AMHERST — Fare increases, service cuts, greenhouse emissions and rural transportation took center stage at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on Friday, March 22, as western Massachusetts residents gathered to discuss a state plan to improve regional transportation.
The drafted report, entitled, “A Vision for the Future of Massachusetts Regional Transit Authorities,” was created by the Task Force on Regional Transit Authority Performance and Funding.
It lays out a plan providing regional transit authorities (RTAs) with $90.5 million in state contract assistance for fiscal year 2020, with an automatic inflator to increase funding each subsequent year.
The report also sets goals such as increasing ridership on public transportation; small, periodic increases in fares; reducing greenhouse emissions by at least 40 percent by 2040; increasing transportation options in rural areas; and working with communities to create more sidewalks and bike lanes.
“The importance of public transport in our region and the economic impact that it has cannot be overlooked,” Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz said as he introduced the event.
Following a presentation from MassDOT Rail & Transit Administrator Astrid Glynn, audience members ranging from elected officials from across western Massachusetts to constituents who rely on public transportation in their daily lives shared thoughts and suggestions for the task force. Around 55 people attended the meeting.
State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa said that during her 2018 campaign, she spoke with many people who were interested in public transportation, though some were concerned that service times would not accommodate their work or school schedules.
“There is a desire, but there is not the service that matches that desire,” Sabadosa said.
Sabadosa proposed improved service into both Hampden County and Boston as issues for the state to address, as well as lowering prices of train routes ending in Northampton so that they are comparable to the cheaper fares for routes ending in Springfield.
Rob Kusner, a mathematics professor at UMass, was critical of the plan’s proposal to regularly increase fares.
While the report reasons that small, predictable increases every three years will be less harmful than unpredictable, large increases, Kusner said that he believes the task force needs to focus on making the cost of public transportation lower than expenses related to private transportation in order to increase ridership.
“I think having fare-free transit service is a model the world needs to be thinking about,” Kusner said, “because if we don’t do that, it’s always going to be easier to get in the car and drive somewhere without thinking of what you’re doing.”’
“I think we should be trying to reduce fares, making them as close to zero as possible,” he added.
State Rep. Mindy Domb urged the task force to consider improving routes that allow at-risk populations better access to facilities such as food pantries, senior centers and courts.
Several speakers, such as Amherst Town Councilor Evan Ross, called for greater connections between counties.
“There’s no magical line between PVTA and FRTA,” Ross said before noting that a bus trip from Amherst to Greenfield Community College requires getting on three different buses. “We really need better connectivity.”
Speakers from Franklin County also pointed out that Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA) is the only RTA in the state without weekend service. FRTA also lacks late evening routes.
Lance Fritz, a member of the Leyden Select Board, said that current routes in Franklin County have driven some residents away from the communities they have lived in for decades.
“I have seen seniors who were forced to leave the community they grew up in because they couldn’t access medical services,” Fritz said.
“They spent their entire life in that community, and they have given back to that community,” he added, “so I would seriously want you to consider these people when you’re making your decisions, and I appreciate the fact that you’re even looking at it.”
Members of the public can continue to submit comments on the draft through March 29 by emailing Elizabeth.McCarthy@dot.state.ma.us.
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.
