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Thanks, Governor Baker! Happy July 1st to you, too!
By CopleyScott17 on Fri, 07/01/2016 - 5:18am
Thank goodness you pledged not to raise taxes or fees! For a second there, I thought the price of my new monthly MBTA pass was $9.50 more than last month. I mean, that would be an increased fee, right? Or a tax hike on non-driving commuters, maybe? Either way, it is SUCH a relief to know that good ol' Honest Charlie Baker is on my side, fighting against all those Democratic hacks, and would NEVER let that happen!
So when will they change that typo on the CharlieCard page back to $75?
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Comments
If I saw improvements or we
If I saw improvements or we got more than 1 new station every 30 years I'd be fine with it. Alas, that isn't the case.
Feel lucky if you just have the combo pass...the CR passes took the brunt of the hike.
Pay more for less
Paying more for the same crappy service on the commuter rail. Not to mention, the schedule changes which removed 4 trains daily from the Haverhill line. Still can't keep up with the reduced schedule - late trains, mechanical problems, etc. the list is endless.
Hey, Governor Baker--Thanks a heap for raising the fare on the T
without even bothering to improve the services! It's really disgusting!
And once again
They're not charging to ride after 9:30 on the Fourth. What a great way to say "thank you" to the people who come into town three times a year for parties.
These are the same people who
These are the same people who have been paying less and less in gas taxes every year even though they are driving more on average. Meanwhile T fares have gone up every other year. The discrepancy between how spoiled drivers and screwed over T users are treated is a damn joke.
I agree
Primarily a driver here (within the city) and I agree, raise the gas tax 1 or 2 cents a gallon. No one is going to complain about less than a dollar per fill up raise in price. Gas is low right now, this is the time to do it!
Why is there no political will behind this idear?
Anyone one else not have
Anyone one else not have their month pass renew this morning? Mine didnt...
I did, I figured
That all the miserable complainers would drive in this month, making them roads exponentially more miserable. The extra 10% didn't seem so bad in the face of that. Trains should be easy for the next month.
Mine did not update on the Green Line
When I boarded the trolley above ground, didn't update. When I got off at Park St., I checked on the fare machine and it did upload.
Or a tax hike on non-driving
I made a trip from downtown to my parents place next to Leominster yesterday.
left at 4:30
arrived at 6 fucking 30.
2 hours to go from the O'Neill to RT 190, a measily 45 miles away. Driving is now just as slow as the local Fitchburg!
Something has to give. We can't keep fucking over public transportation fixes inside 128, and letting the gas tax decrease as another 100,000 commuters are expected to hit the roads and travel east into Boston alone.
Baker and the MBTA regime
He's likely gonna be a one-term and the fare evasions will be enforced by some quasi-militant measures. Fingernails pulled me thinks.
You realize he's the most
You realize he's the most popular governor in the country with a 70% approval rating, right?
You realize UHub
Is full of angry bitter liberals.
And damn proud of it, buckaroo
Although I think the phrase nowadays is "progressives," but, hey, you do you.
I've seen that stat
I've never seen an answer to the obvious followup question: why.
Time for gas tax and tolls to increase too
The Baker administration and the Globe keep telling us what a deal the MBTA was at its old price compared to NYC or DC. Without getting into how much less we get for that deal, why is the MBTA the only transit fee they want to compare? The gas tax is NY state is 42 cents compared to our paltry 26. Tolls? The tunnels to NYC are $9.75-11.75 depending on the time of day, ours only $3.50. Time for some increases in the gas tax and tolls for parity, unless ol' Baker is just trying to discourage MBTA use.
Can I add parking meters to
Can I add parking meters to your list?
Street parking went up
20% a few years ago, from $1 an hour to $1.25. The toll fares are real . I am a driver, and you could up the fare on the pike by 10 cents, airport tolls by 25-50 cents...I don't think there would be a *strong* argument against it, and it would raise millions and millions of dollars. same with gas tax. Adding 2 or so cents in gas tax would generate a ton of money and the low cost of gas means people wouldn't even notice. The price constantly fluctuates anyways.
Problem is Republicans fight tooth and nail to not raise taxes....unless its on the poor or marginalized. As if raising the gas tax would spell certain unseating at election time. If they announced it on the back page of The Banner no one would even know or care.
Last time I was in NYC I paid $14 to use one of the bridges! FOURTEEN DOLLARS. People here would shit themselves.....
Congestion pricing as well
The last few weeks 93 has had rush hour accidents, and traffic has been spilling out in the city streets to try to get around the tunnels. A shuttle from the seaport to North Station took me 45 minutes. I could have walked faster.
At this rate, it'll start making sense to stable and ride horses in Boston again to get from A/B.
And look at the towers going up. Its just going to get worse. Much worse.
I would have doubled fares
I would have doubled fares like I did electricity rates. Who rides the MBTA anyway?
Bonny King Charlie doesn't give a shit
Listen to proles demanding actual services for their tax dollars instead of corporate pork - HA!
He's not interested in what we think.
He's not interested in growing the MA economy or protecting our resources and our livelihoods.
He's after one thing - being a BIG MAN WHO BUSTS UNIONS AND BLAMES THEM FOR HIS INACTION AND HIS GRAND PLAN TO DESTROY ALL PUBLIC SERVICES. Why? Because that's what will result in a satisfying spooge of Koch money being deposited in his precious little Pioneer hole, that's why.
They're smoking cigars in the afterglow while our cities choke on cars and our local airshed and planet choke on the pollution. Funny how we don't see the whole "we care about asthma because Charlie's kid has it" angle here now, eh?
He won't be around when the water comes over, so what does he care?
Baker is literally the most
Baker is literally the most popular governor in the entire country, according to actual polls. Which just makes the wailing and gnashing of teeth from liberals so much funnier.
Not impressed.
It's telling that Baker's fans always point out how popular Baker is in the polls. If you want to impress, show him fixing the T and other public transit infrastructure rather than cutting it and discouraging commuters from using it.
Charlie's popularity will be cold comfort when you are stuck in traffic with all the people who would have taken public transit if it was maintained as a viable alternative.
That's nice dear
I'm sure that will be as effective and useful when his kid has an asthma exacerbation as being voted "most popular" was effective at keeping a high school classmate of mine out of jail.
W was a very popular president too - and a complete and utter trainwreck.
Nice
People losing their jobs is funny to you too then I suppose?
Charlie on the MTA
All commuters should sing the ultimate protest song on all buses and trains. A flash mob singing the song at South Station would attract wide spread media coverage.
Yes, yes
The best way to improve things on the T is to prevent any revenue increases while the cost of everything else goes up.
Heck, I won't be satisfied until the cost of a subway ride is one $0.85 token, just like it was in 1991.
And technically Baker didn't raise any fares. The board of the T did. They do function independently. Of course the Commonwealth could have kicked in the additional funds to cover the operating costs, but do you hazard a guess how those funds would have been obtained in the first place?
The gas tax falls millions
The gas tax falls millions and millions short of covering what drivers cost. They don't raise the gas tax, they just raid the pockets of others, including non drivers.
So
If Baker raised the gas tax (an idea I support, by the way) no one would call him out on breaking his "no new taxes" pledge (which is part of the outrage in the original post)?
I'm sure CopleyScott would be okay with him breaking the pledge to do that, yet he is upset that a board, not the Governor himself, raised fares.
Exactly.
I'm calling Baker out for lying about fee and tax hikes. I never believed him. I certainly didn't vote for him. But now that this particular lie is out in the open, you're damn right I want him to increase gas taxes, turnpike tolls, registration fees, and whatever else we can extract from the drivers who have been coddled for decades at the expense of those of us who take public transportation.
And please, spare me this drivel about the board being responsible, not the governor. If he wants to claim credit for the "reforms" and "improvements," he's got to share the blame for the unfair fare hikes.
A serious question
Do you know anything about politics?
The non-T using taxpayers of the Commonwealth would not let the General Court pass an increase in the gas tax to prevent T riders from facing any kind of fare hike. The more politically savvy move is to couple the rise in fares (which remember, is capped by law) with a move to increase revenue for the T through other sources, such as the gas tax. However, since Baker pledged not to raise taxes, it is the fiduciary responsibility of the T Board to get funds somehow to keep the trains and buses running, and fares are a good source for that.
See link posted below.
Click on link.
Read how Baker's Treasury Secretary proposed the fare increases.
Learn how Baker appointees approved the fare increases.
Now, you might live in a fantasy world where Baker has kept his pledge not to raise taxes or fees. But in the real world, he reneged, he lied, and he betrayed voters who believed him.
Savvy politics? Maybe. We'll see next election. Personally, I hope honesty still has a place in the State House.
You've got a system HEMMORHAGING money
And the state is stone broke.
How exactly to you even maintain service - much less improve it - without raising fares?
If you want the state to pay more - where exactly does it come from.
I'm in favor of a higher gas tax - but that's not on Baker - the legislature wouldn't pass that with a gun to their heads.
Rather than bitching - what's your solution?
Where's the money going to come from?
"Baker appointees approved the fare increases"
Those are your words. Note, you didn't say that Baker approved the fare increases, which would be the case if the overwhelmingly Democratic legislature passed a gas or sales tax increase, which would have to be approved (or vetoed) by Baker. Yes, it's semantics, but I was those same semantics that allowed Romney to say that he never raised taxes while he jacked all sorts of fees up all over state government.
On a different note, even though I've been giving you grief all day (only because you are wrong), you posted something today, which started a conversation. Most people just wait for Adam to post. Good job, even though you are wrong.
EDIT- now my respect in you is fading, after changing what you wrote, but as long as you agree that you wrote what I quoted you as writing, that's okay.
I fixed two minor typos.
Nothing substantive, and nothing that would in any way affect your interpretations. And thanks for the kind words. At least we can agree on the need to increase the gas tax :-)
Oops
Sorry for the accusation.
MA raised the gas tax a
MA raised the gas tax a couple years ago. Quit spreading outright lies.
And ...
So? Taxes, fees, etc. still only cover 58.7% of the cost of driving facilities.
The rest comes from the general fund.
That doesn't even cover the costs to monitor and mitigate air pollution and other externalized costs.
http://taxfoundation.org/article/gasoline-taxes-and-user-fees-pay-only-h...
To be honest? I'd prefer a vehicle mile tax to fuel taxes - that would be fair, and easy to implement based on mileage at inspection.
I don't understand why VMT is
I don't understand why VMT is in any way better than a gas tax. I feel like the only reason we're even considering it is that the phrase "gas tax" has somehow become a political third rail.
The gas tax is not only easier to administer, but it also has the added benefit of encouraging people to drive more conservatively and buy more fuel efficient cars.
Agreed.
Increasing the gas tax would be much easier logistically but a tough slog politically. Which scares the crap out of "leaders" like Baker.
Though I suppose you can make the argument that a VMT would be more fair, if it excludes other uses of gas that don't take a toll (no pun intended) on the roads and bridges -- lawnmowers, boats, etc. But then you'd lose the added benefit of discouraging fossil fuel use.
I say everytime we raise mass transit fares, we take the average and increase the gas tax and tolls by the same percentage.
Agreed.
Increasing the gas tax would be much easier logistically but a tough slog politically. Which scares the crap out of "leaders" like Baker.
Though I suppose you can make the argument that a VMT would be more fair, if it excludes other uses of gas that don't take a toll (no pun intended) on the roads and bridges -- lawnmowers, boats, etc. But then you'd lose the added benefit of discouraging fossil fuel use.
I say everytime we raise mass transit fares, we take the average and increase the gas tax and tolls by the same percentage.
A Monthly Link Pass
has gone up from $59 to $84.50 since 2007 -- that's a difference of 35.54% or a change of 43.22%, while wages have remained pretty stagnant. This year's increase was a difference of 11.91% and a percentage change of 12.67%
By comparison, the gas tax has risen just 3 cents in the past 25 years.
After buying a Link Pass for the past several years, I decided to opt for a bus-only pass for July for $55 (up from $50) and will try to plan my trips to use more buses and fewer trains.
Convenience? Ha!
And it's Baker's fault?
Wages have remained stagnant?
I didn't say wages being stagnant was Baker's fault
But I heap some blame on him for transferring Big Dig debt to the T in the first place.
The OP was complaining that Baker said he was not going to raise taxes or fees -- which many of us didn't believe anyway. Yes, he didn't raise the fares personally, but the buck stops there.
Yep.
If you're going to run as a one-trick pony (e.g. "read my lips"), and then you just renege on it but still claim that a fare hike is different than a tax or fee hike, then people are probably going to call you out on your hypocrisy.
Of course, if you're running with a big R next to you name, most of us recognize that "no new taxes" means "no new taxes for you, my wealthy benefactors," but that distinction still seems to be evading the notice of a lot of people.
Link Pass
I have no complaints about the increase, although the cost of the link pass has gone up rapidly. I understand why the T eliminated the rapid transit pass when they created the link pass - to increase revenues. Nevertheless, it's not quite fair to those of us who only use the subway and don't use busses.
Here's my viewpoint
Before the creation of the Link Pass, I was paying $79 a month to use the same modes I do now. The same distance is now $84.50, an increase of $5.50, or an increase of about 7% in over a decade.
The creation of the Link Pass was a bit messy, but for people out my way, we made out like bandits until now. Hate the game, not the players.
Everyone wants to raise taxes on Other People
But when their own get raised the outrage is off the charts. Quick, let's screw some people from a different demographic instead.
I'm not a fan...
of Charlie Baker, generally speaking.
With that said, I'm pretty sure the state has had a law on the books instituted in 2013 that says the T can raise fares up to 10% every two years. Utilization of this law began with the 2014 fare increase, which was a 5% increase.
Though the 2016 increase was reported to be averaging 9.3% system-wide, rapid transit on a Charlie Card appears to be an approximate 7.2% increase. I think the monthly passes for rapid transit & commuter rail have taken the brunt of the increases though.
The 2013 law was put in place to help place a cap on increases, after an approximate 23% fare increase in 2012.
A point to take from this...though any increase is not a welcomed one, and I still don't care for Governor Baker, don't go pointing fingers at him for a law that was established before he took office. And shame on anyone for believing that if a politician says "this" or "that" will or won't happen during their term, that it's set in stone & you can't take it to the bank.
That law set a limit, not a
That law set a limit, not a requirement. And there is no such limit on the gas tax.
Uh...
I KNOW the law set a limit...hence why I said, "the T can raise fares up to 10% every two years". The key word is "can", not "must".
Why you think I didn't understand that is beyond me.
Bakers been an alright
Bakers been an alright governor (didn't vote for him), but he is pushing for more spending for the T. 4 years ago capital spending for the T was at approximately 337 million, currently it's at 600 mill and in 2 years at the target of 765 mill.
(Skip to page 120) http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/0/docs/infoCenter/docs_materials/...
Anyways screw him for lying.
I say everyone should just
I say everyone should just drive into downtown and clog the roadways as a protest, but I feel like this was the plan all along. Make the T unbearable enough that no one uses it so that the car advocates get their way.
Car advocates?
Do you picture some smokey back room filled with evil old men who want you to drive? Should we call the Super-Friends? The last thing that people who drive want is more people driving the same roads.
Does Baker have any veto
Does Baker have any veto authority over fares that the MBTA (which is a "public authority"-type corporation, not directly part of the executive branch) charges, or is this just ignorant whining?
There's this thing called Google.
You can check it out sometime when you're not distracted by all the ignorant whining.
Click on this:
http://www.wbjournal.com/article/20160125/NEWS01/160129967/mbta-fare-inc...
Or just read the money quote:
"Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, a member of Baker's cabinet, helped develop a range of fare-increase proposals, and it will be the Baker-appointed Fiscal and Management Control Board that determines how much fares increase July 1."
And in the least shocking but most appropriate news of the say..
The Green Line will be running shuttle buses from Washington to Babcock. They just offloaded the inbound train, helpfully announcing it will be "a while" before the buses arrive. But hey, at least it's not rush hour on a Friday before a long holiday weekend on the busiest streetcar route in the world-class city of Boston.
They can't run a mass transit system, but they sure do know how to manage a fare increase!
Actually, they're not so good
Actually, they're not so good at managing the fare increase either! :-P
http://www.dotnews.com/2016/mbta-scrambling-load-new-fares-friday-price-...
Thank you...
...I stand corrected :-)
Delays every day
The Red Line has had delays every day this week. Summer Snowmageddon? Nope, just the new norm. More money, please. Written on a bus with no AC.
The T needs a bailout.
Buses are not immune either
This is just the last 6 days on the #9. I won't even bother with the delays due to "traffic" as it is dozens of e-mail alerts:
Route 9 experiencing moderate delays due to disabled bus
Last updated: Jul 01 2016 12:12 PM
Route 9 experiencing moderate delays due to disabled bus
Last updated: Jun 30 2016 11:32 AM
Route 9 experiencing moderate delays due to disabled bus
Last updated: Jun 29 2016 12:56 PM
Route 9 experiencing moderate delays due to disabled bus
Last updated: Jun 27 2016 09:30 PM
Route 9 experiencing minor delays due to disabled bus
Last updated: Jun 26 2016 03:03 PM
Baker will indeed be a one-termer, an open foe may prove a curse
Although the Democrats are doing very well under Baker (bathroom bill, illegals running wild, new fees, condemnation of Trump, etc.), they will put forward a true, registered Democrat, probably with one or more of the PC bona-fides, gay, minority, indicted etc. that will get them enthusiastic. Meanwhile the significant Trump electorate, myself included, will also do whatever it takes to defeat Baker. Much like Bush Sr. (very popular at times) Baker will find himself on the outside looking in.
please
"illegals running wild"? You just shot down any credibility you had by including that comment. What parallel universe do you live on where this is happening?
My monthly car payment is now less than commuter rail
It would cost $318 each month to take the commuter rail to my job with the added bonus of waiting 1.5 to 3 hours for a train thanks to the updated schedule. My car payment is $314. Baker & MBTA - DO BETTER that's crazy and no help to the working people who depend on the T.