[Street] MBTA fare and Service Changes
Eli Cohen
elcoh002 at mail.goucher.edu
Wed Jan 11 13:35:27 EST 2012
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 -----
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Street mailing list
> > >
> > > Post: Street at lists.occupyboston.org <mailto:
> Street at lists.occupyboston.org>
> > > List info: https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/street
> > >
> > > To Unsubscribe
> > > Send email to: Street-unsubscribe at lists.occupyboston.org<mailto:
> Street-unsubscribe at lists.occupyboston.org>
> > > Or visit:
> https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/options/street/lindajenkins177%40yahoo.com
> > >
> > > You are subscribed as: lindajenkins177 at yahoo.com <mailto:
> lindajenkins177 at yahoo.com>
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Street mailing list
> >
> > Post: Street at lists.occupyboston.org <mailto:
> Street at lists.occupyboston.org>
> > List info: https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/street
> >
> > To Unsubscribe
> > Send email to: Street-unsubscribe at lists.occupyboston.org<mailto:
> Street-unsubscribe at lists.occupyboston.org>
> > Or visit:
> https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/options/street/eli.cohen%40mail.goucher.edu
> >
> > You are subscribed as: eli.cohen at mail.goucher.edu <mailto:
> eli.cohen at mail.goucher.edu>
> > _______________________________________________
> > Street mailing list
> >
> > Post: Street at lists.occupyboston.org
> > List info: https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/street
> >
> > To Unsubscribe
> > Send email to: Street-unsubscribe at lists.occupyboston.org
> > Or visit:
> https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/options/street/fb%40occupyboston.org
> >
> > You are subscribed as: fb at occupyboston.org
>
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
> Version: GnuPG v1.4.10 (GNU/Linux)
>
> iQIcBAEBAgAGBQJPDPxVAAoJEEj5BtbQSvOTEAYP/2sSJSTW+E8L6K57yeOf5cn4
> lBEpu5HUtgQdHkRswOuWIXKXeawazKqtT3XLdoLxKpkDZDCKsoqGwC1O8HSUH5Nz
> Ukck0i+dRsq8Zb9XsTsO2HZ5Rc7TT6e1t1ggpn8IMBVhTM5tVF5FbDA4L6bc0vd/
> ghywTe45yX1/RA7KCRrHj1yKfeUV/IuuDPuYpVRFQR03cn7xL+FrgHgkT1awRfwQ
> C+YdscOItcutHbc2w7ogy8xT6me5QzyAYdgg3UoGTCilBe9kpIfEMw0TNaOyYKAP
> 91eDPqGgHA+6zy/j6RXF20WK3UlfHjbJcffYkwwcKWWcG1prOsgwKl7vOAlbMxDs
> DugFS26u9RI11jVh0uapmtGD2fuztATUT6MAlQWeVmKWKpqPjFoe4SEl7C4lQzQP
> TyA5lFwstxMcTX7s/KN5fweAGaU0IMA5uUYWXLPq09HnzGxlHbNUoOkaQd34YCHx
> IWKQabdIFofrV/Z1Qpg+4WHTmGOWGxbNOqu4wvLat12EkB+6b6WkVV7PkKl1BQLz
> XWaBHrXBKY2Bk+Bodf/IuKuSryS7H/Q+3/d8dIcpn9SaTPbMUL8XZcrQ8/etNin7
> Jx43632Szt0B+QwbM6W8o7Ir8LXR3qR2Uk4OhENKf91fRtU6QTHtLHdMGJMnodrh
> BYCZbeDliRAzS9L5xAgk
> =A6oc
> -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/private/street/attachments/20120111/9af29ce1/attachment-0001.htm>
More information about the Street
mailing list