The T is not just broke, it's broken
THE MBTA'S projected $75 million budget gap for fiscal 2009 should send a strong signal to Beacon Hill lawmakers that our state's largest transit agency is in trouble ("T chief declares system 'broke' despite fare hikes," City & Region, Feb. 6).
A year after the T instituted a fare increase that generated $70 million, the agency faces yet another shortfall. At the heart of the problem is that the T devotes more than a quarter of its annual budget to paying off more than $8 billion in debt (including interest), a third of which can be attributed to transportation improvement and expansion projects that should have been part of the Big Dig's overall budget. 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.
ERIC BOURASSA
Boston
The writer works on transportation policy for MassPIRG.
ON THE heels of an audit revealing a loss of $55 million due to poor business decisions ("State auditor faults MBTA on debt deals," City & Region, Jan. 30), MBTA general manager Daniel A. Grabauskas now says that once again, the T is broke. Broken, and beyond repair, is more like it. The T has raised fares repeatedly and made numerous promises, with nothing but a decline in the quality of its service.
When I have to wait in the cold for 40 to 50 minutes, day after day, while bus after bus on the 57 line passes by packed with riders just a few stops after its start in Kenmore, it's obvious to me that the T can't coordinate its basic function as a public transportation provider, let alone extract itself from this financial morass.
It is time to dissolve the MBTA and turn over the control of public transportation to a new administrative entity, where those in charge are held more accountable and where the finances and coordination are handled with transparency and prudence. The state owes this to its citizen riders.
JOSEPH C. NIEDBALA
Watertown 