On June 4, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced initial steps to increase fares and drastically reduce service system-wide.
Though the anti-worker gas tax failed, the increase in sales taxes passed, so now the agency is changing its tune by stating that even though it expects to receive the $160 million, it still wants to go ahead with fare hikes and service cuts. State Transportation Secretary and chair of the MBTA Board of Directors James Aloisi stated that the fare hikes and service cuts are needed as part of a “multi-year solution” to solve the agency’s massive debt.
The MBTA carries the largest relative debt of any transit agency in the country—over $8 billion . On average, 30 percent of the agency’s annual budget is dedicated solely towards “debt servicing.” This is a process in which billions in tax dollars are turned into profits for the banks. In 2009, over $245 million was paid out in interest alone! In the newly approved 2010 budget, that figure increases to $267 million.
That’s criminal: Over a half-a-billion dollars in only two years is pocketed by the same banks that have been bailed out in the trillions for creating the current economic crisis!
The media has attempted to redirect popular outrage against the MBTA service reductions, attacking the so-called “inflated” pensions and health benefits of MBTA employees. It is completely illogical to fault the retirement plans and health insurance of workers while ignoring billions in corporate profits. Any reduction in service is likely to result in attempted layoffs or other anti-worker maneuvers.
In a second attempt at misdirection, the issue of “fare evasion” has been raised in the news, portraying students and youth as criminals for getting on buses and trains without paying. This elitist argument fails to address the limits of the current student pass and the overall prohibitive cost of transportation for so many working-class youth. T riders must resist these attempts at “divide and conquer” and stand together by placing blame solely on the criminal banks and agency executives.
As proposed, a 15-to-20 percent fare increase would have a severe impact on the lives of thousands of families who can’t afford to pay an additional $20-$30 a month per rider. Since 2000, there have been three fare increases, raising the cost by 35 percent for buses and 70 percent for the subway. Service in neighborhoods like Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan is already highly inadequate, so any reduction would make it even more difficult to get to work or school.
T riders should not continue to have to pay more for less, while the banks profit hand-over-fist. The MBTA should be immediately relieved of its debt so it can provide quality, affordable service. The Party for Socialism and Liberation demands that the greedy banks “get in the back of line!”
For the past several weeks, members of the PSL in Boston have been collecting signatures for a petition against fare hikes and service cuts. Also amongst the petition’s demands are an end to layoffs and an expansion of the youth pass program. Hundreds of residents of Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Jamaica Plain and elsewhere have signed the petition. Over the coming weeks, the PSL is dedicated towards waging a fight back campaign against the MBTA. Join us in the streets, at the public hearings and everywhere else in demanding:
No Fare Hikes!
No Service Cuts!
No Layoffs!
Expand the Youth Pass!
MBTA Debt Relief Now!
