Patriot Ledger: MBTA (Boston) riders seeing red at prospect of 25% fare hike

[marmar]

MBTA riders seeing red at prospect of 25% fare hike

By Joe Markman
Patriot Ledger State House Bureau

Posted Mar 10, 2009 @ 06:22 AM


QUINCY — Jose Carmona regularly rides the Red Line to the Wollaston station, where he gets off to go to work at Marshalls on Newport Avenue. He may soon have to pay more for that ride.

“It’s not fair,” he said, leaning on a cane as the snow fell Monday outside Wollaston Station. “It’s really bad. Real bad.”

The Chelsea resident is one of many MBTA commuters irked at a possible across-the-board fare hike that would raise prices for commuter rail, buses, trolleys and subways. The agency’s chief financial officer planned to discuss the possible fare hikes in a presentation today to the MBTA’s board of directors. Top state transportation officials, including MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas and the state’s transportation secretary, James Aloisi, have said prices could increase 25 percent to 30 percent even as they consider service cuts of up to 50 percent on weekends and during off-peak hours. No timetable has been set for either a rate hike or service cuts.

A 25 percent spike would mean Carmona, who is disabled, could see the price of his monthly $20 pass go past $25 (it is now $59 for most riders). Similarly, a single ride-ticket could rise to $2.50 (from $2), and $2.13 with a Charlie Card (up from $1.70). A 30 percent rise in fares would push the cost of his monthly pass to $26. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.patriotledger.com/archive/x2072769795/MBTA-riders-seeing-red-at-prospect-of-25-fare-hike