Below is the full transcript of the public comment our Executive Director, Jarred Johnson, presented to the MBTA Board on January 25, 2024:
“Hello, Chair Glynn and General Manager, members of the board and staff. Thank you for the opportunity to provide public comment today.
My name is Jarred Johnson, with TransitMatters. First, I want to commend the staff for their hard work on a number of things, including the low-income fare. We’re excited to see the presentation today and looking forward to moving that forward. I just want to echo all the incredible points, stories, and lived experiences of riders in saying why this program is so needed.
I also want to commend the staff for their hard work on the financial documents and thank the board for advocating for getting this information out there. It’s an unprecedented level of transparency on the agency’s finances and more importantly, some of the root causes and analysis of where we go next. I think we haven’t seen this level of openness since the Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB).
I think it’s critical that this narrative is socialized far and wide, especially the information on Forward Funding and the negative impacts that it has had on the T’s budget and capability to address its capital needs. As well as how important the additional state support from the New York state government has been for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
Yesterday at the State House, there was a great deal of support for a wide variety of fare cuts, service expansions, as well as the reduced fare program. It is important that the legislature fully understands the T’s structural deficit and capital needs of these worthwhile programs and initiatives, and are proposed as a part of a long-term funding package.
The T is not a passive actor. And a vision—albeit sometimes without the funding or the background—is being advanced at the State House with or without the T. Understanding the realities of the FTA directives, the state of good repair backlog, and the current staff shortages, this agency needs a bold vision and it needs to position itself as a solution to key issues. I think that is the only way that the T gets the money for, not only this longer-term vision, but for the core issues that it needs to fix.
I hope that the Capital Investment Plan (CIP) can be a part of this vision. The big-ticket items, of course, will need to be focused on safety and reliability. But it does need to signal where the T is going. Priorities like bus facilities and the state of the Commuter Rail rolling stock cannot be ignored.
Speaking of balance, I appreciate the progress that’s being made as a result of the Track Improvement Program, but the medicine can’t kill the patient. A network that has addressed track conditions, but is losing riders is not a success. Service quality, both during and outside of diversions, remains poor. We need better headway management on buses and rapid transit. And there’s just no excuse for incorrect signage and wayfinding, and stations need to be kept in better condition.
It is my strong belief that rider satisfaction—and therefore ridership growth—needs to be tantamount to safety. Even if this means a modest increased cost or even some modest revenue losses in the short term. We need this agency to play a vital role in reducing congestion and showing how important this service is to residents all across the Commonwealth.
Thank you.”
Photo Credit: Jacklyn Thibodeau