Transportation Agenda In The News

The T riders union wants the governor’s pending transportation reform package to include a statewide gas tax increase as high as 12 cents a gallon to help bail out the debt-laden transit agency.

The cash infusion is needed, straphanger advocates argue, to keep the trolleys running and fares affordable. The T expects a $160 million deficit next year, and the Herald reported yesterday the MBTA payroll jumped by 14 percent last year due to overtime and retroactive pay raises.

“The T is a lifeline for people who need to keep getting to their jobs,” said Lee Matsueda, program director for the T riders union.

Hiking rates and shutting down routes are the worst fears of city riders, who can’t stomach another rate hike, he said.

T boss Daniel Grabauskas said in a statement the agency’s anticipated budget deficit “is primarily a function of the failure to find a reliable funding source for its operations.”

Consumer advocate Eric Bourassa of MassPIRG said the T needs to be reformed, but not on the backs of riders.

“The Big Dig sucked up all the transportation money . . . pushing these (funding) problems off into the future,” Bourassa said.

He said the T’s payroll and debt load are “frustrating,” but help from Beacon Hill is the answer.

The T is now funded by 20 percent of the state’s sales tax, as well as fares, assessments to cities and towns it serves and ads and by leasing land. Transportation Secretary Jim Aloisi is now working on the final details of a sweeping reform report due out this month. A gas tax increase, transportation sources said, could be part of that pitch. The MBTA and the Mass Pike - both facing crippling Big Dig debt - will be rolled into the plan.

“The goal is to find the most effective and cost-efficient system to deliver services,” said transportation spokesman Klark Jessen.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1149847