Whether its baseball or transit, Boston hates being behind NYC in anything. Unfortunately, the MBTA has yet to crush its debt. Here, Ortiz demonstrates how.

Bostonians hate being behind New York in any standings — a fact I was reminded of when Boston was ranked third, behind our East Coast nemesis and San Francisco, in the Walk Score ranking of public transit access. (This was covered by The Atlantic here.) However, this particular ranking is appalling to most residents of the area in a different way.

Ask anyone who has ever been stuck waiting in the rain for a bus that never arrives, in the snow for the commuter rail, or under a beautiful blue sky for the Red Line and they will tell you that Boston’s third place ranking is a joke.

The problem (beyond the limits of the methodology of the study) is that public transportation in the United States is not world class. Unlike baseball, we are not one of the world leaders in this important category. So Boston’s third place finish is less exciting when we consider the competition.

The MBTA, however, is still leading in debt burden, with 25 percent of its annual operating budget going to debt service. It has been much publicized, but it bears repeating: prior to the fare increases and service cuts, for FY2013 the MBTA was facing an operating budget deficit of $161 million. As it stands, the MBTA budget here still relies on an infusion of $60 million from the legislature which has not been approved yet, or even moved beyond the Joint Transportation Committee. Even if the 23 percent fare increase and planned service cuts go through, they are at best only a temporary fix for a much larger problem. Let’s review:

• The MBTA has estimated that the operating budgets for FY14-FY16 will be $40 million, almost $90 million, and almost $170 million respectively larger than the FY13 funding gap of $161 million.
• The increased fares will not relieve the MBTA of any of its debt burden.
• Likewise, the FY13 budget does not attempt to address the MBTA’s state of good repair problem. The MBTA is currently spending about $580 million per year to prevent its long list of maintenance needs, estimated at $4.5 billion, from growing. However, about $750 million are needed annually to fix the system and buy new equipment.

The MBTA’s assets are deteriorating; old infrastructure is in need of repair and vehicles are long beyond their useful life. For example, all 120 Orange Line subway cars are well past their intended lifespan. Manufacturers build subway cars to last twenty five years, provided they receive a mid-life overhaul to refurbish or replace major elements such as propulsion systems, brakes, lighting, and ventilation. None of the now over thirty-year-old Orange Line cars has been overhauled. A similar problem exists with one third of the Red Line cars, which as the Boston Globe reported “were pressed into service during Richard Nixon’s first term, and have not been overhauled for a quarter century.”

These aging subway cars are challenging the MBTA’s ability to run a full set of trains each day, causing longer waits on platforms and more frequent service interruptions, as well as at least one breakdown that stranded passengers for hours in a tunnel.

A truly well-functioning transit system, promotes a healthy economy and environment and is a crucial investment. If we want a transit system that meets our needs, the state will have to raise sufficient revenue going forward. Once we do so, we can stop watching New York in the rankings, at least when it comes to public transportation.

Image courtesy of Dan4th @ flickr. Creative Commons.

The MBTA voted today to approve “Scenario 3,” the proposal put forth last week to close the $159 million budget gap the T is facing this fiscal year. The plan is a lot better than the draconian fare increases and drastic service cuts that it initially proposed and we commend the MBTA for listening to the public and all stakeholders’ concerns to get to a 23% increase with minimal service cuts that is within the range of reasonableness, given the T’s desperate financial straits.

Still, that increase will have a very significant impact on low income riders and must be accompanied by measures to mitigate that impact. The MBTA should immediately take action to reduce the impact of a blanket fare increase on transit-dependent riders by implementing reduced or discounted fares for low-income passengers before any increase goes into effect. The MBTA would be following a growing trend around the country. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), for example, in September of 2011, launched free fare cards for low-income seniors, paired with reduced fares for all seniors. Sun Tran in Tuscan, Arizona offers all Pima County residents over the age of five who meet low-income requirements a reduced fare.  C-TRAN in Vancouver, Washington, also has a similar program for low-income residents, as do Iowa City Transit in Iowa City, Iowa and Kitsap Transit in Kitsap County, Washington.

Looking ahead, the T must adopt a regular schedule for more modest increases that will mitigate the impact of necessary fare increases and make its own budgeting process more predictable.

To close the FY13 budget gap, the Legislature should immediately approve the revenue solutions proposed in Scenario 3, as well as raise some of its own revenue by drawing on the innovative proposals from the MBTA and leading transportation finance experts. The strategies underpinning these approaches—to diversify revenue sources, and ensure that all who benefit, including our leading institutions, pay their fare share for the benefits they receive from the T—have long been advocated for by CLF and its partners. At at 2010 Blue Ribbon Summit  convened by CLF and the Dukakis Center, where some of these ideas were generated, attendees showed support for these approaches, and indeed, many have begun to be implemented in cities across the country.

With Scenario 3, the MBTA has acted in good faith to minimize the burden on riders overall and has done just about as much as the agency can do within its authority. However, CLF believes that the MBTA should go the last mile to ensure that the fare increases don’t prevent the most transit-dependent segments of the population—low-income riders—from the using the system. Then, it’s the Legislature’s turn.

You can read CLF’s detailed position on Scenario 3 here, including specific recommendations for next steps by the MBTA and the Massachusetts legislature.

Update 4/11/12: The Joint Committee on Transportation held a hearing on Monday to consider Governor Patrick’s mini transportation reform bill (H. 4011) which includes the MBTA FY13 budget items that need legislative approval, such as the $51 million in surplus funds expected to accumulate in the vehicle inspection trust fund. During the hearing, some legislators brought up the concern that these surplus funds raised from vehicle inspection fees across the state would be spent only in the MBTA service area.  Transportation Secretary Richard Davey explained that 75% of these funds stem from vehicle inspection in the MBTA service area.  CLF’s staff attorney Rafael Mares also testified and expressed that CLF supports funding for the Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) around the state in addition to the Governor’s request for funding for the MBTA.  The RTAs have requested an additional $15 million for FY13.

In the last of a long and loud chorus of concern for the MBTA’s draconian service cuts and drastic fare increases, today is the last opportunity for members of the public to testify or comment formally on the MBTA’s proposals. If you have concerns, take a moment to share them. Some of us use the MBTA regularly, but all of us need it.

Tonight’s public hearing is the final in a series of more than 30. It will be held in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston. To find more details about that event, click here.

Fast Five. Alternatives for Community and Environment

Monday is also the last day written comments can be submitted through the T’s Web site. CLF submitted its comments in early March. A copy of these comments can be found here.

CLF is not alone in expressing its concerns about the proposed draconian service cuts and drastic fare increases. According to an article in Boston.com, “An agency spokesman says about 5,800 people have attended the public hearings over the past two months.” So popular have the events been that superheroes have attended (see photo on right). Similarly, the T has so far received 4,800 emails from customers.

To join in this chorus, you can do a few things:

-          Attend tonight’s hearing

-          Use this form to contact your legislators, or

-          Email fareproposal@mbta.com.

Once all the comments have been collected, the T will review comments and then make a final recommendation to its board. These recommendations are expected by April 15, the deadline for approval of a new budget for the transit system.

Stuart Spina wtih the T Riders Union, speaking at the Chelsea MBTA public meeting. Photo courtesy of John Walkey, Transportation for Massachusetts.

In response to the MBTA’s proposed fare hike and service cuts, CLF today issued an action alert calling upon people to contact Massachusetts legislators and the Governor to share their concern about the MBTA’s future, and for Massachusetts’s environment. Some of us use the MBTA, but all of us need it and so here’s what you can do:

• Read a copy of the alert below;
• If you live in Massachusetts, use the simple form to contact Massachusetts legislators and the Governor; or
• If you live outside of Massachusetts, share this page with your friends and family in the Commonwealth. You can use this form to share it, or you can send this link in an email.

Thank you for taking a moment to help the MBTA and Massachusetts’s environment!

—

Dear Massachusetts Resident,

In response to an operating budget deficit of $161 million, the MBTA is proposing that you pay more – far more – for less. That’s why we need your help.

Please contact your state legislators and the Governor to share your concern about the MBTA’s future, and for Massachusetts’s environment.

The MBTA intends to eliminate close to 60% of all weekday bus routes in one scenario and, in both scenarios, the MBTA proposes to eliminate all weekend and evening commuter rail service, and all ferry service, among other significant cuts to the system. For this, the MBTA is proposing to increase single fares by over 41%: 150% for the senior rapid transit fare, 83% increase in the student bus fare, and a 500% increase in the fare for the disabled taking the RIDE in a portion of the service area. Our research reveals no other major transit authority has raised its fare by this much in one single increase in recent history. It would also be the largest increase of MBTA fares by percentage since 1949.

Do you want riders to pay far more for far less? Click here to express your concern about the MBTA’s drastic proposal.

The MBTA’s proposal would permanently hurt the Commonwealth’s public transportation system, cause irreparable damage to the economy and environment, and unfairly burden some of the state’s most vulnerable residents, while not even solving it’s own financial problems. Some of us use the MBTA, but all of us need it. Join us in urging the MBTA to devise a short-term solution and avoid the proposed drastic fare increase and draconian service cuts.

We need you to submit your support for a solution to transportation problems in Massachusetts.

Thank you for your support,
Rafael Mares
Staff Attorney
Conservation Law Foundation

P.S.- Please forward this message on to anyone you know who cares about the future of public transportation in MA.

http://action.clf.org/site/TellAFriend?msgId=7261.0&devId=0

Earlier this month I was pleased to join Boston Neighborhood Network (BNN) to discuss the MBTA’s proposed fare hikes and service cuts. See below for a copy of that interview.

Courtesy of bradlee9119@flickr. Creative Commons.

The triple bottom line has become both a catch phrase and, increasingly, a realistic goal for everyone from investors to activists and urban developers. But in Massachusetts, aging MBTA trains and infrastructure coupled with proposed fare hikes and service cuts stand in the way of achieving the triple-bottom-line promise of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).

TOD projects are generally comprised of mixed-use or mixed-income developments that are situated within a half-mile of a mass transit station. They provide residents with easy access to the places they want to go (jobs, doctors, movie theaters, etc.) and place businesses within reach of employees and consumers along the mass transit system.

One of the advantages of TOD projects is their potential to achieve triple-bottom-line returns, providing economic, environmental, and community benefits simultaneously. By encouraging people to use mass transit and rely less on automobiles, TOD projects help to reduce both noxious auto emissions and climate-altering greenhouse gases. In fact, people in highly walkable neighborhoods drive nearly 40% fewer miles than their counterparts in the least walkable neighborhoods, which can reduce traffic-related emissions by as much as 2,000 grams of CO₂ per person per day. Furthermore, the increased walking (at least 10 minutes daily on average) reduces the risk of obesity, regardless of age, income, or gender.

So TOD opens up new opportunities for growth without requiring the costly, carbon-intensive infrastructure needed for cars, and contributes to healthful, walkable neighborhoods that attract both businesses and residents. Sounds great, right?

Unfortunately, there’s a hitch. TOD projects rely on the assumption that the transit system is capable of supporting them. Here in Massachusetts, proposed MBTA fare increases and service cuts, as well as our aging transportation infrastructure, may prevent TOD projects from delivering on their promise. This is a bad thing for Massachusetts residents, for our economy, and for our environment.

The MBTA is old. After putting off badly needed maintenance on the Red Line for several years, an entire section has been shut down on weekends for emergency repairs, cutting off access for parts of Cambridge, Somerville, and beyond. And faced with a $161 million budget deficit, the T is now considering drastic fare increases and draconian service cuts, including potential elimination of over 100 bus routes as well as weekend service on the commuter rail and some subway lines.

The MBTA’s proposed fare increases and service cuts are unacceptable for MBTA riders and could prove disastrous for TOD projects, past, present, and future. Discouraging people from taking public transportation—either by eliminating MBTA service or making that service prohibitively expensive for riders—undermines the triple-bottom line goals of TOD. It may sound obvious, but TOD requires a healthy, functioning, financially accessible transit system to realize its full potential.

CLF is asking the state legislature and the governor to find a comprehensive solution to the MBTA’s funding problems, not just a band-aid for the coming year’s operating budget. And CLF Ventures is committed to finding triple-bottom-line solutions, like TOD, where profitable developments can also yield environmental and community benefits. Without continued investments in our transportation infrastructure in Massachusetts and a comprehensive solution to the T’s funding problems, TOD could become a triple-bottom loss for the economy, the environment, and for MBTA riders.

As the public hearings on the MBTA’s proposals for fare hikes and service cuts continue across the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Transportation Secretary Richard Davey is telling the media that he’s hearing that  T riders would rather pay more than have their service cut. Speaking on behalf of Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA), CLF staff attorney Rafael Mares said that Secretary Davey’s remarks are disappointing, if not surprising, given the false choice the MBTA has given transit users.

Mares  said, “The MBTA has backed transit users against a wall, asking them to choose between two unacceptable scenarios. A fare increase may seem like the lesser of two evils to those who have a choice. But, what about those who can’t afford the increases and won’t be able to get to their jobs, or school, or a doctor’s appointment because they rely on public transportation? The MBTA has created a false choice between draconian service cuts and drastic fare increases. The reality is it’s a lose-lose situation for transit users and Massachusetts. If Secretary Davey is hearing a chorus of ‘I would rather pay more but not cut the service,’ it wasn’t singing at any of the hearings we’ve been attending.”

Mares continued, “The proposed fare increases and service cuts are unfair and only a band-aid. The MBTA’s proposals give the legislature a free pass, balancing the books solely on the backs of the riders. These proposed measures will push people off the T and into their cars, or leave them without any transportation at all. We need long-term solutions that share the burden of a working transportation system among everyone who benefits from it, which is to say everyone in Massachusetts. T4MA is calling on the legislature and the administration to immediately identify funds to reduce the T’s projected deficit and develop adequate, sustainable funding for transportation so we’re not repeating this conversation again next year.”

To read a copy of the original statement, click here.

Photo courtesy of John Walkey, Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA)

State law requires the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to balance its budget. The transit authority is facing a budget gap of $161 million for FY2013. In an attempt to address this problem, the MBTA is currently proposing huge fare increases (35% or 43%) and draconian service cuts (including the elimination of 101 weekday bus routes and all commuter rail service after 10pm and on the weekends) as we have described in previous blog entries. This would be a devastating blow to transit in the region, which is the most effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emssions from the transporation sector, improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion, and provide mobility to people who may not be able to get around in any other way.

State Representative Carl Sciortino recently wrote an excellent article on WickedLocal Somerville calling for a comprehensive solution to our state’s transportation funding problem rather than putting a band-aid on this crisis and making public transportation users suffer.  In his article he encouraged residents to voice their views and we can only second that. “There will be a number of public hearings around the region in the coming weeks. Attend. Speak up. Encourage friends and co-workers to do the same,” he said.

See below for a full list of public meetings. For the MBTA website, and a for more info, click here.

Public Meetings:

Photo Credit: zeldablue/flickr

The MBTA is broke – and, for that matter, broken. According to the MBTA, it is facing a $161 million dollar budget gap. So bad is the MBTA’s financial situation that, last year, it resorted to using hairnets to protect subway motors.

Last week, the MBTA demonstrated its commitment to addressing a chronic lack of funding for public transportation by proposing two scenarios that are as narrow as they are unfair. In its attempt to close its funding gap, the MBTA has painted a bleak future for transportation users – especially bus riders. The public is justifiably upset by this news. Not only is the agency proposing to increase fares, but cut service all around.

One scenario, dubbed Scenario 2, proposes a fare increase of 35% (compared to 43% in Scenario 1) and is accompanied by drastic service cuts to all modes of transportation. (Scenario 1 also involves service cuts, though less drastic.) All ferry routes will be eliminated. Commuter rail service after 10 pm and weekend service will be eliminated. The E line (on the Green line) and Mattapan Trolley will both cease to run on the weekends. The most severe cuts, however, affect bus services.

Richard Davey, Secretary of MassDOT, explains that they “are looking at some underutilized service. [They] have some suburban bus carriers that are not well utilized.” In reality, however, Scenario 2 completely eliminates 101 bus routes. Not just during off-peak hours. These bus routes will cease to exist!

I’m not sure “some” is the best word to describe 101 bus routes, listed and illustrated on the map here from a CTPS Report produced for the MBTA. The routes depicted in red will no longer be served if Scenario 2 is passed. The blue routes, which are sparse in comparison, will be maintained. The bus routes to be eliminated are urban and suburban.

I am shocked to see how many bus routes are proposed to be cut and how pervasive the cuts are.

To be fair, the MBTA’s situation is difficult. As CLF and Transportation for Massachusetts said in a statement last week, “any fare increase should be part of a comprehensive financial plan that addresses not only the MBTA’s operating deficit for at least the next several years, but also provides the funds needed to address the T’s maintenance and capital needs without further driving up debt service costs.” Last year, CLF convened a group of national and local transportation finance experts and they came up with a menu of solutions, the Governor and the Legislature could pick from. We need a plan that solves the whole problem, not one that makes it impossible for people to get to work, school, or the doctor.

Under the current proposals, millions of riders will be forced to drive to work or drive to the nearest transit stop. Others who depend on the bus may be less fortunate. Scenario 2 is predicted to impact 38.1 million riders. Will you be one of them?