{"id":2924,"date":"2026-06-17T11:03:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T11:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2924"},"modified":"2026-06-17T11:03:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T11:03:26","slug":"most-mass-voters-cool-to-congestion-pricing-saying-they-oppose-paying-more-to-drive-into-boston-with-less-traffic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2924","title":{"rendered":"Most Mass. voters cool to congestion pricing, saying they oppose paying more to drive into Boston with less traffic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An overwhelming majority of Massachusetts residents said they would not want to pay extra to drive to downtown Boston if that meant less traffic, dealing a blow to the idea of introducing congestion pricing in New England\u2019s largest city, according to a new Suffolk University\/Boston Globe poll.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Trump chose war. Vance gets the fallout.<\/a><\/p>\n

Boston\u2019s heavy traffic has long frustrated both commuters seeking to get into the city and climate activists who want to reduce reliance on cars to curb carbon emissions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Under a city climate plan released in April, Mayor Michelle Wu said the city would study charging drivers to use roads in a bid to dissuade private vehicle trips. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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More than 69 percent of the 500 registered voters surveyed in the Suffolk\/Globe poll said they would not be willing to pay to drive to downtown Boston if there was less traffic. That far outpaced the 26 percent who said they would; 5 percent said they were undecided.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not as if residents say driving around the state is getting any easier. Fewer than half of those polled \u2014 46 percent \u2014 said their daily commutes have stayed the same over the last year, while another 32 percent said they had gotten \u201cslightly\u201d or \u201csignificantly\u201d worse. Just 10 percent reported it had improved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Patrick Mongeau, a second-grade teacher from Arlington, said he understands the arguments for policies to reduce traffic in Boston, but is not a fan of an extra fee to drive into the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

He said he loves driving into Boston for events and concerts, and that for him, using his car is the \u201ccheapest way\u201d to get into the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo making the cheapest way for me be more expensive . . . I would not love it,\u201d said Mongeau, 42. \u201cWe don\u2019t live close to any of the [train] stations. Getting to Alewife [Station] is almost as hard as getting to [Interstate] 93. There\u2019s more traffic getting to Alewife than getting to 93.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Wu\u2019s climate plan includes a section of ideas to evaluate mechanisms to \u201creduce single-occupancy vehicle commuting,\u201d including studying parking fees, tolls, and \u201ccongestion charges to discourage private vehicle trips, reduce congestion, and lower emissions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Wu did not respond to a request for comment on the poll results and questions about whether the study had started.<\/span><\/p>\n

Caitlin Allen-Connelly, the executive director of the advocacy group TransitMatters, said the pushback to a new fee on drivers could be a result of a \u201clack of awareness.\u201d She pointed to the \u201csuccess\u201d New York City has experienced from congestion pricing.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a January 2026 report, New York\u2019s Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that 11 percent fewer vehicles entered the city between January and October of last year, and that the program had raised $468 million in net revenue through October 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Birthright citizenship, mail ballots, and presidential power: What\u2019s left on the Supreme Court\u2019s docket this term<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere may be sort of a lack of information about what congestion pricing is . . . and what the benefits would be in terms of revenue,\u201d Allen-Connelly said. \u201cIt could be a dedicated source for our . . . public transit system.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

New York City is the only major city in the United States that has enacted a comprehensive form of congestion pricing. Other areas in the country, such as northern Virginia, have dynamic pricing, where tolls or fees change in real time based on demand.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lauren Brown, a 45-year-old chemistry professor at Boston University, said she drives into work from her Waltham home using Storrow Drive and supports congestion pricing. Brown said she noticed the benefits of having fewer cars on the road during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, when companies shifted to remote work and traffic thinned dramatically.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAny sort of government incentive that can get us back into that scenario would make everyone\u2019s life better,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI\u2019d be willing to pay for [congestion pricing] because of other benefits.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Brown said she would take public transit to work if it were more convenient.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf the T were more reliable, I would use the T more to come in,\u201d she said. \u201cI really have stopped using it because of the service degradation over the years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In Massachusetts, some state lawmakers have pitched congestion pricing as a way to help the MBTA dig itself out of long-term financial problems. <\/span><\/p>\n

But imposing new fees for drivers has drawn pushback from other political corners. Then-governor Charlie Baker called the idea \u201cunfair\u201d for drivers in 2019, and Governor Maura Healey rejected an idea floated by her former transportation secretary, Monica Tibbits-Nutt, to impose tolls on drivers crossing into Massachusetts.<\/span><\/p>\n

A transportation funding task force that Healey set up in 2024 ultimately \u201ccontemplating\u201d some changes, including \u201cvariable time-of-day pricing and congestion pricing models while considering example best practices, the cost of deployment and equity impacts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Peter Wilson, a senior policy director at Transportation for Massachusetts, said congestion pricing faces pushback because \u201cno one likes to pay for something that they assume was already free.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a difficult messaging thing to do,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you also have to really focus on the results and the benefits and kind of make it tangible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Most Americans see freedoms under threat but core to nation\u2019s identity, AP-NORC poll finds<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 69 percent of the 500 registered voters surveyed in the Suffolk\/Globe poll said they would not be willing to pay to drive to downtown Boston if there was less traffic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nMost Mass. voters cool to congestion pricing, saying they oppose paying more to drive into Boston with less traffic - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2924\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Most Mass. voters cool to congestion pricing, saying they oppose paying more to drive into Boston with less traffic - 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