Stories of Philanthropic Leadership in Advancing Regional and ...

The Straphangers Campaign was founded in 1979 bythe New York Public Interest Research Group(NYPIRG), which serves as an advocate for the almostseven million daily users of the New York City transitsystem (buses, subways). Previous Straphanger effortsresulted in free subway-bus transfers and the abovementioned“unlimited ride” passes. Importantly, theStraphangers had a strong record of analyzing MTAdata and using that data to produce numerous reportson the quality of the New York City transit system.Straphangers’ personnel (some of whom have workedfor the group for over 20 years) have significantexperience reviewing MTA budgets, but could notidentify exactly where the claimed shortfall originated.Doubting the accuracy of the MTA’s projections, inlate 2002, the Straphangers wrote the Comptroller forthe state of New York and the Comptroller for NewYork City to express the group’s concerns and torequest that each office audit the MTA.In April 2003, the audits were released, finding thatthe MTA exaggerated its 2003 operating deficit byshifting $500 million in revenue forward to 2004. Inresponse, the Straphangers and other groups filed suitagainst the MTA. After an initial victory at the NewYork State Supreme Court, the Straphangers groupwas defeated in two subsequent appeals—the lattertaking place in August 2003. This loss, combinedwith the MTA’s May 2003 approval of the proposedfare increase, effectively ended the Straphangers’effort to block the 2003 fare increase. Still, theStraphangers achieved a number of successes, mostlyby way of enhancing access to the MTA’s budgetingprocess. Whereas the MTA ordinarily released anannual budget in November and voted on it inDecember, budgets are now more regularly releasedand five-year projections are now available.This new, greater transparency proved important as itenabled the Straphangers to anticipate and respond toanother proposed fare increase in mid-2004. Then,the MTA proposed to raise fares on passes andinitially proposed some significant service reductions.Since that proposal, Straphangers’ efforts have focusedon stopping the increase, as well as turning attentionto state level decisions which impact transit funding.BostonMeanwhile, in Massachusetts, the Massachusetts BayTransportation Authority (MBTA) operates thecountry’s oldest subway system and servesapproximately 600,000 customers with 1.2 milliontrips a day. In 2004, the MBTA proposed to increasebus fares from $0.75 to $1.00 and to increase subwayfares from $1.00 to $1.25. This followed a similarincrease in 2001-2002. Before 2001-2002, theMBTA had not increased fares since 1990-1991.In response, a campaign known as Beat the FareIncrease was formed by two Boston-area groups: theTransit Riders Union (TRU) and On the Move:Greater Boston Transportation Justice Coalition(Coalition). A strategy committee—composed ofAlternatives for Community & Environment (ACE, afounding memberof the Coalition),Bowdoin StreetHealth Center,Conservation LawFoundation,Egleston SquareNeighborhoodAssociation, FourCorners ActionCoalition,MassachusettsPublic InterestResearch Group(MASSPIRG), Sierra Club, TRU, and the“As fares increase, ridershipdecreases because morepeople with cars will chooseto drive … [leaving] theremaining transit riders toshoulder the cost of a moreexpensive system.”— Beat the Fare IncreaseWashington Street Corridor Coalition—reached outto the community and planned and implemented thecampaign. The campaign divided its goals into fourareas: Public Review, Clean Air, Revenue, andStopping the Fare Increase.Beat the Fare Increase literature noted that, “As faresincrease, ridership decreases because more peoplewith cars will choose to drive … [leaving] theremaining transit riders to shoulder the cost of amore expensive system.” In effect, it argued, “Thisfare increase represents another tax on workingpeople, and an unfair tax,” because the fare increasegreatly exceeded broader increases in the cost ofliving and gasoline (approximately 40 percent since1990). This led the campaign to charge anotherinequity, a “continued policy of subsidizing drivers ata much higher rate than public transit riders.”The Beat the Fare Increase campaign demanded:• The MBTA to take all steps to increase non-farerevenues before raising fares;• An Automated Fare Collection system that willprovide accurate ridership counts, a basis forsound accounting, fiscal planning, and systemREGIONAL OPPORTUNITYPart III: Section 3: Connecting to Regional Opportunity 96