Plan to cut T services draws ire, criticism
Sharp increase in pollution predicted
Commuters are worried about how they would get home from work. Public transportation advocates said pollution would go up and that Boston could become a second-class city. And the state's lawmakers had mixed responses to the news that the MBTA was planning to drastically reduce services unless the Legislature acts to cover the agency's losses.
"I find it so annoying that they're threatening to cut service," said Rosemary Tambouret, a pathologist from Sharon who takes the commuter rail each weekday to her job at Massachusetts General Hospital. "Imagine all these commuters who are going to go back on the road and start driving. It's going to be ridiculous."
Marc Draisen, executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, said the MBTA plan "would be nothing short of a disaster for the Greater Boston area."
He estimated that the reduction in services would result in 25 million new automobile trips per year with 119 million additional miles traveled and 6 million extra gallons of gas consumed.
"We're just going in completely the wrong direction," Draisen said. "If there has ever been a time to encourage people to get on public transit, this is it."
The Globe, citing an internal budget analysis, reported yesterday that the MBTA was considering raising fares, laying off 805 employees, and drastically reducing services if the agency does not get help in solving its $160 million deficit.
The reduced services would affect nearly everyone who uses public transit. Six Green Line stops would be eliminated, some bus services would be discontinued, and commuter rail lines would stop at 7 p.m. on weekdays and would not run on weekends.
Senate President Therese Murray was caught off guard yesterday by the news, and appeared frustrated that she was not briefed.
"I just think it's odd that we were not given this information," Murray said in an interview. "I was there all day yesterday, I've been there all week. And I pick it up and read it in the paper? They do have meetings, there is a secretary who oversees those meetings. Wouldn't someone come and talk to us about this?"
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo declined to comment yesterday.
Governor Deval Patrick has proposed a 19-cent-per-gallon increase in the state's gas tax, which would go toward fixing some of the financial problems in the state's transportation network. Six of the 19 cents, which would raise about $165 million, would be used for avoiding fare increases and service cuts at the T.
But legislators have opposed the gas tax increases - some have suggested it should rise by no higher than 9 cents - and were not changing their stance yesterday.
Legislative leaders said new revenue would probably come through and alleviate some of the reductions that the MBTA is contemplating. But they also said it would be unlikely to be enough to offset all of the problems, and that some fare hikes and cost reductions would still be needed.
"Unlike the federal government, we can't print money and try to spend our way out of it," said Representative Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat and chairman of the House Committee on Transportation. "We have an obligation to balance our budget and we're going to have to make difficult decisions, including on transportation."
The debate could create a division between lawmakers in different districts, with those in urban areas calling for a gas tax hike to preserve funding for the T while those in rural districts arguing against an increase in the tax.
"That's the legislative conundrum," said Senator Steven A. Baddour, a Methuen Democrat and chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation. "You have folks in Western Mass. and different parts of the state, and they have a different view on how much is needed to fund the MBTA. There is no easy solution."
He said the news about the MBTA reductions would have little bearing on the debate at the State House, at least for now.
"The whole world is laying people off and is going through difficult financial times," he said. "The MBTA needs to be a part of that. . . . If that means layoffs or reductions in services, so be it."
State Transportation Secretary James A. Aloisi Jr., who is also chairman of the MBTA board of directors, also declined to comment, although he posted an entry on the state's transportation blog saying, "no decisions have been made about service reductions or fare increases." He also pledged to have "a robust civic engagement process before any decisions are reached."
The House and Senate recently passed separate transportation reform plans, and they are now negotiating differences between the two bills. Once they are finished with that, attention will turn to revenue options.
"This just increases the urgency in addressing the needs of the T," said Representative Carl M. Sciortino Jr., a Somerville Democrat and vice chairman of the House Committee on Transportation. "Reforms are essential but they're not going to be enough. . . . Delay is not an option. Debate needs to go forward about how to address our revenue, and it needs be done in an honest way."
Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com 
