Cuts to the MBTA routes serving Watertown would be inconvenient for some but for others it would be devastating, including those relying on The Ride – the T’s para-transport service.

A group of residents expressed their concerns to the Town Council’s State, Federal and Regional Government subcommittee Tuesday night.

Watertown’s main bus routes, the 71, 73 and 70, are not on the MBTA’s list of routes that might be cut or altered. The MBTA proposes shortening the route of the 70A in Waltham.

Some of those that could be eliminated are the 504, 553 and 554, express buses to downtown Boston. One scenario has them being cut only on the weekends, but the second has them cut all together.

Town Councilor Cecilia Lenk said she uses the buses to go to into Boston for cultural events on the weekends, while she has four recent college grads living at her house who depend on the lines to get to work.

“The four post grads depend on public transportation and on the list of routes three would not be able to get to work (if the routes were cut),” Lenk said.

Another route on the cutting block is the 52 bus, from Watertown Yard through Newton Centre to the Dedham Mall. If that were lost, Brian Charlson told the subcommittee he would have to pay much more under the MBTA plan.

Charlson, who is visually impaired, relies on the bus to get to work at the Carroll Center for the blind in Newton.

He would rely on The Ride, the T’s para-transport system, which would rise sharply if the 52 bus was cut (it is on the list of cuts for both scenarios released by the MBTA).

The increase for The Ride fares is higher than the 35-43 percent increase proposed for bus and subway fares, Charlson said.        

“The smallest increase is from $2 to $4.50, by my math that is more than a 100 percent increase,” Charlson said. “Because I would live in an area with no public transportation (if the 52 is cut) under one of the proposals I would have to pay $12.”

Watertown resident Mark Peterson said the T cuts have not gotten the attention that other cuts might.

“If they were thinking of raising the toll on the Mass. Pike 50 percent and close a lane, there would be a huge reaction,” Peterson said. “This is a much bigger disaster.”

MBTA’s Funding Gap

The funding problem does not solely lie with the T service. The MBTA is part of the Department of Transportation, which also took over the Mass Pike and the debt from the Big Dig.

Watertown State Rep. Jonathan Hecht said the problem is a long term one, which will not be solved by just the fare increases and service cuts.

“This is not a problem of the last couple of years, and it is not just a problem with the T, it has effected public transportation in general,” Hecht said.

He said the solution should include people using all kinds of transportation, and he supports looking at having a gas tax increase as part of the solution.
The T is not just facing a gap in the operating budget, it also has a gap in the maintenance budget, State Sen. Will Brownsberger said.

“They have put off fixing the roof. They haven’t been doing that to try to avoid fare increases,” Brownsberger said. “If they get more money they will fix the roof.”

The timing of the MBTA decision makes it tough for the Legislature to take action, Hecht said. The T must have a balanced budget by April 15, but the Legislature does not start the budget process until late May.

Brownsberger agreed.

“I don’t think the Legislature will take action before then,” Brownsberger said, adding that it might be an 18-month process for the Legislator to address the MBTA’s funding problems.

The subcommittee – Angeline Kounelis, Tony Palomba and Susan Falkoff – voted to recommend that the Town Council send two letters about the MBTA fares. One will go to MBTA officials letting them know that Watertown officials do not want any routes to be cut or service reduced and adding that fare increases will hurt many people’s lives.

The second will be sent to the Legislature and the governor’s office asking them to search for a long-term fix for the MBTA’s funding problems, and to begin taking steps this year.