Letter to the editor: say no to MBTA fare increases

To the editor:

I object to MBTA fare increases for the following reasons:

1. Raising MBTA fares in Massachusetts on basically privatized public transportation that is neglected, decrepit, badly needs massive updating, and has already very costly fares unjustly penalizes those who most need public transportation to get to work and is not good for all the people of the Commonwealth. The people know this and are not happy. Even the MBTA estimates that this fare increase will reduce its ridership by 4.8 million riders annually or 1.3 percent, and thus increase the use of carbon-spewing cars and traffic in Boston in general. Why would this be advisable in light of the global climate catastrophe we are now facing?
2. In light of this impending catastrophe (see this morning’s sequence on DemocracyNow about this in detail), it would certainly be better to start providing public transportation that is not only free but uses renewable energy (solar, wind) as many other countries like China are already doing.    
3. Make public transportation free for all to encourage its use, as Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu recently suggested. This is not a “luxurious” choice; it is not something we cannot afford. We cannot afford to not do it now, if we are to even slightly mitigate the sixth extinction we are in the midst of. There is much to be found via Google about cities that have made public transportation free for all and how much it benefits people and businesses as well as the environment.
4. True leadership that actually represent the people of the Commonwealth would agree with the following: “A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation.”

Written comments about the MBTA fare proposal will be accepted through February 28. They can be mailed to: MBTA, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116, attention: Fare Proposal Committee. Comments can also be submitted using the MBTA website, by e-mail at fares@mbta.com, or by phone at 617-222-3200, TTY 617-222-5146. The public hearing will be held on February 27 from 6:30–8:30 p.m. in the MBTA Board Room, State Transportation Building, second floor, 10 Park Plaza, Boston.

Raising MBTA fares is not a good decision. Real, concerned, informed, caring leadership would know this. 

Sincerely,

Jean Palmer
247 Tower Rd., Lincoln

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.