In his column last week “The MBTA needs to reassess its priorities,” Michael Denham correctly pointed out that Mass Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) first priority should be public transit – after all, they are a public transport organization – but his suggestion that the state should write it a blank check for its losses is ridiculous. The MBTA needs to be thinking about the long-term economic effects of operating at significant loss. Consider United States Postal Service (USPS), a highly subsidized government organization that did as he suggested – it prioritized only its service. They got mail from one place to another quickly and safely. After decades walking the line of insolvency, an organization that ignored its finances has now been forced to lay off thousands of government employees and cut the speed and quality of its service immensely. Government-subsidized organizations need to be maintaining a balance between economic efficiency and quality of service.
Public transit, as Mr. Denham astutely indicates, should not make money. Given
that the MBTA currently has debt outstanding in the range of $5.2 billion, I don’t think we need to worry about this happening any time soon. In fact, every year the average Massachusetts taxpayer spends roughly $200 subsidizing the MBTA, regardless of whether or not they use it. I commend the MBTA for taking the initiative and recognizing that in order to maintain service in the long-term, short-term cuts need to be made. Failure to recognize the reality of one’s financial situation is exactly what caused the recession in the first place, and this approach of indifference that Mr. Denham suggests is what continues to perpetuate it. As a Northeastern student, I am not happy that the E Line might be cut, but I understand the necessity. The Northeastern community needs to recognize that we are a part of the much larger Boston community; if closing down the E Line and hiking fares is what it’s going to take to maintain safe public transport for the city of Boston, so be it. I’ll take the bus.
– Daniel Nordness is a sophomore computer engineering major.
