MBTA plans for drastic cuts in bus, rail service
Weekends, nights slashed unless state plugs deficit
The MBTA would halt all evening and weekend commuter rail service, eliminate six Green Line stops, discontinue lightly used bus routes, and lay off 805 employees if the agency does not get legislative help with its $160 million deficit, according to a state document.
The agency has delayed making the contingency plan public as it awaits action from the Legislature on a potential gas tax increase designed to rescue the state's transportation system. The increase could prevent or minimize service cuts and fare increases.
The drastic cuts outlined in the internal budget analysis obtained by the Globe would save the agency a projected $75 million. It would be combined with fare hikes that would generate another $85 million to bridge the deficit.
Nearly everyone who uses public transit would feel the cuts: suburban residents who ride the rail system to nighttime and weekend Red Sox games; low-income residents who depend on bus lines that are considered underused by the agency; South Shore and Charlestown residents who take commuter boats; disabled residents who use the T's special vans; tourists who rely on customer service agents to steer them in the right direction or help with the CharlieCard system; and downtown office workers racing for the last train.
Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, said last month that service cuts and fare hikes would need to be imposed soon after the new budget year begins in July, in the absence of a rescue. T officials refused to comment yesterday. State Transportation Secretary James A. Aloisi Jr. pledged in a statement "that no decisions will be made without a complete and transparent public review process."
According to the document, the cuts would affect 51.9 million passenger trips on commuter rails, subway trains, and buses each year, or about 1 million a week, forcing thousands to find alternatives or simply stay home.
The budget document, prepared by the MBTA and circulating among various state transportation officials, does not detail the potential fare increases. Grabauskas, who has predicted a fare increase of 25 percent to 30 percent could be necessary, said last month that he has asked for an analysis that would show the impact higher fares would have on ridership and the environment.
Transit advocates have long been warning of cuts, saying the T would essentially become a rush-hour service if it is not bailed out. The draft plan would trim bus and subway service by 50 percent in the evenings and weekends. The T would also run half as many trains between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Altogether, the service cuts would trim about $126.2 million in spending, according to the document. But because of the reduced service, the agency would lose an estimated 51 million passenger trips a year, or $51.1 million in fare revenue, bringing the total net savings to $75.1 million.
The commuter rail would be hit particularly hard. Not only would weekend service disappear, but the trains would also no longer run after 7 p.m. on weekdays. That would mean commuters who have to stay late at work to finish a project could no longer depend on catching a train after rush hour and might be forced to avoid the rail altogether and drive in. The MBTA estimates it would lose 5.7 million passenger trips per year on the commuter rail, according to the document.
The cuts are being proposed after a year in which the transit authority set a new weekday ridership record, as gas prices soared and the economy worsened.
The biggest single loss of employees would come from the elimination of 304 customer service agents who work at subway stations. Eliminating them would save $18.5 million, according to the document.
Governor Deval Patrick has proposed a 19 cent-per-gallon increase in the gas tax to fix a number of major financial problems in the state's transportation system, which is billions of dollars in debt. The increase would give Massachusetts the highest gas tax in the country. Of that, 6 cents, which would raise an estimated $165 million a year, would go toward avoiding fare increases and service cuts at the T.
But legislators have been cool to Patrick's plan, with many leaders on Beacon Hill signaling they would go no higher than 9 cents and focus their efforts on avoiding turnpike toll increases rather than bailing out the MBTA.
Both the House and the Senate passed separate transportation reorganization bills and plan to spend the coming days negotiating a final bill for Patrick. The plans do not address the large deficits at the T and other transportation agencies, but leaders have promised to discuss new taxes and other potential revenue sources after Patrick signs the reorganization bills.
Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com. 