Will the MBTA Cuts Harm Your Health?

With the looming MBTA cuts, a surge of extra vehicles on the road could increase pollution, accidents, and rates of obesity. A new report from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council estimates between $272 million and $386 million in additional traffic, fuel, and hospital visits, as well as between 10-15 additional deaths per year from automobile accidents, according to the 20-pager conducted with the Harvard School of Public Health and the BU School of Public Health. “These are conservative estimates that only account for automobile accidents, the loss of routine physical activity performed by transit users to reach bus and T service each day, and the health effects of several well-studied air pollutants,” the authors wrote in the study. [Globe]