GREATER BOSTON has one of the most expansive transit services for the disabled in the nation — and it shows in the bottom line. The Ride, the MBTA’s fleet of white-and-yellow cars and vans, is a lifeline for many residents who would otherwise be stranded. But it’s become a financial disaster. The Ride’s costs have quadrupled in a decade, and show no signs of abating. Each trip costs $40. The system carries less than 1 percent of the T’s passengers, but consumes almost 10 percent of its budget. It’s a vital, necessary service, but not sustainable in its current form.
In the short term, the T’s recent proposals to closely monitor eligibility and raise fares are needed steps to preserve the system. The T has not been careful enough in the past to ensure that only those who really require door-to-door service get it. But those measures alone won’t solve the system’s woes. The vast majority of passengers on The Ride genuinely need it, and their numbers are only going to grow as Baby Boomers age. Nationally, even systems for the disabled with stricter rules and higher fares face rising costs. So while the T should go ahead with reforms now, the state also needs a comprehensive strategy to manage the looming demand.
Programs like The Ride are mandated by federal law, but the MBTA’s system significantly exceeds those requirements. Its $2 fare is lower than in Washington, Atlanta, Chicago, or New York – lower, for that matter, than in Worcester or Springfield. The federal government only requires agencies to offer service within three-quarters of a mile of subway and bus lines, and in each of those cities that’s all passengers get. In Greater Boston, though, passengers can travel virtually anywhere in the region.
In that context, the T’s proposal to raise The Ride’s base fare to $3 or $4.50, and enact premium fares outside the three-quarter mile area, is not the heartless proposal that some critics have suggested. Fares would roughly match those in other cities. And riders outside the three-quarter-mile limit would still have service, albeit at higher prices. And even in outlying areas, the state can and should explore ways to make certain that the poorest of the disabled continue to get service they can afford.
To preserve current service levels into the future, though, the state must also look at longer-term reforms. The MBTA is one of scores of agencies in Massachusetts that offer transit services to the handicapped. Each one buys and dispatches vehicles separately, creating an inefficient patchwork with ample opportunities for redundancy and waste. The patchwork also creates bizarre inconveniences for riders, who have to weigh jurisdictional lines when planning a trip to the grocery store.
The T’s proposal to raise The Ride’s base fare is not the heartless proposal that some critics have suggested.
Better coordination between these agencies could eliminate some of these inefficiences, and also provide more opportunities to tap federal aid. Many trips on The Ride are to medical appointments, and may be eligible for Medicaid reimbursement. The MBTA, though, is forbidden by law from asking its passengers the purpose of their trips, thus forfeiting those payments. A report last month by Inspector General Gregory W. Sullivan suggested that a statewide dispatcher would legally be able to check Medicaid eligibility for all passengers, ensuring the state gets the reimbursements that are being left on the table now, and that the neediest passengers get service they can afford.
All transit services are facing cutbacks, but the debate over The Ride has been especially charged, with advocates accusing the agency of balancing its books on the backs of a vulnerable population. That rhetoric is unfair, especially considering the hundreds of millions of dollars the T has spent on making subways and buses more accessible. On its current course, The Ride will begin to crowd out all other priorities. A service that is unsustainable in the long term benefits no one – especially the riders who need it most.