THE MBTA IS planning to increase spending 8 percent in the coming fiscal year, but the transit authority’s general manager said there is not enough money for new initiatives such as a fare discount for low-income riders.
“We will be challenged to incorporate costly initiatives absent some additional source of revenue,” said General Manager Steve Poftak. “That’s been part of the discussion around means-tested fares.”
The previous MBTA board, called the Fiscal and Management Control Board, had directed T staff to present a couple alternatives for a low-income fare pilot to the new board last fall. The staff did provide an overview of fare options, but never presented the board with options for low-income fare pilots.
Poftak indicated at a board meeting on Thursday the T could not afford it. “At some point, our means may constrain our ends,” he said.
The general manager’s comments came as the current T board gave preliminary approval to a $2.55 billion fiscal 2023 budget that adds about 330 new positions and $199 million in new spending.
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About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
The budget includes funding for South Coast Rail, which is expected to open in December 2023; a bus network redesign that will boost service by 25 percent over the next five years; and the delivery of service on both branches of the Green Line extension into Medford and Somerville.
The T expects to balance the coming fiscal year’s budget with more than $300 million in federal funding. In fiscal 2024, which begins on July 1, 2023, the federal funding is expected to run out and the T will be faced with a shortfall that could easily top $200 million. One of the big questionmarks is how many riders return to the service, which will determine how much fare revenue rises.
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