fares

The Outraged Liberal notes the MBTA has announced its Doomsday Machine (again). Will the legislature blink?

Davey says that bailout is unlikely in the state's current climate, which can mean only one thing: change the climate with a proposal that is so awful lawmakers will have to cave.

It's a scenario more reliable than the bus and subway schedules that stand to be blown up.

One of the first steps of the new regime at the MBTA is to table proposed fare increases originally scheduled for Jan. 1, to give a new outside panel enough time for a "top to bottom" review of T finances, spokesman Colin Durrant said this morning.

However, the T is going ahead with public meetings on possible fare hikes and service cuts. The first is scheduled for this Monday, 4-7 p.m. in the Gardner Auditorium in the State House. T officials have portrayed the "workshops" as a way for the public to help decide between either a 19.4% average fare hike or massive service cuts to help make up anticipated deficits over the next three years.

In the past, Secretary of Transportation James Aloisi - who helped maneuver T General Manager Dan Grabauskas out of his job last night - has said he would chose fare increases over service cuts because T services, once cut, tend not to come back.

Gov. Patrick is expected to name a three-member commission to look into T operations either today or Monday.

George O'Brien would be amazed: Fight the fare increase by twittering fare evaders to help convince the MBTA to go after fare evaders before raising fares.

That's the idea behind Ride Fare, which somebody is setting up to let MBTA riders whip out their six guns and apply some T justice compile stats on just how much revenue the T is losing through fare jumping. See somebody, say something @ridefare (Web site coming).

Channel 5 reports the shocking news (to them, anyway) that Green Line and bus drivers often wave passengers on without bothering to see if they have passes or money. It was, at least, good to see Dan Grabauskas acknowledge that fare collection is, indeed, a priority at the T. Again.