My sloppy copy and paste job from Community Labor United’s alert . Folks from CLU and Mass Senior Action (pictured at left will be at the State House Tomorrow. Will You?
SPEAK OUT FOR AFFORDABILITY, EQUITY & ACCOUNTABILITY
TOMORROW, the State Senate will vote on SB 1766 -An Act relative to transportation finance. While the Legislature has taken the responsibility to address the deep problems with transportation seriously and this bill begins to address some of the issues, we need to complete the job.
TAKE ACTION NOW!!!
CALL SENATE PRESIDENT MURRAY and your STATE SENATORS NOW to ask for their support for our amendments.
Suggested talking points:
- Hello can I speak with Senate President Murray/Senator _____________ (ask for Chief of Staff or Legislative Aide)
- Riders, workers and constituents from across the Commonwealth need your support to ensure equity, affordability and accountability are part of the transportation invesment package you will vote on tomorrow.
- Will you support:
- AFFORDABILITY FOR SENIORS & DISABLED RIDERS: Sen Spilka’s amendment to create a tiered fare cap for paratransit service so that low-income riders with disabilities are able to afford service.
- RIDERS & WORKERS VOICES IN TRANSIT DECISIONS: Sen Spilka’s amendment to create a voting rider/labor seat on RTA Advisory Boards.
- CAP ON FARE INCREASES: Sen Donnelly’samendment to protect working families from disproportionate fare increases.
-
AFFORDABILITY FOR YOUTH:Sen Petruccelli’s amendment to pilot a reduced-fare transit pass for young people up to 22years old, who are dramatically more likley to have low incomes thn other age groups.
CALL SENATE PRESIDENT MURRAY at 617-722-1500
CALL YOUR LOCAL SENATOR at 617-722-2000
To find your Senator, www.wheredoivotema.com
For more information, contact: Diana at Community Labor United 617-723-2639 or diana@massclu.org
www.publictransitpublicgood.org
The Ride is a vital service for seniors. I suggest that it is a vital service that can handled better and more affordably by contracting with private taxi providers. The MBTA is ill-suited to perform this service, in part because the service is a significant distraction from the primary focus of the MBTA — providing convenient, safe, efficient, and affordable public transportation.
I fully support the other three provisions.
Sen. Jehlen making this exact argument.
And, of course, the MBTA should continue its work in making its stations and vehicles ADA accessible, to maximize the number of people who can take the T unassisted. The RIDE should make sure that its users need the RIDE for that particular trip, and that the T can’t handle their trip — start, destination, and all intermediate transfers appropriately accessible for that user.
I don’t understand the discount for those under 22. Frankly, if your parents can send you to BU for $50k, you can afford a regular price bus pass. In fact, I’d love to see the following city schools (Harvard, MIT, BU, Northeastern, Emerson, colleges on the Fens, etc) be *required* to purchase (and issue) an MBTA monthly subway pass for each and every undergraduate. The school can decide how much to charge the students for those monthly passes 9 months of the year.
The T gets steady income. The students get access to the T without worrying about the price of each fare. The universities which subsidize the pass help provide revenue to the gov’t “in lieu of taxes”.
P.S. I left out BC and Tufts because they’re really at the edge of the system, so they wouldn’t get anywhere near the benefit.
Senator Stan Rosenberg is sending this around
find the legislature’s website hard to navigate, HesterPrynne recently posted this helpful tutorial.
fenway49!