ACE - News items

Even with more riders, advocates say MBTA fare hikes to come -- unless state acts (May 2008)

Fri, 23 May 2008 20:31:36 -0400

"All this tells me we're headed for service cuts or a fare increase," said Lee Matsueda of the T Riders' Union in a written statement. "This is bad timing. More riders are using public transit because of the economy and the cost of gas. But with no money left in the MBTA's rainy day fund and a $8 billion crippling debt load, it's inevitable."

Community Works Spring 2008 Newsletter

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:26:17 -0400

Community Works Spring 2008 Newsletter

MBTA: Our schedules ‘lie’ (March 2008)

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 19:09:35 -0500

The MBTA for years has failed to run all of its scheduled bus and subway service under a money-saving policy of deliberate understaffing, General Manager Dan Grabauskas revealed last month in the Boston Herald.

Teen takes on T (March 2008)

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 19:04:15 -0500

After nine months spent studying 12 MBTA bus routes, analyst Stuart Spina has reached his conclusions: the T can do better. Spina, who presented his report yesterday, has qualifications no T official can claim: he's 17 years old, and rides the bus daily.

Young rider gives MBTA board an earful (March 2008)

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 18:56:51 -0500

As Stuart Spina told the MBTA board some of the talking points from his exhaustive nine-month report yesterday, General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas nodded his head in approval.

Rider has solutions to MBTA problems (March 2008)

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 18:47:27 -0500

“I heard so much about how unreliable service was I wanted to look into it and see what’s going on behind the scenes,” said Spina, who is working with the T Rider’s Union, an advocacy group.

Boston Teen Demands Better Service On MBTA Buses (March 2008)

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 18:21:19 -0500

Spina, a student at Commonwealth School, has studied 12 of the T's most notorious bus routes over the last nine months. He cited problems such as chronically late buses, overcrowding and buses that travel in packs regardless of schedule.

T will dip into reserves for $20m (March 2008)

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:25:16 -0500

"We're concerned," said Lee Matsueda, program director for the T Riders Union, a community group. "There's no way that the system can sustain itself the way it is set up now." The Riders Union and other consumer groups have been lobbying state legislators to bail out the T, arguing that riders cannot afford more hikes. So far, Governor Deval Patrick's administration has talked about restructuring the state's transportation agencies and raising money from proposed casinos, but he has not laid out a specific plan to plug all the financial gaps.

Frightened bus users make stand (March 2008)

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:42:21 -0500

Tiara Amarante's bus ride to school is a daily exercise in dodging danger. Last month, Amarante and nine other teenagers who take Bus 23 to school or to get around their neighborhood decided to do something about it. They would survey other passengers, document their stories, and try to persuade MBTA officials to take action.

Getting back to the garden in song (March 2008)

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 12:48:47 -0500

"Environmental justice and speaking out is about standing up and expressing yourself," [Brandon] McDowell said. "Hip hop - it's a way to tell stories and pass on knowledge."

Bus-ted: T lied to cut costs (February 2008)

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:24:50 -0500

“I had one very (senior-level) person say to me, ‘We knew we were dropping bus trips, so we’d go to the communities where we were dropping trips out of garages - and we would lie to people,’ ” Grabauskas said.

Higher Fares = Fewer Riders (February 2008)

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:25:20 -0500

The MBTA may have raised $70 million by increasing fares last year, but not without a cost: ridership figures obtained by BostonNOW show the T lost 15 million riders in 2007, after the fare increase.

The T is not just broke, it's broken (February 2008 Letter to the Editor)

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:30:31 -0500

Another large fare increase on the heels of the last one would be devastating in terms of a loss in ridership. A service decrease would be even worse. Addressing the MBTA's unsustainable debt must be a top priority for the Patrick administration and the Legislature.

T chief declares system 'broke' despite fare hikes (February 2008)

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:40:24 -0500

The T is stuck in a harsh cycle of institutional poverty wrought by decades of borrowing. Of every dollar it spends, 27 cents goes to pay off debt [....] In the meantime, transit activists have continued to worry that the T is forced to scrimp on upkeep and that fare increases have not improved service. "When we talk to people, they're tired of it," said Lee Matsueda, an organizer with the T Riders Union, an advocacy group. "It's very simple."

Complaints lead to bus improvements (December 2007)

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:40:37 -0500

T officials cited a petition campaign by a No. 15 bus rider. [Webmaster's note: The rider they are referring to is TRU member Peggy Jarrett, who led a campaign for improved service on the 15 and 19 with other TRU members this fall.] Meanwhile, the T Rider's Union has long sought better service on the 111, organizer Rene Mardones said.