Editorial | MBTA fare hikes are just a Band−Aid

Boston−area college students owe much of their social lives and weekend plans to the convenience of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) subway and bus lines. But in recent years, sweeping changes have complicated students' ability to get around the city.

Since November, weekend service shutdowns on the Red Line from Alewife to Harvard Square have made scheduling trips to Boston an unnecessary hassle. Now, with its newest proposal, the MBTA may go even further in limiting the efficiency of its service.

The MBTA earlier this month unveiled two proposals for alleviating its enormous budget deficit. Both call for fare increases — one of 43 and one of 35 percent. The 35−percent plan cuts over 200 bus routes; the 43−percent plan cuts around 60. Both plans rely mainly on two measures to increase revenue: fare hikes and service cuts. Under either plan, the commuter rail would not run on weekends or after 10 p.m. Ferry service and service on the Heath Street branch of the green line would be cut completely.

Public response to the proposals has been unenthusiastic, to say the least. Apart from their irritation at having to spend fifty to seventy cents more per train ride, people have attacked the plan as a rushed and poorly thought−out solution to a deeper problem. Citizens of the South Shore have argued that if the ferries to Boston are gone, the area's revitalization will be put in jeopardy. Occupy Boston has spawned a related movement called Occupy MBTA with the goal of pressuring government officials to back off the proposed changes to public transit. Their view echoes the view of many Boston area−residents — that neither cutting transit lines nor raising rates is an acceptable solution to the MBTA's budget shortfall.

It is obvious that the MBTA's financial struggles are serious: It currently has a $375 million budget shortfall, and its projected revenue for the next fiscal year is more than $180 million below its operating costs. So administrators are right to point out that measures must be taken to attempt to close the gap. But cutting service or increasing prices will not fix the fundamental issue: More people need to ride in order for the transportation system to become cost−effective. Increasing fares will only decrease ridership, doing even more damage to the agency. Even MBTA interim General Manager Jonathan Davis seems to agree that the proposed budget reduction measures will backfire. "If we are required to implement some of the service reductions that are in our proposals, we will see decreased ridership," he said.

He estimates that ridership will decrease by nine to 17 percent, a sobering thought that highlights the flaws in the MBTA's approach. But there are ways to increase the number of subway and bus patrons while helping the bottom line. One method would be to increase tolls on roads that lead in or out of the city. This would likely push more commuters toward mass transit and add revenue through the increased toll cost. Measures like this one, designed to increase the T's ridership rather than make sweeping changes to the system itself, would be easier to implement and are much less likely to cause backlash and leave some people, as Davis said, "without a public transit option."