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  • Mar 6, 2008 9:57 am US/Eastern
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MBTA: No Fare Hikes Until At Least 2010

BOSTON (WBZ) ― We have some good news for people who ride the rails and the bus in Massachusetts: they'll be no fare increase this year or next.

On Thursday, the board overseeing the MBTA is expected to approve a budget that does not include a fare increase.

The spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1 would instead have the transit system dip into its reserves and refinance current debt to bridge an estimated $75 million shortfall.

T officials had been thinking about raising fares to cover that gap.

MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas will ask the board Thursday to transfer $20 million from the rainy day fund, leading only $35 million left in reserve.

Officials say the organization will refinance its current debt as well.
Grabauskas told the Boston Globe that the T cannot continue to use reserves to plug the deficit and he isn't ruling out a fare hike the next time around.

The MBTA has heavy debt, with 27 cents of every dollar it spends going to pay it off.

The T last hiked fares in January of 2007.

Bus fares rose 35 cents to $1.25. The cost to ride the subway rose 45 cents to $1.70 for people using the Charlie Card; and it cost even more for those not using the plastic cards because of a T surcharge. That surcharge tacked an additional 25 cents onto bus rides and 30 cents for subways and trolleys. Most commuter rail passes went up by about 22%.

At the time that the fare hike was announced, Grabauskas said MBTA officials believed the fare hikes were the only way to eliminate a $35 million budget deficit.

The T also increased fares in 2004. 
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(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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