Save the MBTA

My name is Doug. I will soon become a grandfather. My grand-daughter will be growing up in Springfield. I want her to be proud she lives in a state that values public transportation.

I commute by bicycle year round in Boston and Cambridge and use the T to get to the airport and around Boston when the conditions are bad for cycling. My wife and I drive about 12,000 miles yearly, including visiting our daughter in Springfield, parents in Needham and Lexington, to Vermont and the Adirondacks. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is crucial to my family's quality of life. My son and daughter-in-law live in Cambridge, and because of the MBTA do not own a car. Boston is a vibrant place to live because of the T.

The MBTA passed moderate fare increases and some service cuts for 2012, and expects dramatic fare increases and service cuts in future years without additional sources of funding. Thousands of public comments at MBTA meetings showed how cuts in service and fare increases would be a great hardship for many, including for my patients who rely on THE RIDE. Cuts in service and fare increases harm the economy, lower property values, clog the roads, and worsen greenhouse gas emissions.

It has been 21 years since Massachusetts changed the gasoline tax, resulting in multi-billion dollar deficits in funding highway and public transportation infrastructure, and putting a strain on state funding for education and health care. A 25 cent increase would adequately fund the MBTA, address infrastructure needs, and begin to pay down the deficit

The Massachusetts constitution allows gas tax revenue to fund mass transportation in addition to highways. There is no better way to maintain and improve highway and public transportation across the state than to raise the gas tax, not the fares. It is the right thing to do.