When even Boston University students ‘-‘- who are inarguably among the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s most critical bunch ‘- are in favor of fare hikes for safer service, something is fundamentally wrong with the service’s fiscal priorities.
An independent report about the MBTA released earlier this month set forth a series of alarming financial statistics. A misguided spending program that sucked money into covering deficits led to across-the-board under-funding for legal commitments, cost/benefit analyses and ‘state of good repair issues.’ The T is, no doubt, in financial trouble, according to the report, but the idea that each of the preceding issues is considered twice as important as safety concerns is disconcerting. This is especially true when fires along the Red Line are becoming almost standard and more than a handful of the trains across the city are beyond their useful operating life of 25 years.
The report said one recent fire on the Red Line was the result of an unanswered $140 million need to fix old cables. Beyond the fact that this puts riders at risk, the inaction taken toward the project inevitably leads to a closing of the afflicted route, more money toward temporary bus fixtures and less money from scorned and tired customers. A current project to fix a system of vibration-absorbing slabs is laudable when it means stopping damaging subway leaks, but it seems to be the exception rather than a rule in a city of tired and worsening machines and service.
It would be counterproductive and aimless to try to make sense of the T’s financial hierarchy (remember that whole Kenmore Station debacle?), but it is clear that safety should count for more to the MBTA than the report indicates it does. A Blue Line train that should have been taken out of service almost five years ago is still taking riders across Boston, and a tragic accident should not be the catalyst to a restructuring of the system’s allocations. Struggling to make ends meet is not an excuse for a service that is responsible for human transport.
If the MBTA is so desperate to improve its ability to keep riders secure and protected, this is one instance in which it should consider a fare hike. It’s certainly not preferable, and the 2006 price rise was a burden for Boston’s working class, but public transportation that is hanging by a thread is beyond unacceptable ‘- it is risky and dangerous. Riders are entitled to their safety.
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