Conservation Law Foundation Statement on MBTA Board Vote Approving Scenario 3

23% Fare Increase is within ‘Range of Reasonableness’ Says CLF;
Calls On MBTA to ‘Go the Last Mile’ to Keep Low-Income Passengers Riding the T

CONTACT:
Karen Wood, CLF, (617) 850-1722 or (978) 857-5389
Rafael Mares, CLF, (617) 850-1739 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BOSTON, MA  April 4, 2012 – In response to the MBTA Board of Directors vote today approving the MBTA’s “Scenario 3” proposal to close a $159 million FY13 budget gap, Conservation Law Foundation issued the following statement from Rafael Mares, staff attorney:

“The MBTA deserves credit for engaging the public in a rapid response to address the budget gap and for hearing all stakeholders’ concerns about fare increases and service cuts,” said Rafael Mares, a staff attorney with Conservation Law Foundation. “The Scenario 3 package, with a 23 percent average fare increase and minimal service cuts, will greatly reduce impacts on riders, and is within the range of reasonableness, given the T’s desperate financial straits. Nevertheless, that increase will have a very significant impact on low income riders and must be accompanied by measures—now increasingly used by the T’s sister agencies around the country—to mitigate that impact. 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. The MBTA should now 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. As well, 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.”

Mares continued, “Solving the MBTA’s financial crisis is not going to be easy. It requires an immediate infusion of funds to close the FY13 budget gap and, more importantly, long-term planning to restore the system to financial and operational health. The T is essential to a vibrant regional economy—for access to opportunity and jobs, for reducing highway congestion and air pollution, and for long term environmental sustainability. The Legislature now must act to finance an MBTA that is up to that task.”