Agenda Text
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Opposing MBTA fare increases until issues of equity, access, affordability, oversight, and reliability of transit service are resolved.
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Official Text
WHEREAS: The MBTA has not provided consistent, reliable service to the communities it serves and, in some cases, service quality and consistency has declined; and
WHEREAS: The MBTA has not created a discounted pass for low-income riders, making it too expensive for many residents to take the MBTA and too expensive for some people to move to locations where there is more affordable housing; and
WHEREAS: Some parts of Somerville are not well served by frequent, reliable bus service with connections to other parts of the city, including neighborhoods like Winter Hill, the Mystics, Ten Hills, and far West Somerville; and
WHEREAS: Communities and people served by the MBTA have no role in its oversight; and
WHEREAS: High quality, affordable, and reliable public transit is a public benefit, both for riders and for non-riders, both for metro Boston and Western Massachusetts; and
WHEREAS: The State should make a systematic and sustained investment in transit access for all of Massachusetts, rather than trying to achieve a revenue neutral operation; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED: That the City Council of Somerville opposes the planned increase in MBTA fares, scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2019, unless and until these issues have been addressed.