The guest speaker at yesterday's MBTA Rider Oversight Committee meeting was scheduled to be MBTA CFO Jonathan Davis. Bostonist attended, and the plans to deal with the MBTA's $160 million budget deficit can best be described as murky.
After two hours of discussion and vague answers, it's clear that service cuts and fare increases will happen after July 1st if an increase in the state gasoline tax is not approved.
In fairness, Jonathan Davis did attend the second half of the session; he spoke about the budget deficit and gave responses to questions. On the other hand, most questions were answered with "I don't know" or similar permutation including long-form dances around the issue.
Davis missed the beginning of the meeting and conveniently arrived after the WCVB cameraman left.
In his stead, Victor Rivas (Deputy Director, MBTA Capital Programs) killed time with a tutorial on the differences between the operating and the capital budget as well as some highlights from the 2010 budget.
Snoring was clearly audible about 45 minutes into the meeting.
When Davis arrived ten minutes later and regaled the committee with bureaucratic gems like, the budget "is balanced but needs $160 million more funding" that is projected to be covered by an increase in the state gasoline tax.
Shortly after his first remarks, it was difficult to determine whether Mr. Davis was expressing the T's incompetence or dishonesty. If the gas tax increase is not approved by the state legislature before July 1, the MBTA will be forced to cut services "deeply" and raise fares "significantly."
More mendacity and some bright spots after the jump.
While Mr. Davis claimed they have to be ready for worst-case contingencies, he repeated that no specific scenarios have been made by the agency (CTPS) that is tasked to prepare them. At one point, Davis seemed to say that they don't have the necessary data yet. When asked directly, he couldn't even state that CTPS would have recommendations ready by the beginning of July.
For those of you without a nearby calendar, that deadline for fiscal catastrophe is three months away. To our understanding of last night's statements no one has begun to seriously project how to change services or fares to keep the MBTA afloat, and the report may not be ready in time.
The good news is that there are motivated citizens banging their heads against the proverbial wall in hopes of breaking through. The needs and frustrations of public transit users are represented by 12 members of the MBTA ROC who belong to advocacy groups and the general public.
It was reiterated several times that riders would be motivated to take action if the T would simply release an example of any estimated changes. One such group, On The Move, is planning to hand out flyers [Flyer PDF] at South Station on Thursday (April 2) which includes with projected fare hikes of 50 cents and 50% reductions in night & weekend service. Of course, the assessments are based on the limited data available.
A citizen's best course of action at this time is to contact your state representatives (find their info), and tell them how you feel about the T and the gas tax. Everyone should also feel free to print out the flyer and pass it on.
Image courtesy of The Greater Boston Transportation Justice Coalition website.
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