Robert DeLeo: MBTA fare hikes must be a ‘last resort’

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_politics/2015/10/robert_deleo_mbta_fare_hikes_must_be_a_last_resort



NOT SO FAST: House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo is reviewing reports from the MBTA and says fare hikes should be considered only as a last resort.

Robert DeLeo: MBTA fare hikes must be a ‘last resort’
Monday, October 19, 2015
Jack Encarnacao

Hiking MBTA fares should be a “last resort” as the transit agency studies how to close a $242 million deficit in its next budget, House Speaker Robert 
A. DeLeo said, weighing in on the latest T controversy.

“Speaker DeLeo continues to review reports from the MBTA and its Fiscal Management and Control Board as they work to 
stabilize and improve MBTA finances and operations,” DeLeo spokesman Seth Gitell said in a statement issued to the Herald yesterday. “He continues to believe that fare increases should only be considered as a last resort.”

The T — which is required by law to have a balanced budget each year and whose finances assume a five-year fare increase in fiscal 2017 — is looking at multiple ways to increase revenue and cut costs. The T’s Fiscal Management and Control Board reviewed a range of options at its meeting Friday, including jacking up base fares of subways, buses and commuter rail, and raising parking fees.

The T is also looking to revise its fare policy, which was last updated in 2012, and adopt fare changes that will take effect July 1, 2016.