If you thought traffic was bad before the pandemic, wait until this fall.

“I don’t think anyone wants to take the T,” said Emily, who has driven to work since last summer, but recently restarted taking the MBTA, due to the lack of a parking space and worsening traffic.

In 2019, Boston area drivers already faced soul-crushing congestion. While traffic dropped drastically during the pandemic, as of late June, MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said at a meeting that traffic on most roadways is back to 2019 levels, and travel times are returning to their previous lengths. And that’s with many Boston area companies deciding not to require workers to return to the office until September.

On this week’s episode of Mass Reboot, a Codcast series examining how COVID-19 affected Massachusetts and how the state is adjusting moving forward, House Transportation Chair Rep. William Straus and Monica Tibbits-Nutt, executive director of the 128 Business Council, a transportation management association and regional transit provider, talked about the anticipated uptick in traffic – and what can be done to address it.

Straus said a big part of the problem is people are not yet comfortable taking public transit due to the health risks of COVID-19. “I think what you’re seeing is a lot of the people on the roads are people who pre-pandemic might have used public transit, might have carpooled, but they’re not,” Straus said.

Tibbits-Nutt worried that without steps taken to alleviate the problem, a horrific congestion situation pre-pandemic will morph into “a parking lot across all of our highway systems.”

One unknown is how many workers will return to the office. Many offices are envisioning a hybrid model of work permanently. But Straus said there is still a need for the full system of roads, bridges, trains, and buses. He noted that transit is needed not just to get to work, but for general mobility. And despite all those who can work remotely, there are many employees – like emergency service workers – who must work in person.

Tibbits-Nutt said a big part of getting people out of their cars is figuring out how to provide better transportation options. “You have to make public transit better and more convenient than using a car,” she said. For example, 128 Business Council is looking into using money from private employers to create shuttle services, with vehicles equipped with trays, tables, and wi-fi.

Straus stressed the importance of regional rail, like the planned South Coast Rail, which would connect Boston to cities like New Bedford and Fall River. Today, commuting from those areas could take two hours by car, due to traffic. Tibbits-Nutt said regional rail could help alleviate congestion if train service runs frequently enough and with affordable enough fares. Tibbits-Nut said she lives a 15-minute walk away from a commuter rail station – but the train runs infrequently, and it is cheaper for her to own a car than take the train.

There have been discussions on Beacon Hill and in local communities about the possibility of lowering or eliminating fares, whether on commuter rail lines, buses, or parts of the MBTA system, but so far no action has been taken.

Tibbits-Nutt talked about the importance of providing accessible bus service, with dedicated lanes for buses. Straus said there could be ways to use streets more efficiently, to provide more travel lanes while moving parking off the street.

Of course, the ability to improve transit enough that people are willing to take it will take money – and attempts to raise revenue have been controversial on Beacon Hill, and often faced opposition from Republican Gov. Charlie Baker. “People are under the impression that the gas tax that they pay pays for them to drive on the road,” Straus said. “It actually doesn’t come anywhere near paying the cost of maintaining the road.” 

SHIRA SCHOENBERG

FROM COMMONWEALTH

Sacklers settle: Members of the family that owns Purdue Pharma agree to pay $4.3 billion to settle claims that their actions perpetuated the opioid addiction epidemic. Under the settlement, Massachusetts would receive $90 million.

— Attorney General Maura Healey, who initiated the lawsuit, accused the Sackler family of misleading the public about the drugs their company manufactured and spawning the addiction crisis by pushing the prescription of opioid drugs to patients for longer periods at higher doses. “The perpetrators who created this crisis are villains for the history books,” Healey said. Read more.

Come back: With ridership a fraction of what it was before the pandemic and road congestion rising, the MBTA launches a one-month, $40,000 radio ad campaign to put riders back in the seats. Read more.

Boncore to MassBio? Sen. Joseph Boncore of Winthrop is telling people he’s going to take the top job at the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, but the council itself says the search for a new chief is continuing. Read more.

Budget breeze: Lawmakers based their budget plans for the current fiscal year on a tax revenue estimate that turned out to be way too low, so House and Senate negotiators trying to resolve differences between the two branches upped the estimate by $4.2 billion and made reaching agreement fairly easy. 

— The extra money made it possible to avoid tapping the rainy day fund, take the higher number in any spending dispute between the two branches, set aside $350 million for future funding of the Student Opportunity Act, and plunk $250 million down to reduce state pension liabilities.

— A Senate proposal to raise the fees assessed on Uber and Lyft rides to fund transit was cut from the budget bill. Read more.

Mariano wins big: The budget eliminates the sunset date for the film tax credit, making it permanent, which was a high priority of House Speaker Ron Mariano. Senate proposals to rein in spending on the film subsidy were dropped, although a Senate initiative to keep more spending in Massachusetts did survive. The provision requires 75 percent of filming days or spending to take place in Massachusetts, up from 50 percent in the current law. Read more.

FROM AROUND THE WEB

BEACON HILL

Some states that let immigrants without legal status obtain drivers’ licenses found that the federal government obtained data about those immigrants. Advocates are proposing changes to a drivers’ license bill in Massachusetts to make sure that doesn’t happen here, even if the state begins letting undocumented immigrants get licenses. (MassLive)

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

The Select Board in Hadley axes the chief of the Conservation Board for not being a “team player” in issuing camping permits, prompting an exodus of other board members. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

HEALTH/HEALTH CARE

Pfizer will seek US authorization for a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, saying it could boost immunity against COVID variants. But US health officials say fully vaccinated individuals do not yet need a booster. (Associated Press)

Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Sen. Elizabeth Warren say the Baker administration should continue reporting the demographics of people who are hospitalized due to COVID-19, after a change to COVID data reporting eliminated that metric. (MassLive)

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee signs into law a bill authorizing the creation of supervised drug injection sites. Somerville is considering such a site in Massachusetts. (Associated Press)

ELECTIONS

Five candidates are now vying to replace North Adams Mayor Tom Bernard. (Berkshire Eagle)

EDUCATION

A facility to train offshore wind workers is coming to New Bedford as early as next spring. The repurposed seafood packaging facility will house classrooms, obstacle courses, and a deepwater pool to train and recertify workers. The project is a partnership between Denmark-based Maersk Training and Bristol Community College. (Herald News)

A professor at Holy Cross College accused of sexual misconduct by a student sues the school for firing him to satisfy angry campus members, after the school’s investigation cleared him of misconduct. (Telegram & Gazette)

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

Gov. Charlie Baker asks the Environmental Protection Agency to add a stretch of the Neponset River running through Dorchester and Hyde Park to its national priority list, making it eligible for Superfund status. (Dorchester Reporter)

Fishing industry feels stranded as offshore wind farms gain regulatory momentum. (Connecticut Public Radio)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS

The man accused of stabbing a rabbi outside a Jewish school in Boston is now facing hate crimes charges. (Associated Press)

A district court judge rejects a plea deal worked out between the Berkshire district attorney’s office and the defense lawyer for the former head of the Susan B. Anthony Museum in North Adams. The judge indicated the plea deal, which erased a potential felony conviction for embezzling $31,000, was too lenient. (Berkshire Eagle)