MBTA battles budget cuts

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is attempting to drive itself out of debt while continuing to provide transportation services to the greater Boston area.
MBTA officials said they are cutting any possible costs in order to avoid having to raise fare on the T. However, the Transportation Authority is already $404.9 million in debt.
“We have bills to pay – we’re running a tight ship as it is,” said MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera in a phone interview.
MBTA generates income from the T fare and sale of parking lots, Rivera said.
The MBTA owns about 46,000 parking spaces in 100 parking lots in Massachusetts and could benefit from selling this land to private investors who would pay up front for the space. This would bring in about $300 million in potential revenue, Rivera said.
“We are the largest land owners in the state,” she said. “We look in areas where we can sell property that we own.”
Another answer to the deficit crisis is to economize employee benefits differently, Rivera said.
“We have our employees go on GIC, the state insurance plan,” she said.
Although budget cuts, employee layoffs and terminations are an option, the MBTA is finding other ways of saving money before workers would have to be fired.
Officials suggest reducing Red Line operators from two to one on each subway, Rivera said. Operators have already been decreased on the Orange and Blue Lines, but these jobs are not always cut all together.
“These employees aren’t necessarily fired – they are employed in other areas of the system where they’re needed,” Rivera said.
However, Rivera said raising fares is a last resort.
“We want to continue the type of service that customers are used to and deserve without raising the fare,” she said.
Another way the MBTA works to bring in revenue is through the various vendors located in stations such as Government Center and South Station.
The MBTA receives payment from these vendors, which include newsstands, Dunkin Donuts’, flower carts and Boston souvenir stands, to set up their businesses in the stations.
Company advertisements from Apple to Absolut Vodka appear on train cars and in stations, helping to bring in additional money for the MBTA.
“We have a number of advertising efforts where we receive revenue to maintain our system,” Rivera said.
At this point, any opportunity to cut expenses is being utilized.
“We’re just trying to do more with less,” she said.
The MBTA will have to be frugal in the future so that prices do not deter customers from riding the T.
“We just think before we spend and make smart choices about service,” Rivera said.