HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-02-11-COD-ltr(a)
Town of Lexington
Commission on Disability
Victoria Buckley, Chair
February 11, 2012
Jon Davis, General Manager
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Ten Park Plaza
Boston, MA 02116
Dear Mr. Davis:
The Lexington Commission on Disability strongly opposes the MBTA’s proposed
cuts. The budget cuts being discussed by the MBTA could result in Lexington losing its
bus service – the 76 and the 62 buses – as well as $80,000 in the suburban subsidy
program. The cost of RIDE services could be increased dramatically. In times of
economic stress and environmental concerns, these are not cuts that would be
welcomed at all. The simple fact is that people who take mass transit often have no
other means to get to work.
Our biggest concern is the proposed increase in paratransit (RIDE) fares, an
increase ranging from 125% to 500%. The Commission advocates for its citizens with
disabilities and we feel that this fare increase could be devastating to the independence
of these individuals. These are your most vulnerable customers who have the most
needs. These are people getting to treatment services and getting to and from work
who cannot afford huge cost increases. We need to support and advocate for our
neediest citizens. The savings can be documented in dollars and cents but the costs
are bigger than dollars, since they impact individuals’ independence and self-worth. We
need to look at some of those individuals, some of those 695 people in Lexington who
use the RIDE:
We have the proud hard-working man with difficulties in four limbs due to
cerebral palsy who goes to work every day with pride.
We have the middle-aged man with severe anxiety and paranoia who goes back
and forth to treatment daily with the RIDE so he can learn ways to deal with his
illness.
We have a young man with a power wheelchair trying to go to his college classes
with his personal care assistant.
We have people of all ages and all types of special abilities who without the RIDE
would not be able to get to work or get to medical care and treatment.
We have a responsibility to support these individuals’ efforts to be independent and
successful.
1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE • LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02420
With your proposed cuts, the town would be forced to subsidize fares since the ADA
requires paratransit services within ¾ mile of the town’s Lexpress routes. The town
cannot absorb this additional cost or the added infrastructure cost to monitor which
zones would have different fares.
We also object to the proposed elimination of MBTA bus routes 62 and 76.
These routes connect Alewife Station with the Bedford Veterans Administration
Hospital, Hanscom Air Force Base (HAFB), Hanscom Field, commercial districts along
Route 128/95, Minute Man Regional Technical High School, Beth Israel Deaconess
facilities, Minute Man National Historic Park, major historic sites, and Arlington Heights,
as well as the towns of Lexington, Bedford, and Lincoln. The neighboring town to
Lexington is Bedford and some of our neighbors are disabled veterans who need the
buses and the RIDE to get medical care, counseling, and all that they deserve after
serving their country. That means the riders are: veterans seeking medical services,
their visitors, and their families; commuters in and out of Lexington, both disabled and
not; students for the high school and for the vocational/technical high school. For many
riders, public transit is their only option.
Within the proposed cuts, Lexington also might be facing losing its $80,000
subsidy for the town’s minibus system, Lexpress. Lexpress connects to the Burlington
and Bedford suburban transit systems as well as the Lowell Regional Transit Authority,
creating a network of public transportation resources in the extended region. These
buses help the elderly and students get around town and remain independent. Many of
these riders do not have alternative transportation and would be isolated without these
services. The Town depends on the MBTA’s continued financial support for Lexpress;
in order to maintain the program, Lexington will be faced with adding $80,000 to its
already significant tax levy allocation.
We cannot afford the human cost of eliminating service. The cost to our
community of losing the bus service is larger than financial. Without the RIDE being at
a reasonable cost we are impacting individuals’ independence and self-worth, since for
many not having the RIDE means not going out to work. Without jobs, without access
to medical care and treatment, and without access to participate in our community at
large is wrong and this raises issues larger than monetary ones. Other citizens who are
not disabled may be using public transportation because that is all they can afford and
they need to get to work by using the T.
Creating cuts that would impact those who already are challenged financially or
physically makes no sense. Please do not take away public transportation services
from those in our communities who desperately need them.
Sincerely,
Victoria Buckley
Cc: Senator Kenneth Donnelly kenneth.donnelly@masenate.gov
Senator Susan Fargo Susan.Fargo@masenate.gov
Representative Jay Kaufman Jay.Kaufman@mahouse.gov
Representative Thomas Stanley Thomas.Stanley@mahouse.gov
Richard A. Davey, MassDOT Secretary and CEO Richard.Daveyr@state.ma.us
Fare Proposal fareproposal@mbta.com
Jeanette Rebecchi, Lexpress Contact Information Transportation Services Coordinator, 1625 Massachusetts
Ave., Lexington, MA 02420