Join us to hear from two influential leaders as they discuss how the Commonwealth can lead the AI Revolution.
01/21/2025
9:30am - 11:00am
Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
Hear from James E. Rooney about the state of the economy, and how it all matters to businesses, residents, and policymakers.
01/22/2025
2:00pm - 2:30pm
Virtual
Join on us on Friday, January 31, as we host our highly anticipated 2025 Pinnacle Awards Luncheon.
01/31/2025
11:00am - 1:30pm
Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport
Go deeper than basic DEI training to achieve higher productivity, satisfaction, and revenue growth with our new corporate workshop.
Join our Transformational DEI Certificate! Our comprehensive learning & development offerings are designed to connect and grow strong leaders who lead both inside and out of the office.
Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.
Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.
City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.
We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).
The Fierce Urgency of Now Festival brings Boston’s diverse young professionals together with business leaders, organizations, and their peers to build connection, advance careers and ignite positive change.
09/14/2024 -
09/17/2024
Suffolk University - Sargent Hall
Small businesses are the backbone of the Boston economy. Learn more about the resources available through the Chamber.
BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.
For 30 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.
The Massachusetts Apprentice Network convenes employers, training providers, and talent sources interested in developing and implementing apprenticeship programs in occupations across industries and statewide in fields such as tech, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and more.
Explore our mission and values to better understand how we are leading the business community forward.
Our member directory is your resource to discover, connect, and engage with Boston’s businesses from every industry and sector.
Warning that congestion in and around Boston is bringing the city to a standstill, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday called on state policymakers to come up with a long-term, reliable revenue source for building road and public transit infrastructure.
“Rather than ad-hoc fare and gas tax increases, the state should develop a long-range plan to fund investments in transportation infrastructure,” the chamber said in a policy brief. The brief said it would be a mistake to rely on the proposed millionaire tax, which, even if it passes, would be subject to volatility. Instead, the chamber backed unspecified user fees with the revenue dedicated exclusively for transportation.
The policy brief portrayed the region’s congestion problem in stark terms. “The demand exceeds the capacity of the current road system, and that problem is exacerbated by an unreliable and underdeveloped public transportation system that forces people into cars. The result: gridlock on area roads and a threat to the region’s continued and future economic success.”
The chamber said metro Boston added more than 500,000 car commuters over the last 35 years, even as the region’s population grew by only 29 percent. As a result, the average number of hours drivers spend in congestion annually has grown from 31 to 60. The problem is likely to worsen, as the size of the Greater Boston labor force is expected to increase by 175,000 by 2040.
The report noted that 13 percent of Greater Boston residents use public transit, a much higher percentage than the national average of 5 percent. But at the same time three-quarters of the region’s workers rely on a car for their daily commute, and 90 percent drive alone.
Jim Rooney, the chamber’s president, said use of public transit needs to go up. “The most effective way to relieve congestion is through more public transit ridership,” he said in a statement. “To do that we need a reliable transit system that maximizes existing capacity, strategic expansion, and a long-range comprehensive plan for the region’s entire transportation infrastructure.”
The chamber’s policy brief follows on the heels of other studies warning about rising congestion in and around Boston and the need for more revenues for transportation infrastructure. Senate President Harriette Chandler called for additional revenue earlier this week. And Joseph Aiello, the chairman of the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board, said the panel’s members may begin discussing revenue options later this year.
Gov. Charlie Baker has not embraced the need for new revenues, suggesting the T can manage existing resources more efficiently and effectively. He has also noted that major improvements at the T – new Red and Orange Line cars, for example – are just a few years away. The governor in February appointed a commission to study the future of transportation, but officials say the group won’t be looking at how to pay for the infrastructure needed to make that future possible.
Read this article on CommonWealthMagazine.org.
Popular Resources