Latest news with #AlanWirzbicki
Boston Globe
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Can you really blame Canadians for boycotting us?
Advertisement None of this should be surprising. How exactly did anyone expect Canadians and Europeans to react when President Trump started threatening and belittling them? You could look at the fare reduction as a silver lining for Americans — now's the time for that summer trip to It's one thing for bookings to temporarily dip — in a bad economy, for instance. It's something else when airlines Advertisement If those connections disappear, they don't necessarily just come back with the snap of a finger when and if Trump goes on his meds. A few years ago, I wrote about how the barriers introduced after the Sept. 11 attacks had frayed connections between regions that had traditionally been seamlessly connected. But this is much worse. It's not just the huge economic hit New England tourist destinations are about to experience. It's the frayed links to the rest of the world that could be the legacy of the president's pointless threats and insults. This is an excerpt from , a Globe Opinion newsletter about the future of transportation in the region. Sign up to . Alan Wirzbicki is Globe deputy editor for editorials. He can be reached at
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Boston Globe
Does Boston need a different kind of school bus?
'School districts can insist on contracting for transit-style school buses which have a flat front,' he said. 'That way, children crossing in front of the bus are more visible.' Advertisement That inspired me to look at bid specifications for Massachusetts municipalities that contract out to private companies for bus service. Some Massachusetts municipalities (eg, About 18 percent of American school buses for which the design is known were type D buses, and they predominate in some states, including California. (Some states, including Massachusetts, do not collect data on school bus type, which is why the national figures aren't complete.) Here's an example of what a flat-front looks like, from a major bus manufacturer: Introducing the all-new Saf-T-Liner HDX2 model. With a new exterior look, improved corrosion protection and enhanced product quality, we're proud to share the latest updates to our Type D product line! For details, read the full release here: — Thomas Built Buses (@ThomasBuiltBus) As you've probably guessed, there are also type A and type B buses, which are smaller vehicles. Advertisement Every so often, the esoteric question of school bus design does bubble up in public debates in Massachusetts. In 2015, for instance, Acushnet officials defended cuts to bus monitors by saying Whether a bus of that design would have made any difference in the Hyde Park accident is impossible to say. Flat-front buses also have disadvantages, including that they are generally about $25,000 more expensive per bus, according to a Also, I don't want to fearmonger: type C buses are safe. All school buses are safe. The benefits for Boston of flat-front buses, if there are any, would be small. According to a district official, the city is always evaluating the mix of vehicles in its fleet, but that as the need for door-to-door transportation has been growing the district has generally moved to smaller vehicles. Large transit-style buses are too big for the city's needs, the official said, and would have a harder time navigating narrow city streets. I certainly don't claim the expertise to say whether the city has made the right call. If you do — and I know that a few bus experts read this newsletter — please This is an excerpt from , a Globe Opinion newsletter about the future of transportation in the region. Sign up to . Advertisement Alan Wirzbicki is Globe deputy editor for editorials. He can be reached at
Boston Globe
01-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Should I save $63 by ditching Boston's electric plan?
Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Gas and electric costs have Advertisement In Boston, Advertisement It's always been there, in the fine print, that municipal plans aren't guaranteed to save you money. That's one of the reasons you're If you're not sure if you're enrolled in a community choice aggregation plan, check the space circled on this Eversource bill. Alan Wirzbicki/Globe Staff Whether you should take advantage of that option, of course, is a personal decision — but it carries some broader implications. If too many people drop out of their municipal plans, those plans will have less buying power, which could make it harder for them to secure lower prices relative to the utilities down the road. One way of looking at it is that by staying in and accepting slightly higher rates now, you make future savings more likely. I doubt many consumers would find that logic convincing, though. And if you approach your electric rates as simply a hard-nosed financial decision, all that matters now is that the For me, based on my home's past energy usage, that would translate into a savings of about $88 between February and July, when Eversource's rates will reset. (Obviously, I missed the boat on the full savings, which are now down to about $63.) At that point, if the new Eversource rates are higher than the city's, I can always switch back. Advertisement Another reason you might stay in the city program is because while sure, you could shop electric rates every few months and switch back and forth to whichever rate is cheaper — will you remember? And is that really how you want to spend your time? If you want to just pick one and then forget about it, the city argues the municipal plan is probably better. 'It is a price that is stable and is almost certain to give you savings over the medium run,' said Oliver Sellers-Garcia, commissioner of the Environment Department and Green New Deal Director for the city of Boston. 'For most people, my advice is, continue to stay in the program, set it and forget it. It's the easiest thing to do.' Another reason someone might stay with the city program is environmental: The city's standard rate also includes more local renewable energy than Eversource's basic rate, so if that's important to you, it could make sense to stay. Though if that's you, be aware that there are And that gets us to the most awkward part of the sudden price gap between municipal plans and the utility. Competitive electric suppliers are third-party companies that do the same thing municipalities have done: They provide an alternative to buying electricity from your utility. With competitive plans, you can pick a plan with more renewable energy or one that locks in rates for longer (or shorter) periods, depending on your preferences. Advertisement They've also been But some of the arguments against the competitive suppliers would also seemingly apply to municipal programs now. Because of those city programs, customers who don't keep an eagle eye on rates are now unwittingly paying higher prices than if they just went back to the utility. I'm not suggesting banning municipal plans. I'm glad that one of them saved me money for as long as it did. But there are plenty of competitive-supply customers who've saved money, too. The bottom line here is that nobody — not the city, not competitive suppliers, not Eversource — bats a thousand. No option is perfect, but the more of them out there, the better. Alan Wirzbicki is Globe deputy editor for editorials. He can be reached at
Boston Globe
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- Boston Globe
We're #38! And #7! And #11!
Massachusetts ranked #38 — weighed down, apparently by the condition of its urban roads, 30 percent of which were deemed in poor condition. On the other metrics Consumer Affairs considered, Massachusetts actually did quite well: Only 6.1 percent or rural roads were considered in poor condition, ahead of most states. And on arguably the most important metric of all, road fatalities, Massachusetts had the second-best score in the country, with only Rhode Island reporting fewer fatalities per 100 million miles driven. Advertisement By Consumer Affairs's reckoning, the best states were Indiana, Alabama, Idaho, Minnesota, and Kansas, in that order. The worst, from the bottom, were New Mexico, Mississippi, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Rhode Island — despite Rhode Island having the lowest fatality rate. The libertarian-leaning Reason Foundation's highway report Reason's top 5 were North Carolina, South Carolina, North Dakota, Virginia, and Tennessee. Its worst were Alaska, California, Hawaii, Washington, and Louisiana. Vermont was the 7th best in Consumer Affairs, but the 7th worst in Reason's rankings. But Vermont was first in the nation in Their report doesn't claim to reflect safety in the traditional sense, and fatality rates are relegated to a single data point in the methodology. It is, according to the nonprofit, meant to recognize states that are 'eliminating transportation greenhouse gas pollution and improving access to clean transportation.' It does give extra points to states that spend 'highway dollars on rehabilitation and repair, compared with total state spending on highways.' Advertisement Massachusetts is 7th best in this ranking. Wisconsin, despite having one of the lowest fatalities rates in the nation, is among the bottom scorers (#47) in the NRDC ranking. Perhaps it makes sense: accidents do eliminate greenhouse gas pollution, after all. Here's some other recent state-by-state rankings of roads: a Basically, all any of these rankings really tell you is what their authors consider important. I would much rather live in a place where I'm less likely to be killed on the roads, even if those roads have lots of potholes and embodied emissions, but that's just me. Your mileage may vary — and rest assured, Note: Thank you to everyone who responded to last week's newsletter about Tesla. As several readers pointed out, the contact link in the newsletter was incorrect. If you attempted to email me and your email bounced back, please This is an excerpt from , a Globe Opinion newsletter about the future of transportation in the region. Sign up to . Alan Wirzbicki is Globe deputy editor for editorials. He can be reached at
Boston Globe
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- Boston Globe
Tesla owners: I want to hear from you
Do you just want someone to listen? Well, Do you regret having lined Musk's pockets? Have you put one of those ' Advertisement Have you sold, or are you considering selling, a Tesla to avoid the stigma? Or, alternatively, are you thrilled to finally have a car that signals your MAGA values? Either way, have you experienced any sidelong looks — or more serious problems, like the And if you've scrapped plans to buy a Tesla — is your backup another electric vehicle, or a gas-powered car? Confidentially guaranteed. I may print your response, but I won't use your name, in an upcoming newsletter. This is an excerpt from , a Globe Opinion newsletter about the future of transportation in the region. Sign up to . Alan Wirzbicki is Globe deputy editor for editorials. He can be reached at
