Results tagged “farehikes”

We went to the first of those MBTA fare increase workshops yesterday, and tweeted a little about it. As Dan Grabauskas alleges his opposition to fare hikes and Deval Patrick and Jim Aloisi rush to put the blame on the MBTA for the proposed fare increases, it's not clear whether any fare increase proposal will go forward anytime soon. But if you've been thinking of going to one of the workshops anyway, we have a couple of tips.

Remember that schedule of public meetings about MBTA fare increases we posted last week? Well, those workshops kick off this afternoon at 4pm at the State House (in the Gardner Auditorium). Bostonist plans to attend and send updates on the good stuff via Twitter, so start following us on Twitter to get the latest and greatest on the potential fare hikes. (We suppose that resignation thing might come up, too.) If you're not the Twitter type, don't worry; we'll write up a summary of the meeting for you once it's over. Information galore!

The proposed MBTA fare increases (view full details in PDF) of nearly 20% will be officially debated soon, in a series of public workshops leading up to the public hearing on August 27. If you can't attend a meeting, you can also submit your opinion in writing before September 4. Written comments can be directed to MBTA, Attention: Fare Proposal Committee, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116, or to fareproposal@mbta.com. You can call 617-222-3200 (TTY 617-222-5146) to speak your mind as well. Interpretors will be in attendance at the public workshops as indicated. Information for the first Boston workshop is below; view all other workshops listed after the jump.

Folks certainly do a lot of complaining about the T, but New York is giving us a run for our money. Or something like that. The MTA has announced a staggering fare hike, raising monthly passes to $103 from the previous $81. Kind of makes $59 seem like a deal, huh? Of course, New York subways run 24 hours, actually go places you might want to go, and travel at more than 15 mph—although service cuts accompany the fare hike, making New Yorkers even happier. Is it a good time to be in Boston? Maybe, until the MBTA takes after the MTA and raises fares. Don't want to see that happen? Try attending the Rider Oversight Committee meeting coming up on Monday.

In general, a person should save a little money in case something bad happens. But the MBTA, which General Manager Dan Grabauskas says is broke, has had to deplete its reserves significantly.

--The Executive Director of the Turnpike Authority wants to CharlieCard everything so that you can use your card at the tolls. While we're all for not having to save spare change, automation might make it easier to miss fare hikes. [Boston Herald]

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a...