Now, don't me wrong, here: I think APTA's National Dump the Pump Day (which is today, by the way) is a good idea.  But ever since the 2006 MBTA fare hike, which became a campaign issue briefly in the gubernatorial race that year, I have thought a better approach to demonstrating the real impact of the automobile on the economy and urban life in general would be the exact opposite of a Dump the Pump Day.

I remember then-Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey dismissing the issue of spiraling fares by characterizing investment in public transportation as a "subsidy" and arguing that taxpayers should not have to bear the burden of this frivolous service. 

I thought then that the best way to show skeptics the connection between Boston's economy and its system of public transportation would be to have a day when buses, trains and trams didn't run, and everyone who had a car had to drive in (one person to a car, needless to say).

The city would be at a standstill.  The impact would be immediately clear. 

Our system of public transportation is not a luxury.  Of course, anyone who's ever used it knows that much.  But all joking aside, this city could not survive without it.  Commuting into Boston by car is already a misery.  Can you imagine adding almost a million and a half car commuters per weekday?

Car commuters are obvious beneficiaries of public transit, but don't seem to have a clue.  Maybe a "Flee the T Day" would teach them a lesson.