Transportation officials and activists disagree about the frequency of proposed fare hikes for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
Official groups met Monday to talk about the language of the 2013 Transportation Finance Act, which permits fares to be raised only once every two years at average annual increases of 5 percent, said MBTA spokesman Jason Johnson.
“While the [Fiscal Management Control Board] has discussed fare policy, it has not yet submitted any formal fare increase proposal,” Johnson wrote in an email. “After proposals are made, there will be a period for public comment, which includes a series of public meetings. The Board would not take a final vote until the spring, when it asked to approve a budget for fiscal year 2017.”
Charlie Ticotsky, policy director of the coalition Transportation for Massachusetts, said the main issue discussed at the meeting was the interpretation of the legislative fare cap.
“We support regular predictable modest fare hikes, we understand that it’s an important source of revenue for the T so we do not take the position that there should be no fare hikes whatsoever,” Ticotsky said.
Ticotsky also said there has been confusion in the law regarding fare increases.
“There is some ambiguity in the law, so nothing has been proposed at this point, and we do not want to suggest that they’re proposing a 10 percent fair hikes … so we wanted to come and clarify that yesterday that it’s not as cut and dry as simply 10 percent, that there’s some ambiguity in the law,” Ticotsky said.
Transportation for Massachusetts released an MBTA funding report in February, The Daily Free Press reported Feb. 7. In it, the organization addressed the successes and failures of the system since the 2013 Transportation Finance act was released.
Single-ride fares for the bus increased by 20 percent in both 2004 and 2012, and by 39 percent in 2007, according to MBTA fare policy. The subway and rapid transit systems saw increases of 25 percent in 2004, 36 percent in 2007, and 18 percent in 2012.
The bus and subway and rapid transit systems saw increases mostly recently in 2014, of 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively, according to an Oct. 16 release by the MBTA’s Fiscal Management and Control Board.
Several residents said they do not support fare raises.
Azza Gadir, 30, of the South End, said that she would only see fare hikes as reasonable if the T improved its services.
“It moves really slowly, and the fact that the Green Line can take up to an hour sometimes to get to St. Marys from Cleveland Circle is ludicrous,” she said. “I don’t think it is reasonable unless they’re planning on changing everything.”
Patrick McAvoy, 55, of Kenmore, said he uses the T frequently, but does not think that the increase will affect him.
“I use the T every day, it would not be a hardship for me because I have a full time job, but I can see how it would be a challenge to students and high school kids, folks that aren’t working who rely on the T every day, so even five percent is a lot for them. I have a monthly link pass,” he said.
Samantha Shelton, 26, of Allston, said although she only uses the T a few times a week, fare hikes would still be a slight inconvenience.
“I do think that’s kind of unreasonable, just because the price is so high right now that I do spend almost five dollars a day on the days that I do ride the T,” she said, “so I usually use my bike as a way to save money.”
