[Street] MBTA fare and Service Changes

Joseph Ramsey jgramsey at gmail.com
Wed Jan 11 13:52:22 EST 2012


I concur with Eli's description of last night's Occupy the T meeting.

Just thought I would add three quick bits:

1)  The link to the actual "Charlie on the MTA" song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VMSGrY-IlU

2)  I have started a (barebones) "Occupy the T" facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/events/167467446688614/?ref=ts#!/groups/272675306130545/
Eli, would you like to be added as an administrator for this group?  Please
join it folks!

3)  I want to echo Eli's point about the symbollic connection between the
percentage of T revenue going to big banks (specifically: J.P
Morgan/Chase-Manhattan, Morgan Stanley, DeutscheBank, and UBS) to pay
interest on debt, and the actual t fare cost. If we could force these banks
to eat the debt, and get the state to step in to subsidize, we could
honestly call for free public transit in the city.  This, as Eli points
out, would be not only a pocketbook victory for working people, but a major
symbollic and material environmental and public health victory as well.

That and the irony of the song's victim being the icon of the Charlie card
makes "Free Charlie!" almost too perfect as a potential slogan.
-Joe
On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 1:35 PM, Eli Cohen <elcoh002 at mail.goucher.edu>wrote:

> The sense I got from last night was that it is a fair assessment. The debt
> is primarily from the Big Dig, so there is also an equity issue. They
> essentially forced T riders to subsidize the Big Dig which primarily
> benefited drivers. Most of the environmental economists and activists I've
> talked to have said that things should work the other way around; we should
> be paying for public transit through a carbon tax, congestion charge, or
> something else like that.
>
> As promised, a few messaging and action items that were brought up last
> night:
> - There were about 25 people there, with about half identifying themselves
> primarily as Occupiers. There were several (awesome) folks from the Center
> for Teen Empowerment who hosted this, and a couple local labor and
> community organizers (one from Somerville Community Corporation. The
> meeting focused mostly on Somerville, but with the recognition that we
> should be allying with groups all over the Greater Boston Area.
> - We mostly brainstormed; no specific actions were planned, in part
> because we wanted to wait until after Thursday's meeting hosted by the T
> Riders Union. We do have ideas:
> - We could gather small groups to mic-check or hand out information on the
> T, particularly on the bus routes that are going to be cut.
> - Fun fact: 30% of T's budget comes from fares (the rest comes from the
> state). Also, 30% of the budget is tied up in paying off interest on loans.
> That means that if the bank forgave the MBTA's loans, that money would be
> enough to maintain current service levels and have *no fares* (i.e. free
> public transit). Something to think about.
> - One participant suggested we use the above fun fact to frame a "free
> Charlie" campaign. The irony hit me last night that "Charlie<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.T.A.>"
> (from the CharlieCard and CharlieTicket) is based on a song written to
> oppose fare hikes.
>
> There's probably much more to be said, but I'll wait until after tomorrow
> night's meeting with the T Rider's Union when we hopefully have the
> beginning of an action plan. In the meantime, if anyone wants to start
> putting together quarter-sheets and other informational materials, I'm sure
> they'll come in handy in the long run.
>
> -Eli
>
> On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 10:04 PM, Reed <fb at occupyboston.org> wrote:
>
>> It's likely that everybody on the list has read "Born Broke", the MBTA
>> Advisory Board's run-down of the MBTA funding situation, but
>> in case anybody hasn't and is interested it's enlightening:
>>
>> http://mbta.com/uploadedfiles/Documents/Financials/Born_Broke.pdf
>>
>> It gives more detail on the Forward Funding arrangement initiated in
>> 2000 which earmarked 20% of state sales tax revenue and transferred
>> $3.3 billion in state debt to the MBTA and concludes:
>>
>> "The fairest, most equitable and fiscally
>> prudent step the Commonwealth could
>> take to make the T whole for next year
>> and for years to come would be to take
>> back its $3.3 billion in debt. Such an
>> action would save the MBTA hundreds
>> of millions of dollars in annual debt
>> service costs and free up financial
>> resources to operate the system and
>> reduce the backlog of maintenance
>> needs. Most importantly, it would make
>> the T whole in FY10 and for many,
>> years to come."
>>
>> The document says that about half of the MBTA's projected deficits
>> can be attributed to "increased debt service payments".
>>
>> Can anybody speak to this? Is it an accurate, honest assessment?
>>
>> Cheers,
>> R.
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 01:56:09AM +0000, Nicole Sullivan  wrote:
>> > Thanks for posting it! I was working on a spreadsheet with this info
>> before the GA clusterfuck and then it kind of fell by the wayside.
>> >
>> >
>> > Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>> >
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: Eli Cohen <elcoh002 at mail.goucher.edu>
>> > Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:52:02
>> > To: <lindajenkins177 at yahoo.com>
>> > Cc: <street at lists.occupyboston.org>
>> > Subject: Re: [Street] MBTA fare and Service Changes
>> >
>> > The info Daniel shared came from the MBTA's informational packet, which
>> can be found here:
>> >
>> > http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/?id=23567
>> >
>> > It includes the history, their reasoning for the cuts/fare hikes, the
>> details of the two proposals, and the list of community meeting
>> dates/locations. Worth thumbing through, and basically lays out the
>> information in as succinct a way as you can, with that many numbers to deal
>> with. I may not like what the MBTA is doing, but props to whoever they
>> hired to do brochure layout :-)
>> >
>> > For those of you not interested in the details, the big picture is
>> this: "proposal 1" has more fare increases and less service cuts, "proposal
>> 2" has more service cuts and less fare increases. They're giving us the
>> illusion of choice by letting the public choose which terrible option is
>> less terrible, but from what I heard at tonight's meeting in Somerville,
>> our message is "none of the above." More detailed report-back on that later.
>> >
>> >
>> > On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 6:18 PM, Linda Jenkins <
>> lindajenkins177 at yahoo.com <mailto:lindajenkins177 at yahoo.com> > wrote:
>> >  Very helpful-and not a little frightening, actually.
>> >  Linda
>> >
>> >  Sent on the fly.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >  On Jan 10, 2012, at 5:24 PM, Daniel Mc <danielm at occupyboston.org<mailto:
>> danielm at occupyboston.org> > wrote:
>> >
>> >  > Hi All,
>> >  >
>> >  > Wanted to send this along so we have a better understanding of what
>> the MBTA itself will be doing in the coming weeks.
>> >  >
>> >  > It would be great to have a presence at the public hearings that
>> they hold and also to better educate ourselves on exactly what is being
>> done. Some info below.
>> >  >
>> >  >
>> >  > Best,
>> >  > --
>> >  > Daniel.
>> >  > Occupy Boston Outreach Committee
>> >  > **Use this email for all things occupy**
>> >  >
>> >  >
>> >  >
>> >  >
>> >  >
>> >  > ----- Forwarded message from maochoa99 at yahoo.com <mailto:
>> maochoa99 at yahoo.com>  -----
>> >  >    Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 11:08:48 -0800 (PST)
>> >  >    From: Michael Ochoa <maochoa99 at yahoo.com <mailto:
>> maochoa99 at yahoo.com> >
>> >  > Reply-To: Michael Ochoa <maochoa99 at yahoo.com <mailto:
>> maochoa99 at yahoo.com> >
>> >  > Subject: MBTA fare and Service Changes
>> >  >      To: "danielm at occupyboston.org <mailto:danielm at occupyboston.org>
>> " <danielm at occupyboston.org <mailto:danielm at occupyboston.org> >
>> >  >
>> >  > The T will conduct over 20 public hearings on fare hike proposals.
>> >  >
>> >  > Proposed fares based on type of pass (Type;proposed;current;%change)
>> >  >  Local Bus $55.00 $40.00 37.5%
>> >  > LinkPass $80.00 $59.00 35.6%
>> >  > Senior/TAP LinkPass $40.00 $20.00 100.0%
>> >  > Student LinkPass $40.00 $20.00 100.0%
>> >  > 1-Day LinkPass $12.00 $9.00 33.3%
>> >  > 7-Day LinkPass $20.00 $15.00 33.3%
>> >  > Inner Express $127.00 $89.00 42.7%
>> >  >
>> >  >
>> >  > Proposal 2:Local Bus $2.00 $1.50 33.3%
>> >  > Rapid Transit $3.00 $2.00 50.0%
>> >  > Inner Express Bus $4.50 $3.50 28.6%
>> >  > Outer Express Bus N/A $5.00 N/A
>> >  >
>> >  > Public Meetings in Greater Boston:
>> >  >
>> >  > January 17, Tuesday Newton 5:30-7:30 PM     Newton City Hall 1000
>> Commonwealth Avenue
>> >  > January 18, Wednesday Chelsea 6:00-8:00 PM Public Library,
>> Auditorium 569 Broadway
>> >  > January 19, Thursday Boston (Roxbury) 6:00-8:00 PM Roxbury Community
>> College Auditorium
>> >  > 1234 Columbus Avenue
>> >  >
>> >  > January 23, Monday Boston 1:00-3:00 PM
>> >  > 4:30-6:30 PM Transportation Building, Floor 2 Conference Rooms 2, 3
>> 10 Park Plaza
>> >  >
>> >  > January 31, Tuesday Boston (Mattapan)  6:00-8:00 PM  Mildred Avenue
>> Community Center 5 Mildred Avenue
>> >  >
>> >  > February 1, Wednesday Jamaica Plain 6:00-8:00 PM   Hennigan
>> Community Center, Cafeteria
>> >  > 200 Heath Street
>> >  > February 2, Thursday Boston (Dorchester) 1:00-3:00 PM and
>> >  > 6:00-8:00 PM  Dorchester House Multi-Service Center 1353 Dorchester
>> Avenue
>> >  >
>> >  > February 7, Tuesday Lynn 6:00-8:00 PM   City Council Chambers 3 City
>> Hall Square
>> >  >
>> >  > February 8, Wednesday Boston (West End) 4:30-6:30 PM Shriners
>> Hospital Auditorium 51 Blossom Street
>> >  > February 13, Monday Boston (South Station area) 6:00-8:00 PM  Boston
>> Public Library Boston Room
>> >  > 700 Boylston Street
>> >  >
>> >  > February 15, Wednesday Quincy 6:00-8:00 PM Thomas Crane Public
>> Library 40 Washington Street
>> >  > February 16, Thursday  Malden  6:00-8:00 PM City Council Chambers
>> 200 Pleasant Street
>> >  > February 28, Tuesday Somerville  6:00-8:00 PM High School Auditorium
>> 81 Highland Avenue
>> >  > February 29, Wednesday  Cambridge  6:00-8:00 PM  Citywide Senior
>> Center
>> >  > 806 Massachusetts Avenue
>> >  >
>> >  > March 1, Thursday   Waltham  6:00-8:00 PM  Government Center
>> Auditorium
>> >  > 119 School Street
>> >  >
>> >  > Causes according to MBTA:The Authority's operating costs for energy,
>> fuel, and health care have continued to rise, and costs for THE RIDE
>> service have
>> >  > grown by nearly 400% over the last decade. While THE RIDE's
>> operating costs have increased over the past 10 years, the
>> >  > primary cost increase has been due to exponential growth in
>> ridership on that service.
>> >  >
>> >  > 2. The T is financially burdened with principal and interest
>> payments on $5.2 billion in debt that consume nearly 30% of its annual
>> >  > operating budget.
>> >  >
>> >  > 3. Since 2000, the T's primary source of funding (a 20% share of
>> statewide sales tax receipts) has not produced the steadily
>> >  > increasing revenue stream originally projected.
>> >  >
>> >  > ----- End forwarded message -----
>> >  >
>> >  >
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