For Your Inconvenience

Deval Patrick's transportation secretary thinks you have it too easy, and isn't afraid to say so.

"It should not be inexpensive to park at convenient facilities in the middle of Logan Airport," Aloisi said. "We need people to understand that there are better ways to get to Logan."

In question is a proposed $2 "carbon tax" to be added to all Logan parking, including short-term. Just as a year ago everyone was sneaking "fuel surcharges" to the tab, I expect that "carbon offsets" will add 10% or so to every fee charged by a governmental body. "Concrete tax" would be a better term as that's what the money will most likely be spent on, though the beauty of it is that since consumer behavior modification is the point, you can justify the tax as a "green initiative" even if it's spent buying the mayor a new SUV.

But what really galls is the "we need people to understand there are better ways to get to Logan." Because, as you know, people just love inconvenience. That's right, why sit in your own car, leave when you feel like it, not worry at all about how to get home when your flight arrives at 2am after your connection in O'Hare got canceled, when you have buses that run every hour, subways that stop at midnight, and taxis that you sometimes have to wait an hour for. The nerve!

I have flown out of Logan hundreds of times and have parked there fewer than ten, not because I give a shit about the planet, but because taking a cab was cheaper and/or I didn't have to worry about how many drinks I had at Cheers in O'Hare. Truth be told, drinking accounts for most of my personal enthusiasm for mass transit. I would rather spend my money on booze than cab fare, and stopping at two drinks is like going home with somebody and sleeping with all your clothes on. In any case, those people who choose to brave the Expressway, pay the soon-to-be-$7 tunnel toll, and navigate the spaghetti circus of ramps to pick up their loved ones, are doing so because it is the best option for them.