POST-GAZETTE - Res Publica

Fare Increase for the Disabled Unfair

by David Trumbull -- February 3, 2012

If you depend on the MBTA's The RIDE service -- and I know many of my readers in the North End, East Boston, and surrounding communities do -- you are probably worried about the proposals to cut MBTA services and raise fares. The potential for a 500% increase, to $12 per ride, is, and ought to be, frightening to Americans with disabilities living on a fixed, and often very limited, income. The detailed proposals from the MBTA are extremely complex and are written in a technical jargon that is nearly impenetrable by the average citizen.

Here are the facts, simply stated.

The MBTA is required, by a federal law, to provide the RIDE service. When President George Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law on July 26, 1990, he said:

"It signals the end to the unjustified segregation and exclusion of persons with disabilities from the mainstream of American life."
He went on to compare it to the Declaration of Independence. So in spite of any rumors you hear, the "T" is not proposing to end the RIDE. Nor are they going to limit the RIDE to only doctor's visits. The law requires that the RIDE provide service "comparable to . . . public transportation services provided to individuals without disabilities." It would hardly be comparable service to tell the disabled that you cannot use the RIDE to visit your grandkids, go marketing, attend church or synagogue, or go to the theatre or sporting event, when persons without disabilities can do all those things on a bus, subway, or trolley.

The T, however, does have two specific proposals to increase the fare for using the RIDE. Currently the fare is two dollars, which it has been since 2007. To understand the proposals, first you must understand that there are two components to the RIDE. First there is the standard service that the Americans with Disabilities Act requires. Secondly, there are additional services (what the MBTA calls "Premium Service") that go beyond the requirements of the law. Tens of thousands of disabled persons in the greater Boston area depend on both the standard and "premium" services.

The T is required to provide the RIDE service for any trip that is within 3/4 of a mile of a bus, subway, or trolley line and for the same hours operation as the bus, subway, or trolley line. The fee is limited to not more than two times the cost of a subway ride. Finally, to get this basic service you must book the trip at least the day before.

Currently the RIDE goes to many more places than just those within 3/4 mile of a regular T route. In some places you may take the RIDE earlier or later in the day than when the buses run. Finally, the T does its best to accommodate "same day" requests. These are the so-called "premium services" that will have large fee increases under the MBTA plans. The standard service will also go up in price.

Under MBTA plan #1 the standard service will have a 125% fare increase, to $4.50. The "premium" services will have a huge 500% increase to $12.

Under MBTA plan #2 the standard service will increase to $3 and "premium" services will increase to $5.

Neither plan, as far as I can tell, calls for eliminating any RIDE services, but the proposed fare increases could put the RIDE out the price range of many current users.

Fare increases for the RIDE under Plan #2 are not as high as under Plan #1, however, Plan #2 also calls for eliminating over 100 bus routes, including the #120 and #121 buses (East Boston), which could result in more RIDE trips falling into the more expensive "premium" category (due to no longer being within 3/4 of a mile of a bus route). The complete list of bus route eliminations under Plan #2 includes: routes 4, 5, 14, 18, 27, 29, 33, 37, 38, 40, 43, 45, 48, 50, 51, 52, 55, 59, 60, 62, 64, 67, 68, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 80, 85, 90, 92, 95, 96, 97, 99, 100, 105, 106, 108, 112, 119, 120, 121, 131, 132, 136, 137, 170, 171, 201, 202, 210, 211, 212, 215, 217, 230, 236, 238, 240, 245, 275, 276, 277, 325, 326, 350, 351, 352, 354, 355, 411, 424, 428, 429, 430, 431, 434, 435, 436, 439, 441, 448, 449, 450, 451, 456, 459, 465, 468, 500, 501, 502, 503, 505, 553, 554, 555, 556, 558, and CT3.

Plan #1 also includes a significant number of reductions in bus service. It would eliminate weekday routes 4, 48, 52, 170, 217, 275, 276, 277, 325, 351, 354, 355, 436, 439, 448, 449, 451, 465, 468, 500, 554, 555, and CT3, Saturday routes 33, 48, 52, 60, 72, 78, 136, 171, 211, 230, 245, 275, 276, 277, 436, 451, 465, 504, 553, and 554, and Sunday routes: 18, 37/38, 43, 59, 60, 78, 136, 137, 171, 201, 202, 211, 230, 245, 275, 276, 277, 431, and 436.

If you depend on the RIDE or bus service I suggest you call your representative and senator on Beacon Hill and tell them that the T budget problems should not be solved by whacking the handicapped with huge fee increases and cuts in critical bus service. In the North End your Representative is Aaron Michlewitz (617-722-2400), in East Boston it's Carlo Basile (617-722-2220). In the West End, Marty Walz (617-722-2380). In all these communities your State Senator is Anthony Petruccelli (617-722-1634).

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