Transit Justice

We deserve a REAL investment in a public transportation system NOW!

Transportation Justice

The Movement Towards Fair Transit

"The MBTA has a massive deficit. The cost of fuel, pensions and The Ride is increasing. Unlike other cities, fares haven't been raised in 5 years. Richard Davey and the T have done everything possible to cover the costs without raising the fares".

"Now riders need to start paying for the services they get. Activists who oppose the fare increase just aren't being realistic"...

Opposing Story

Hundreds of seniors, people with disabilities and other T riders gathered at the Massachusetts Transportation Building Tuesday to send a clear message to the MBTA Board of Directors: "We are not targets!" The mass demonstration coincided with an MBTA Board meeting at which members were scheduled to weigh their options in addressing the T's projected $161 million deficit for 2012.

Our Story

The MBTA is a lifeline for seniors, disabled people, students, workers, and families, esspecially for lower-income, transit dependent neighbors. Short sighted laws and policies have failed the MBTA, making them pay for big dig dept, and created a balloning financial crisis. Every penny of our fares is spent on debt payments instead for the maintinance we need to keep our system in safe, working order.

We are calling on the governor and legislature to finish the job they started and provided a sustainable solution that won't force riders to bear the brunt of Big Dig Debt. We can have an affordable and reliable public transit system that benifits all of us, whether we ride, drive, bike, or walk.

Boston On The Move

On the Move is a coalition of community based organizations in greater Boston that came together in 2000 to advocate for transportation justice. Our goal is an environmentally sustainable and socially just transportation system that is integral to the preservation and creation of livable communities.

STEERING COMMITTEE:

The Steering Committee is: Action for Regional Equity; Alternatives for Community & Environment (ACE) (including the T Riders Union); Arborway Committee; Bikes Not Bombs; Greater Four Corners Action Coalition; Livable Streets Alliance; MASSPIRG; Sierra Club; and Washington Street Corridor Coalition. Each organization has its own priorities and participates in On the Move.

Peter O'Connor

By: Peter O'Connor

We delude ourselves into thinking that we “can’t afford” to invest public funds in public transportation.

The truth is we “can’t afford” not to. I know $160 million sounds like a lot of money.

But Greater Boston is the sixth largest economy in the country and the 12th -largest in the world.

If we proceed with disinvesting in the T, or other critical parts of the infrastructure that supports the economy, we will have, sadly, been the agents of our own economic contraction...

PeterO’Connor served as the Deputy Secretary for Real Estate and Economic Development in the Executive Office of Transportation, and later as a member of the senior staff at MassDOT.

http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/Voices/Perspective/Online-Exclusives-2012/Winter/011-MB-TA-deficit-solutions-too-narrow-in-scope.aspx