WORCESTER, Mass. — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has proposed a 10-year, $8 billion transportation plan including an immediate move to stabilize the finances of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority — using funds from the state’s Fair Share tax on annual incomes over $1 million while requiring no new taxes.
Legislation to enact the plan, part of Healey’s fiscal 2026 budget proposal, will be introduced soon. It would direct $857 million in surplus Fair Share funding from fiscal 2024 toward public transportation, dedicate another $765 million in Fair Share funds from fiscal 2026 to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund through borrowing to yield $5 billion for capital investment bonds, and more than double funds for the MBTA’s operating budget in fiscal 2026 to $687 million.
“We’re going to invest billions of dollars to deliver better roads, less traffic, safer bridges and a transit system that works in every region,” Healey said in a Jan. 14, 2025, press release outlining the plan. “We’ll close the MBTA’s budget gap, improving service and upgrading stations, and we’ll move forward on regional projects like West-East Rail.”
Projects to be funded include $1.4 billion in capital improvements for the MBTA, including new railcars, track work, station accessibility, and station and power system resiliency, and work to advance the Boston-Worcester-Springfield-Pittsfield East-West Rail project [see “Massachusetts legislation includes East-West Rail funding,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 1, 2022].
Also included are $2.5 billion for road and bridge projects.
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