MBTA Could Raise Fares, Defer Maintenance
Without additional funding, officials say they will be forced to make difficult choices.
MBTA riders could see fares go up in the not-so-distant future if legislators don’t accept Gov. Deval Patrick’s ambitious funding plan.
T General Manager Beverley Scott said on Tuesday that the T will likely hold off on spending $45 million for preventative maintenance and hike fairs to close a projected budget gap of $117 million, factoring in increased ridership and advertising this year, the Boston Globe reported Wednesday.
Director of Strategic Initiatives for the MBTA Charles Planck said at a March 5 MBTA finance committee meeting that fare increases could go up 33 percent under the proposal, which means subway fares would move from $2 to $2.60.
Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary and CEO Richard Davey testified before the Joint Committee on Transportation March 12 to formally present Patrick’s 21st Century Transportation Plan which calls for a $13 billion investment in transportation over the next decade.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation Board of Directors will review the T's final budget proposal March 28, the Globe reports. The deadline for approval is April 10.
Plenty O'Toole
7:42 am on Thursday, March 21, 2013
Two Words where the "T" is concerned: Federal Receivership!
Frank Harmon
10:10 am on Thursday, March 21, 2013
T = Typical. Instead of reviewing expenses, overhead, pensions, just increase the fare. No differant than our lovelt state and federal governments. Perhaps a real manager could fix the T.
Matthew
12:09 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
Once again the T users are going to be punished because of the incompetent leadership of the MBTA.
Joseph
1:03 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
Now that it's warm out, I'm going to cancel my monthly CharlieCard. Why pay for a service that is never on time and highly unreliable? Until the T starts monitoring bus drivers to ensure they stop free fares from boarding, they will never be in the black.
I bet the new boss from GA is real happy she took this job. LOL!
Matthew
1:17 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
The other day I hopped on the 93 and discovered that my Charlie Card was empty. So I pulled out my wallet to add some money too it, and the driver waved me past. I told him I'd rather pay, and did so. The driver actualy looked annoyed. I don't get it.
Matthew
1:21 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
Actually, I do get it. Rather than face the possibility of getting into an altercation with some scumbag trying to get a free ride, I bet that some operators would rather just wave people on and be done with it. Last summer I witnessed a woman spit on a driver, down by the projects, for not letting her ride for free.
Citizens for a Better T
8:30 am on Friday, March 22, 2013
CITIZENS for a BETTER T. Let's stop this crap! for 4 decades this has been a deplorable system that only increases fees, becomes more dangerous, dirty, inefficient and run down. When you defer maintenance, you compromise safety! When you pick low end contractors, you might have well as not refurbished any stations at huge cost and years of fleecing, i, e, Kenmore 6+ years of construction??!! ACCOUNTABILITY NOW! STOP the FLEECING OF THE PUBLIC. How much did they spend to market the idiotic Charlie Card campaign? How inflated are the top brass and management salaries? Boston, as much as Menino asserts and has tried to parse out the city to big developers, will never be a "world class city" because the transportation system is lamentable. Visitors wonder how this can be? The inefficiency and filth, rudeness, cost, decrepitude, in- hospitable stations etc. are a world class embarrassment!!!