Students Against T Cuts

A great big “Thank You” to all those who attended the Rally Against T Cuts yesterday!  It was freezing cold, but we were still able to have a great conversation and collected a number of imaginative outreach ideas.  We will be putting the photos up soon!

See below for a link to the info sheet that we handed out at the Rally and at the Copley meeting.  Please feel free to  print it out and share with your peers, it is a nice, concise, summary of what we are about.

Also, we are holding two general meetings within the week!  Please attend the meeting closest to you and bring as many friends as you can!  The meeting name is a link to the Facebook Event.  We will announce exact locations very soon.

Boston General Meeting
Friday, February 17th 7:30pm
Northeastern University

Cambridge General Meeting
Sunday, February 19th 7pm
Harvard University

As always, do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or comments!  Thank you for your support!

T Cuts Info Sheet

Check out this new documentary about the after-hours maintenance performed on the T after-hours. This was produced at no cost to the T by volunteers over the course of eight months.

The proposed cuts and fare hikes only balance the T’s budget for ONE YEAR and does not fix the underlying problems. The deficit is projected to get worse and worse over the next three years:

For FY14: $200mil deficit
For FY15: $250mil deficit
For FY16: $300mil deficit

With the Green Line E, Commuter Rail, Mattpan High Speed, and bus routes already facing cuts this year, how far will the T be forced to go by widening budget deficits? Maybe the Green Line B is in danger next year, or maybe they limit Red Line trains from Cambridge on weekends. WE NEED TO FIX THIS PROBLEM NOW, NOT NEXT YEAR WHEN THEY COME BACK FOR MORE. Please share this post and Students Against T Cuts with your friends and family, and show your support by attending the rally and public meeting on Feb 13th!

www.StudentsAgainstTCuts.org
@StudentsTCuts
getinvolved@studentsagainsttcuts.org
media@studentsagainsttcuts.org

MBTA Troubles Just a Symptom of Systemic Crisis

Wednesday, Feb 1 2012 at 11:37 am by Denise Provost

“The MBTA has come under a lot of criticism lately for proposing to balance its budget by raising fares and cutting services. The commuting public is justifiably alarmed at both these prospects, yet the MBTA is carrying out its clear responsibility of balancing its budget. To what extent is it the MBTA’s responsibility to maintain its current level of service, and keep fares at an affordable level? Is it even within MBTA’s power?

There was a time when the MBTA didn’t have to balance its budget – and it didn’t. It could run at a deficit, and when it did, that deficit would be made up of the state’s operating budget, when enacted by the legislature. This practice made it hard for the state to plan, and gave MBTA no incentive to contain costs, or to raise fares, or obtain other revenue of its own.”

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MBTA mulling more scenarios to close budget gap

STEVE ANNEAR
Published: January 27, 2012 9:06 a.m.

“What would be worse for MBTA riders? Steep fare increases, or drastic service cuts?

According to State House News, feedback shows that riders would rather pay more to ride the T than lose hundreds of buses and weekend trains, as proposed by the MBTA in order to close their budget gap.

Currently, the T is considering either spiking fares significantly while cutting some services, or raising the cost to ride the T slightly and axing hundreds of bus routes.

But now, MassDOT Secretary Rich Davey is saying there might be other options than the two proposed scenarios the T has put on the table for customers to digest.”

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Final Boarding: Subway Closed for Debt Repairs

By Charlotte Parish, Metro Editor
Published: Wednesday, January 18, 2012

“With the Newton War Memorial Hall packed to “standing room only” capacity, 85 people came prepared to give their remarks at Newton’s town meeting Tuesday night, impassioned by the recent, controversial Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) proposal that would cut many service routes and simultaneously increase prices. These drastic measures are being considered due to the $5.2 billion debt that Boston’s public transportation has incurred and the financial instability of the system that currently demonstrates itself unsustainable, as the MBTA projects that in 2013 operating costs will be up to $185 million below income if rates and services remain at their current levels.

Newton’s town meeting, along with Worcester’s on the same night, is the first of many meetings to be held in all Massachusetts towns where the MBTA have services available.

The MBTA’s monetary struggles are many-fold, yet surprisingly do not reflect a lack of customer use, as ridership was recently recorded at an all-time high average of 1.3 million riders per weekday. The MBTA’s difficulties stem from paying back their debt interest before being able to take in revenue as well as the consistent underperformance of the Massachusetts sales tax. In 2000, as part of a major restructuring of MBTA funding called “Forward Funding,” the state promised funds from assessments taxed in 175 cities and towns, as well as 20 percent of the statewide sales tax receipt. The latter, however, has consistently underperformed at levels below even the most conservative projections by the original Forward Funding project.”

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Videographer: Nick Riebesehl