Yesterday, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) announced a proposal to combine fair hikes and service cuts in order to minimize its $161 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2013.
Under the proposal, the cost of a bus ride would increase by 25 cents and a light rail fare would increase by 30 cents. Charlie Card bus rides would cost $1.50, 25 cents more than they do now. Riders using Charlie Cards on the subway would pay $2, an 18 percent increase over the $1.70 customers currently pay. Monthly pass prices would increase by 29 percent to $70, and ferry service would cost 33 percent more than it does now. Changes would be effective July 1 if approved by the MBTA's board on April 4.
The MBTA deserves some credit for listening to patrons' loud and frequent demands that it avoid significant route cuts. One earlier budget-reducing proposal suggested cutting over 200 bus routes and increasing average fares by 35 percent, while another would've cut 60 routes and increased fares by 43 percent.
Perhaps more importantly, this most recent plan would cut only four weekday bus routes, as well as weekend commuter rail service on three infrequently used lines and weekend ferry service to Quincy.
Tufts students and residents of Somerville should be particularly thankful. Jumbos were spared the potential end of the 96-bus route from Davis Square to Harvard Square, which serves Tufts on Boston and College Aves. Somerville would not suffer any of the six earlier proposed bus route cuts. Medford residents, though, would not be so lucky. The 710 bus, run by Joseph's Transportation, and the 355 express bus, which stops in Medford Square on its way to Woburn and Boston, would be cut.
But the MBTA is once again failing to address its long-term budget disaster. MBTA CEO Richard A. Davey acknowledged that the plan would only be helpful for one year, and that he and his colleagues would have to reconsider cuts and fair hikes next year, with unpopular decisions seemingly imminent. Governor Deval Patrick said the proposal is akin to "patches and plugs." The MBTA has failed to seriously consider long-term solutions to its ever-growing budget shortfall.
The MBTA has siphoned $7 million from unused snow removal money, $5 million from leasing the North Station parking garage and $51 million from the state motor vehicle inspection fund. These fund redirections are a good start, but more should be done to deflect the budget burden away from commuters.
Corporate tax rates in the state are down to eight percent, and the state income tax rate is consistent for all income levels. Massachusetts' five richest residents are worth $24 billion collectively, and the MBTA's budget shortfall is less than a percentage point of that figure. Additionally, the majority of Boston's universities serviced by the "T" don't pay property taxes, including Harvard, the richest university in the country. Imagine the possibilities of increased property and income taxes on the extremely wealthy for increased access to public transportation across the city.
The proposal's fare increases threaten riders' likelihood of choosing public transit for short trips. When an estimated nine to 17 percent fewer people use the MBTA, the fare hikes could fail to generate increased funds. Instead, perhaps tolls should be increased to encourage public transit use and generate more revenue.
Nearly a million people rely on the MBTA each day, many of them low-income students, seniors and workers. Now is not the time for the MBTA to think about the short-term; instead, approaches to ensure a sustainable public transit future should be given more consideration. The most recent proposal fails to do this, and thus, the future of Boston's public transportation remains in limbo.
