convenience of its existing transit options.
If we still need to argue over these proposed fee hikes, the conversation needs to recognize that the cost of leaving things the way they are is too high. Forbes reported that traffic congestion cost Boston over $4 billion in economic losses in 2019 and local airport adjacent communities pay a far steeper price in chronic disease driven by air pollution.
Economically, increasing ground transport efficiency will improve, not damage economic productivity. Metropolitan London’s gross domestic product rose by 52% in the 20 years since the city instituted its congestion charge. London’s congestion charge has actually been well accepted, and has measurably reduced traffic and pollution. If Massport and the state’s eight regional transit authorities’ can colocate their bus services with Logan Remote Terminals, the economic and mobility benefits would be significant.
We urge Massport’s Board to seize this opportunity to embrace true environmental and transportation leadership and ignore the scare tactics and industry-funded ad campaigns. Ride App drivers will not lose business; they will simply change destinations and save time by avoiding trips into the congested core of the city. The time saved will allow these drivers to take more fares.
The future can be scary, but the future can also be bright. We need to give Massport a chance to give us a better option.
Sincerely,
AIR, Inc., Mother’s Out Front, GreenRoots, Friends of Belle Isle Marsh, and members of the Logan Community Clean Air Coalition
