Year-To-Year Travel Down At Logan Airport
BOSTON (CBS) - The Blue Angels made a practice run over Logan Airport on Thursday but the big news was made on the ground.
On November 17th, Massport released its passenger numbers for October and reported its first year-to-year decline in over two years at the Boston Airport. Richard Davey, Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth, chaired his first meeting of the Authority's Board of Directors. Both items mean change for Logan Airport.
"When the final tallies were complete, Logan Airport passengers were down .9 percent from October, 2010, a drop of approximately 22,000 passengers," said interim CEO David Mackey in his report to the board.
Logan numbers through 10 months of this year still show an almost six percent growth of people using the airport. Still the drop apparently caught Massport by surprise. One month doesn't make a trend, but it may make it difficult for Logan to reach its all-time high passenger forecast of 29 million for this year.
Richard Davey may be the first chairman of the Massport Board to arrive on the MBTA for his first meeting as chairman. I went along for the ride.
RIDING WITH DAVEY
We met at the Copley Square Green Line Station at 7 a.m. Davey had an 8 a.m. meeting with David Mackey an hour later. Conversing with the Secretary, you can understand how much he likes the MBTA and transportation.
When we get off the trolley to change to the Blue Line, he picks up a coffee cup dropped on the platform and puts it in the trash. He is very proud of the new Blue Line stations and trains. He would like to see flight information status boards available at places like South Station for people taking the Silver Line to Logan.
Another transfer at the Airport Blue Line station to the Route 66 bus that will take us to Massport headquarters on Harborside Drive. But the bus does not appear. Davey is impatient. Unannounced, he goes down the platform to an unmarked small Paul Revere Transportation bus. Yes, the driver will take us to our destination. He had no idea that he was carrying the Massport Chairman.
Davey believes in communication and the Massport Board may be going to see some changes by the next meeting in January.
When you attend the monthly MBTA and Department of Transportation board meetings downtown at the State Transportation Building, the first order of business is for any person to sign up and then comment on matters coming before the board. Davey wants more transparency at Massport meetings and you will probably see community input after the first of the year.
Bob Weiss and "All Things Travel" can be heard weekends on WBZ.
