FlyORH: Add Worcester to the Logan Express Route

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Bill Randell, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

Adding ORH to the Logan Express bus route would bring several benefits, believes Bill Randell.

Massport operates a bus service called Logan Express from:

    •   Braintree
   •   Peabody
   •   Framingham
   •   Woburn

Fares

    •   Adult One-Way Fare: $12.00
   •   Adult Round Trip Fare: $22.00
   •   Senior (65+) One-Way Fare: $11.00
   •   Senior (65+) Round Trip Fare: $20.00
   •   Children (17 and under) ride free

If you leave your car in any of these lots, the parking is $7 per day. Sound familiar? The parking at ORH is also $7 per day ($42 per week). Why not add ORH to the Logan Express route map? Simply extend the Framingham route: Worcester-Framingham-Boston.

Two birds, one stone

There are many people around Worcester who fly out of Boston. Let them board a bus at Worcester Airport and get a ride to Boston. It would give Boston a competitive edge in Central Mass versus other airports that Boston competes with. It has done quite well for them out of New Hampshire with the Boston Express.

It would also give Worcester Airport exposure to people taking the bus to Boston. More importantly, it would give passengers an option to get to ORH! Avoid all the discussions of the lack of an access road. Between improved commuter service to Union Station and Logan Express to ORH, we can make ORH a very easy place to reach.

Lastly, as we all know fog has been a problem to date. If we had ground transportation in place, it would make it much easier for airlines and passengers to deal with diverted flights. Massport now owns Worcester Airport, let’s connect it Boston to benefit both airports.

Bill Randell is the President of Advantage Benefits, an insurance brokerage house specializing in employee benefits with an emphasis on health insurance, based in Worcester since 1992. He can be contacted at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter (@FlyORH).

Related Slideshow: 7 Questions Worcester Mayor Petty Will Need To Answer

The following are seven big questions facing Worcester Mayor Petty in his secon term in office.

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1) City Manager's Position May Be Vacant

Michael O'Brien may leave to take a position in the private sector. O'Brien has been the proverbial glue that has held City Hall together. O'Brien is a competent fiscal manager and keeps the peace among the City Council.

Top-level government pros are NOT likely to line up for the Worcester job. Petty will be on the hot seat to find talent in the post-O'Brien era.

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2) Economic Development Mixed Reviews

The recent series in the Boston Globe and the overview in GoLocal outlined the lack of success Worcester has had in creating a comprehensive economic development plan. The results of the new construction has created some hope, but there lacks a comprehensive vision and the building seems to be developed in a vacuum. Mayor Petty seems to be extraneous except for the ribbon cutting ceremonies.

The biggest embarrassment was his lack of input into the casino process. Petty had no public opinion on the projects proposed in Worcester or the projects in adjacent towns.

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3) New Council

The new City Council will have its own personality, while the old council failed to debate or discuss - and too often voted in block.

A number of the council members just elected have promised to be more proactive. This could be a challenge for Petty -- or an opportunity to drive proactive change leveraging new ideas and new energy.

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4) Telegram Closing?

Since John Henry purchased both the Boston Globe and the Worcester Telegram, there have been a series of indications that Henry has a strong desire to invest in the Globe and has not said a public word or even visited the Telegram. Media experts have prophesied that the Telegram could be rolled into the Globe - a Globe West edition.

This would leave New England's second largest city without a daily newspaper. What has been deafening is Petty's lack of leadership on this issue. Can you imagine Tom Menino or Buddy Cianci waiting for a decision to be made on Morrissey Boulevard?

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5) Lack of Diversity in Worcester's Government

As GoLocal previously reported, more than 40 percent of Worcester's population is a minority, but you would not know it by who gets the city jobs. Worcester has more than 1,600 full- and part-time city employees and well over 80 percent of them are white.

In almost every department, the number of white workers far outnumbers minorities; some departments are as much as 98 percent white. It is a startling disparity in a city known for its diversity. There has been no concerted public effort to change this by Petty.

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6) Republican Governor Factor

Worcester may not be as wired to the Patrick Administration since Lt. Governor Murray resigned and returned to Worcester, but the Democratic Mayor can get his phone calls answered in the State House.

The next Governor of the Commonwealth could be Charlie Baker. The Democrats are looking at a bruising primary between AG Martha Coakley and Treasurer Steve Grossman, while Charlie Baker is looking like he may get a free ride through the GOP primary. Baker may not be so quick to be concerned about Joe Petty's phone calls.

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7) Legacy

Every Mayor wants to leave his or her city better than they found it -- and wanst to put a mark on the history of the City. Some Mayors focus on schools and others on major developments.

Mayor Petty has yet to define his priorities and the second term is the time to unveil a game plan on why he was the man for the job.