From The Boston Globe (12/30/20)
Prompt: In light of the MBTA Board’s vote to cut T service, is it time for the state legislature to increase funding to the MBTA?
NO
Nicholas Sammarco
Economic Research Assistant at the Beacon Hill Institute, in Medway; Plainville resident
In light of the MBTA board’s prudent decision in December to scale down service, it is certainly not the time for the state Legislature to increase funding to the MBTA. The quest to give the T more money is quixotic given three major factors.
First, ridership is down due to COVID-19 and not likely to recover anytime soon. In October, ridership was at 26 percent of its October 2019 level. Furthermore, the T is projecting that by July 2021 ridership will be just 55 percent of pre-pandemic levels for bus service, 46 percent for rapid transit, and 29 percent for commuter rail.
According to the MBTA, ridership has not significantly increased since the doldrums of March and April and didn’t dramatically increase when COVID restrictions were eased in the second half of the year. It makes little sense for a functioning business to spend more on supply as demand falls.
Second, the approved cuts are not the apocalyptic, slash-and-burn measures public transport advocates had warned were coming. Sound and fury notwithstanding, the service cuts are a rational response to a system that is resistant to reform.
What you will not hear from many expressing their worry about the impact of the cuts on riders is that service is estimated to remain at 85 to 90 percent of pre-COVID19 levels for buses, 75 to 80 percent for rapid transit, and 70 percent for commuter rail.
Finally, fanciful spending increases are out of touch with a looming budget crisis poised to further squeeze vital state services. The lasting effects of COVID-19 on the Commonwealth’s fiscal health are worrying. The Commonwealth could face a sizable budget deficit this year. The Beacon Hill Institute’s revenue estimate — recently presented to lawmakers — is optimistic compared to some others, but we still project tax revenues to fall by $681 million, or 2.3 percent, for fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020.
It’s fitting for Massachusetts politics that amid a pandemic straining health care services and municipal budgets statewide, many are adamant we spend more on the T. Now is not the time for the state Legislature to increase MBTA funding. We don’t need to, and we can’t afford to.
Read the full piece: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/30/metro/light-mbta-boards-vote-cut-t-service-is-it-time-state-legislature-increase-funding-mbta/
