We in Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP) can appreciate that the MBTA is going through difficult financial stresses due to the loss of ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic. And, that like other transit systems across the US, the agency is trying to find ways to stem the continuing loss in revenue through the proposed Forging Ahead plan. However, we are alarmed about the harm those cuts will do regionally both during the pandemic and long term.
The current challenges transit-dependent front-line workers face are enormous and must be met. In the near term, front line workers throughout the metro area who rely on the MBTA to get to work, already commute in a stressful, potentially hazardous environment, often working late hours and taking multiple modes of transit. The proposed service cuts will disproportionately affect those workers, who don’t have jobs that can be done from home. The fact that the buses and subway cars aren’t crowded currently is a good thing to minimize the spread of the virus.
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