If you haven't heard, the T is facing a large operating budget shortfall [Globe/Herald].
I went to a public meeting when the MBTA considered raising fares a couple years ago (and taxes were raised to avoid an increase). Someone explained the budgetary pickle much like this article.
Currently, there appears to be 2 potential proposals of fare increases & service reductions that can be reviewed in a "Discussion Guide" on the MBTA site.
There are PDF and Word versions in English, Cape Verdean, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. FYI, both of them screw the riders in any language...
The full schedule of related public meetings is listed below, and they begin tonight and are free to attend!
Someone recently asked me what can be done. It seems like there are a handful of options that come to mind:
1) Go to one of the public meetings to share your personal transit story and/or express general outrage.It's my understanding that at least a few MBTA board members are supposed to be at each meeting, so your voice will be heard.
2) Start/sign an online petition to protest the changes -- or to call for an independent audit of the MBTA books.
3) Follow a burgeoning "Occupy the MBTA" on Facebook or Twitter and see what ideas pop up.
4) Hold a fundraiser for the T.
As I see it, the public needs to express their opinion on fares and services. The MBTA will feel empowered to do whatever they want if we don't participate at all.
TUES 1/17
5:30pm to 7:30pmWED 1/18
Newton City Hall, War Memorial Hall, 1000 Commonwealth Ave
6pm to 8pm
Worcester Public Library, Saxe Room, 3 Salem Square
6pm to 8pmTHUR 1/19
Chelsea Public Library, Auditorium, 569 Broadway
6pm to 8pmMON 1/23
Roxbury Community College, Auditorium, 1234 Columbus Ave
1pm to 3pmTUES 1/24
4:30pm to 6:30pm
State Transportation Building, Floor 2, Conference Rooms 2 & 3, 10 Park Plaza, Boston
4:30pm to 8pmWED 1/25
Attleboro High School, 100 Rathbun Willard Drive
6pm to 8pmTUES 1/31
Salem City Hall Annex, 3rd Floor Conference Room, 120 Washington St
6pm to 8pmWED 2/1
Mildred Avenue Community Center, 5 Mildred Ave, Mattapan
6pm to 8pmTHUR 2/2
Hennigan Community Center Cafeteria, 200 Heath St, Jamaica Plain
1pm to 3pmMON 2/6
6pm to 8pm
Dorchester House Multi-Service Center, Multi-Purpose Room, 1353 Dorchester Avenue
5pm to 7pmTUES 2/7
Lowell City Hall Council Chambers, 375 Merrimack Street
6pm to 8pmWED 2/8
Lynn City Council Chambers, 3 City Hall Square
4:30pm to 6:30pmMON 2/13
Shriners Hospital Auditorium, 51 Blossom St, Boston (behind MGH)
6pm to 8pm
Hingham Town Hall, Central Meeting Room, 210 Central Street
6pm to 8pmTUES 2/14
Boston Public Library, Boston Room, 700 Boylston Street
6pm to 8pmWED 2/15
Framingham Town Hall, 150 Concord Street
6:30pm to 8:30pmTHUR 2/16
Quincy High School Auditorium, 100 Coddington Street6pm to 8pm(Thanks, Jen, for the update!)
Thomas Crane Public Library Community Room, 40 Washington St, Quincy
6pm to 8pmTUES 2/28
Malden City Council Chambers, 200 Pleasant Street
6pm to 8pmWED 2/29
Somerville High School Auditorium, 81 Highland Avenue
6pm to 8pmTHUR 3/1
Cambridge City Hall Council Chambers, 795 Mass Ave6pm to 8pm
Cambridge Citywide Senior Center, 806 Mass Ave
6pm to 8pmTUES 3/6
Government Center Auditorium, 119 School Street, Waltham
6pm to 8pm
Massasoit Community College, Liberal Arts Building, Lecture Hall LA 560
1 Massasoit Boulevard, Brockton
1 comment:
I suggest those of us who want sustained, if not improved public transit in Greater Boston, take a cold, hard look at not just protesting, but proposing what it is that we do support to fix the T's finances. That is, if want decent, or even improved transit, we do have to pay for it somehow. Certainly I believe the massive, all-at-once fare increases and simultaneous service cuts will do nothing but undermine the public will to support paying for the system at all. Either of the two proposed courses of action are nothing more than a recipe for self-assured failure and decline of the MBTA.
As for what I support, I would think regular, incremental fare adjustments, might be sensible, but aren't the full answer of course. Squeezing out inefficiencies and refinancing, or shifting debt, are not real solutions either. At the end of the day, I believe we must levy some sort of taxation that unlike the sales tax formula, actually brings in the amount needed to fund operations and capital repairs and improvements for the T.
Mass Inc., a non-partisan think-tank has some truly reasonable and realistic proposals; backed by cold-hard data that I believe we all should take a good look at, and debate. http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.massinc.org%2FResearch%2FMoving-Forward-with-Funding.aspx&h=yAQHow-hNAQH_tnfxmk2clAiMs6kx7-fSyPj09egfiC9hNg
Divided among the denizens of Greater Boston, the MBTA funding gap is not an outrageous figure; perhaps a couple hundred dollars per head depending on how you slice it. If that would yield transit that is reliable and of good quality; I for one would be willing to pay more than my share of such a bargain! Heck, I'd without pause, agree to pay double or triple that in added taxes each year. I know the alternative, owning and using a car for my primary mode of transport would easily cost me $10,000 a year or more; not to mention the cost of the externalities.
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