Outreach to T Riders Concerning Fare Hikes and Service Cuts
Boston, April 2, 2009—With massive MBTA fare hikes and service cuts proposed for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), public transit advocates are handing out flyers at T stations alerting riders to the proposed changes and urging them to call their state legislators.
“It’s critical that T riders contact their state representative and senator to support increased funding for the MBTA,” said Lee Matsueda of the T Riders Union.
Facing a $165 million funding gap, the MBTA is considering upwards of a 30% fare increases across all modes and cutting service in half in the evenings and on the weekends.
Example of 30% fare increase across all modes:
| Mode |
Current Fare |
Increase Amount |
Increased Fare |
| Subway |
$1.70 |
$0.50 |
$2.20 |
| Bus |
$1.25 |
$0.40 |
$1.65 |
| Monthly Link Pass |
$59.00 |
$18.00 |
$77.00 |
| Zone 8 rail |
$7.75 |
$2.25 |
$10.00 |
| Monthly Zone 8 rail pass |
$250.00 |
$75.00 |
$325.00 |
Likely service cuts:
* 50% reduction in bus, subway, and commuter rail on weekends and evenings
* Elimination of 20 bus routes
* Elimination of commuter ferry
* Elimination of para-transit service, the RIDE, in 9 communitiesgetting to and from their place of employment.
Governor Patrick has filed transportation reform legislation that includes dedicating 6 cents of a 19-cent gas tax increase to the MBTA. Advocates believe this is the kind of investment needed for the state’s largest public transportation system.
Advocates say the MBTA’s unsustainable finances are caused by debt and slow growth in the state sales tax.
Huge debt: $5.2 billion principal, $8.1 billion with interest
Like the Turnpike Authority, the T suffers from almost $2 billion worth of Big Dig related debt costs. To comply with the Clean Air Act, the state was required to improve and expand public transportation to offset increased air pollution from more traffic through the Central Artery. Unfortunately the T, and not the state, was forced to finance these projects, which include the Silver Line, Greenbush commuter rail, and Blue Line modernization among many others.
Slow sales tax growth, which has generated $275 million less than projection since 2004
Ten years ago when the legislature dedicated one cent of the five cent sales tax to the MBTA, it was believed the T could easily afford its operations, pay off old debts, and support ongoing maintenance and expansion projects. At the time, almost everyone agreed that the sales tax, combined with assessments on MBTA communities and the revenues the system itself generated, would be enough.
But a slowing retail economy and the growth in Internet sales not subject to taxes has eroded the T’s largest revenue source. Instead of growing at an average of 5% or even a conservative 3%, the average sales tax growth has been around 1%--translating into $275 million less for the MBTA than was originally anticipated.
Consequences: Ridership Loss
Increasing fares by 30% would see a significant rider loss measured in the millions. For example, the last fare increase at the beginning of 2007 resulted in a loss of approximately 37 million unlinked trips (9.5% of total MBTA ridership) for that calendar year.
See Impact Analysis of the 2007 MBTA Fare Increase and Restructuring here.
Prior to the 2007 fare increase, the MBTA also analyzed similar service cuts as noted above and their ridership impact. According to the analysis prepared by the Central Transportation Planning Staff on May 10, 2006, the above service cuts would lead to an annual ridership loss of just over 18 million trips.
Many riders that don’t take the MBTA are likely making that same trip in an automobile, which means worse traffic congestion, air pollution, global warming emissions, and added deterioration of our roads and bridges in Greater Boston.
Economic and Environmental Benefits of MBTA:
* The MBTA fuels the economy of Greater Boston, which in turn generates 50 percent of the state’s jobs and 73 percent of the population. The income and business taxes on this growth are then distributed across the state to fix roads from Pittsfield to Provincetown.
* The auto trips displaced by the MBTA saved consumers from purchasing 154 million gallons of gasoi in 2006, which translated into $403 million in savings for the economyMassachusetts consumers.
* Displaced auto trips by MBTA Ssaved 21 million hours of traffic delay for commuters in 2006.
* Displaced auto trips by MBTA rReduced carbon emissions by 1.2 million metric tons in 2006, the equivalent of taking 225,000 cars off the road every day.
All data from MASSPIRG report A Better Way to Go: Meeting America’s 21st Century Transportation Challenges with Modern Public Transit.
