As price goes up, T service goes down

Serghino René

Heather Rock of Roxbury couldn’t be more fed up.
On one recent day, she stood at the corner of Ruggles Street and Huntington Avenue for nearly 40 minutes before a CT2 bus rolled up from the Ruggles T Station a few blocks away.

What was more frustrating was that two buses had already passed by — one was out of service; the other didn’t even stop.

“I could take the train, but sometimes I like to take the bus because it is more direct,” Rock said. “Had I known the bus would have taken this long, I would have just walked to the Orange Line.”

Surprisingly, Rock says this type of bus service is pretty common.

And now Rock and thousands of other MBTA riders must pay more for the same spotty service.

Thanks to a new fare hike, the price of admission for the subway will jump from $1.25 to $1.70. A bus trip will now cost $1.25, up from $0.90.

It gets worse. Riders choosing not to use Charlie Tickets will have to pay more — $2 to ride subways and trolleys and $1.50 to ride buses.

It’s not all bad news: MBTA riders have the potential to save under certain circumstances. Commuters traveling between Quincy or Braintree and Boston currently pay $2.50 per ride. But under the new plan, they’ll pay $1.70. As it stands now, riding the subway and a bus costs $2.15, but in January, when subway-to-bus transfers become free, it will only cost $1.70.

The new monthly pass for the subway and local buses will decrease from $71 to $59. Monthly passes exclusively for the bus will cost $40.

Reduced fare riders — including middle and high school students, senior citizens and persons with disabilities — will also face increases. Trip costs are going up 15 to 25 cents for this group, and monthly passes will cost $20.

And passengers traveling outbound on the Green Line from beyond Kenmore had better enjoy their free rides while they can — they’re going to have to pay full fare come January.

MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas called the proposed increase necessary to balance the budget. The MBTA board went along with his recommendation, voting unanimously on Nov. 9 to approve a fare hike.

This is the MBTA’s second set of fare hikes in three years, both of which were made over the objections of elected officials and the protests of riders. Many of them attended last week’s MBTA board meeting. They booed.

Gov.-elect Deval Patrick publicly called the fare hikes “a mistake.”

“We should be working to attract new riders by making the subway, commuter rail and buses more efficient and appealing,” said Patrick. “I have said for months that this is the wrong action at the wrong time.”

The fare hikes are expected to bring an additional $71 million per year to offset a projected $70 million shortfall in the fiscal year that ends in 2007.

But the recent vote has brought some disappointment to neighborhood residents and low-income riders.

Members of the T Riders Union held a rally before the MBTA Board of Directors’ vote. They testified at the T public hearing and went to the State House to deliver toolboxes filled with petitions to Speaker of the House Salvatore DiMasi and Senate President Robert E. Travaglini.

But it was Patrick who voiced the concerns of MBTA riders.

“This couldn’t come at a worse time — when ridership is low and falling, when the investment in the quality of service has been curtailed and it’s just when we should be encouraging people out of their cars and onto public transportation,” Patrick said.

Mark Stedman of Dedham said he doesn’t like the increase and feels that he is disconnected from the MBTA officials who make decisions that impact his wallet.

“The MBTA is, in a way, discouraging public transportation,” said Stedman.