January 27, 2012 By Malden News The MBTA has some gall. In recent days, they have proposed cuts in bus service in the city and at the same time are proposing hikes in fares! This is from the same outfit that for decades has squandered taxpayers’ money, provided an inadequate level of service and has run at a huge deficit. Now, to top off this sorry record of mismanagement, the MBTA is saying that it needs to cut service and raise fares! And they aren’t even promising that things will get better. No, no – the head honcho at the “T” admits that even if these recommendations become a reality, he can’t guarantee improved service or that the fares won’t go up again next year or the year after that. Enough is enough! The management of the MBTA has got to “get real”. They have to finally appreciate the fact that for seniors, for people with limited incomes and the “working poor”, the “T” is a necessity of life, not a luxury. The management of the MBTA has got to begin realizing that the cuts they propose – and the hikes in fares that they seek – will adversely affect many people in Malden – people who are seemingly always getting the shaft from the state and federal governments. The time has come for the bigwigs at the “T” to think about the “little guy” who can’t afford to pay more for a bus ride and would be severely impacted by the elimination of bus routes. Any cut-back in service would impose a tremendous burden on many local citizens because for most, that bus route is their only means of transportation. It’s easy for the over-paid MBTA bosses to sit in their ivory tower and carelessly throw out ill-advised recommendations with little or no regard for their commuters. But this time, we plead with them to finally recognize the harm that their proposals would do to the “little guy” in Malden. Cutting service in older, urban communities like Malden is unconscionable. Charging more for inferior service would add insult to injury. Service cut-backs and hiked fares might be affordable in more wealthy communities, but certainly not here. The MBTA-dependent citizens of Malden must do everything they can to prevent the “T” from cutting bus service and raising fares in our city. It’s outrageous.

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