by David Dahlbacka in All Ages, Beat Reporter, Buses, Events, MBTA, Neighborhoods and Squares, Trains
Posted on February 13, 2012 at 5:33 pm
Last Modified on February 13, 2012 at 5:46 pm
| February 28, 2012 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
| February 29, 2012 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
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MBTA Fare and Service Proposal Meetings
Somerville High School Auditorium
81 Highland Ave.
Somerville MA (map)
Citywide Senior Center
806 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge MA (map)
The MBTA is holding two meetings near Somerville regarding its proposal to raise fares and cut services.
MBTA service cuts and fare hikes hit everyone in Somerville. Come and make your views known.
For more information, see:
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Beat Report: 2/28/12 MBTA Fare and Service Proposal Meeting
About 200 people here. 75 at rally outside.
Translation services, etc. 90 seconds to speak. Respectful of others.
Written comments to: fareproposal@mbta.com
1.3 M customers per day this year.
FY13: $185 M deficit.
[Presentation interrupted by female protester. Going right to comments.]
Mayor Curtatone: Best activist city in region. I have responsibility to give Somerville’s position. I get your position. We’ve learned about losing transit, disconnected people. Alleviating poverty, connecting people to jobs. We need to talk about billions of dollars of debt we support. Don’t put it on working people alone. Don’t hurt people who really need these services.
Pat Jehlen: [Speaking for rest of state delegation]This is my top priority. We intend to stop kicking this can down the road. Is at the top of every legislators agenda. We can’t solve problem without more revenue.
Denise Provost: Been working on comprehensive reform. Raising issue because Somerville relies on the T. Somerville original streetcar community. Threat now to raise rates and cut service.
Wheelchair person: Injured by bus. Insulted by drivers. Police had to be called. Increases for Ride are unconscionable. The people who use it can’t afford it. Deval Patrick can afford to go to China for $250,000.
Occupy Somerville: Richest should pay for MBTA. Banks should drop debt. Meeting next Wed. March 7 at SEIU office.
Charles: Ongoing issues about Green Line fare box. Why raise my fares? Fare boxes don’t work. I have list of 50 cars with nonworking fare boxes. You want to raise my fares. Don’t let people with $ ride for free.
MBTA: We have to prove to you we can collect the fares.
Eric: At Tufts Occupy Somerville. I’ll be directly affected. Climate change requires more use of public transit. We have $, matter of priorities. Small # of people hold money, more important they keep it. Unacceptable.
[Translators introduced themselves at facilitator's request.]
Reverend: Cutting the only bus that goes through 95. 400% increase of Ride. 80 being cut, elderly people have to use Ride. Work with community. Are buses that mimic the Red Line.
Brian: Occupy Boston, Occupy the T. Cuts are attack on the 99%. In 2006 said 1 in 20 households are millionaires in Mass. 58,000 millionaires. Take $2000 more from each to close the gap. War budget? This is a farce. April 4 there’ll be a people’s assembly.
John: Transportation for MA. Cuts affect people who rely on transit to get around. Need solutions soon. Have crunch to get budget by mid April. Will do this then “have discussion later”. People out of 495 don’t care about this. Elderly are everywhere. A number of revenue raising options are available.
Kat: Moved to Somerville 7 years ago, sold car. MBTA proposal is short-term solution. For last 10 years legislature hasn’t proposed a solution. DOT hired corporate investment banker who leases and sells public infrastructure to private companies. If I have to pay more, I want it to go to the T for better service, not to corporate profits.
[Cut off by facilitator. Disorder.]
Liam Wilson: Occupy Somerville. Thank you Mayor Curtatone. He was the only one mentioning job impact. Need to talk about jobs in Somerville. T puts out booklet without mentioning employee impacts caused by service cuts. MBTA jobs are good union jobs. We need more jobs and services. No impact on environment mentioned. We are the solution. We are the 99%. Stand up!
MBTA response: There is a report about job and environmental impact. Be 525 MBTA jobs lost.
User of ride: I spent $200/mo on ride. Increasing it will be a hardship. Will hurt us immensely.
Kaiser: Took commuter rail to Lynn. Mgr. of storage place thanked me, said I was part of his family. What if MBTA treated us like that? Want MBTA to be properly funded, no panic situations Good energy saving program. Forget the service cuts.
Ron Newman: Davis Square, 27 years in Somerville. Looking forward to GLX. Makes no sense to cut 80 and 95 that go to Assembly Square. It’s not fair to put it off on the riders If airlines can default on debt, T can do it. Let banks and hedge funds pay for this.
Felix: Teen Empowerment. We rely on T to get to school, to work, to hang out. 95 goes to Mystic Projects, to be cut. We need it.
Another: The 90 is what I use to go to school. We can’t afford $40/mo.
Ronald: Work in Somerville. Not familiar with logistics requiring cuts. Hear deficit. I’ve been broke all my life. My community and family already have a deficit that will be increased. T police keep me from boarding without fare. That’s what you’re proposing. MBTA is a lifeline. Will devastate community.
Morales.: Buses cut in low-income areas. [COMMENT: Environmental justice areas!] What happened to youth pass? Take away senior pass.We use buses the most. Youth drive the economy.
Renaldi: Occupy Somerville. People who stand to lose are the ones at the edge of society. Lots of tables of numbers. Issue is that decision will marginalize people. Authoritarian societies keep people from moving. Not comfortable with fixing on debt.
Rola in Medford: I use the 80 bus. My mother and children use it to go to Lechmere. Increasing bus fare will cut our life. MBTA should tell us if they are working for the gas company.
Ramsey: Occupy Somerville, MBTA. What if we constituted ourselves as a decisionmaking body for the T? Put the needs of all in front of the profits of the few? We can impose our will, get $ from the 1%. WE’RE ALL FIGHTING FOR THE CRUMBS. They’re rich because we are poor. 99 to 1 are great odds. April 4 at State House. We’re not leaving until we win. [Chant: We are the 99%.]
Soul Brown: Runs youth program at Mystic Projects. Evident you don’t care about poor people and people of color, because we are the people who rely on the buses. Many youth would not be able to get to programs. We rely on the buses, and youth rely on us. No hikes, not cuts, the future depends on the youth.
Jordan: At Somerville High. We need bus to go to school. Single parents who need to take bus to the doctor. How many people will have to pay money they don’t have to treat a 105 degree fever?
Somerville Occupier: You divide people by a gas tax. You will hurt the disabled and elderly. Make the 1% pay. Money for transit, not for wars and occupation. Tax the rich.
Susan McLucas. Proud that Boston had first subway system. Let’s keep the T strong. Practical solution: collect all the fares. A lot of the problems come from Big Dig. Big Dig is for cars. We need to get away from cars. Would like transit for free. Support getting people on bikes.
Hilda Marshall: None of current cuts would affect me directly. But what’s next? If my neighbor loses her job, that’s a problem for me. If my neighbor goes out of business because people ant get to their business, that’s a problem for me. We’re trying to fix the economy here.
Fast Five Superheroes: Port Lady, Lady U Pass, save $60 M, MDCR rides commuter rail. Mr. Snowplow. Can find $224 M right now. Get rid of Big Dig Debt Villain right now!
Superhero: I have aunt who travels a lot. Great grampa got his pass. We can help this debt. There are other ways to pay.
MBTA (Mr. Davis): We wielcome your creative ideas at finance committee.
Brian Cappola: Came from Haverhill MA to say you can’t take away transit from the blind until you get a car that the blind can drive. Put some of the 4 toward transportation. You will be leaving the blind very dependent on families. Institutionalization backwards.
Marie: Very shy. Lived in Somerville and used buses all my life. Can get anywhere in Somerville. Both senior citizens. If Ride goes up 500%, can’t do grocery shopping. We’re on social secutity, we’re poor.
Arlington: Selectmen voted on resolution that transit should be increased for national security. Do not punish the T and riders. If Big Dig caused problems, let cars pay for it.
Marris: CLF lawyer. No matter what combination of fare increase and cuts, it will damage the system and hurt riders. That’s not the solution. One years’ operating budget. Nothing about long list of capital expansion. MBTA can’t solve this They have to balance budget. We need to call our legislators and our friends elsewhere in state as well.
Randall: World Socialist web site. Choose between two rotten plans. Reject both outright. T will go ahead at the end of these meetings. Local politicians are trying to turn one neighborhood against another. Protesting won’t. Socialist Equality party says the vast resources should be used to help society. Meeting at YMCA on Huntington Ave.
Jennifer: Took 80 here. Student at Tufts. Sold car. Bus to Lahey Clinic being cut, even though it’s full of people going to clinic. Disappointed that we’re cutting people off.
Alan Moore: Your job is to provide service, not to cut it. You need to push back to the Governor and Legislature. Road and Airports not being cut. Legislature found $50M for more snowplows. Gas tax hasn’t changed since 1997 (therefore it’s gone down).
Ren Gernter: Love living in MA and Somerville. Came from FL, people drive everywhere there. State needs to find more revenue for MBTA.
Mark: Simple suggestion. I live in Winchester near T train. Can see trains at rush hours are full. Off rush hour, they’re dead empty. Go 4 AM to 12 midnight. Nobody on there. Cut trips when no one using trains.
Gary: Wife had stroke 4 years ago. Very concerned about cuts to Ride. Totally dependent on the Ride. Increase of 125%. $4.50 one way. I want to help address deficit, so modest increases OK. 125% increase would be hardship because we use it every day.
Next: Hi. Lived in Somerville all life. Have mercy on seniors and disabled. Don’t raise the tide. We’re all suffering in financial dilemma we’re in.
Peg Knowland: Live in public housing, not by choice. Can’t afford car. Fixed income 175% increase to seniors. We’ve already paid our dues. And we vote. Big Dig problem is not our fault. Easier to go to poor people than to go after people who caused problems. Big Dig caused it, we should not be affected by it.
Laura Wiener: Reside in Arlington. Represent Board of Selectmen. Voted to reject both proposals. Very dependent on buses. Alarmed by option 2, cuts 7 buses. Maintains more car trips and air pollution. Fare hikes fall disproportionately on old, young, disabled. Understand MBTA has problem. Committed to work with legislature for long term solution.
Next: MBTA means “Make Bostonians take Abuse.” What promises that some communities are having about NO service cuts.
MBTA response: No negotiations happening. Can’t make promises that some communities wont be affected.
Next: There’s a bridge in Brooklyn. If they cut us, the 99%, what are we going to do for the 1%. If we can’t get to work, they shouldn’t be able to get to work either.
Shaney: How you all doing? One question. Do you care about people or the money? How much will there be for the teens?
MBTA response: Prices in book. $40 for student pass. We do understand this affects people. We don’t like standing up here talking about cutting service. We had a record year of ridership. We can’t put service out there that we can’t pay for. Need to close $161 M deficit. Nothing decided yet. Interested in hearing from everyone. Hopefully we can mitigate what we have to do.
Occupy MA: I live in Lynn. Only two buses, once an hour. How is Lynn going to get around? Can’t go to Shaws? Was to be assessed for “ready for the ride”. Now they’re doing this. “Life Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness”. How can we do this?
[Left at 7:30]
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