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Stories of Philanthropic Leadership in Advancing Regional and ...

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REGIONAL OPPORTUNITYexpansion/service improvements, <strong>and</strong> a basis fordevelop<strong>in</strong>g a fair fare policy; <strong>and</strong>• A fair fare policy that considers, among otherfactors, distance traveled, peak <strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong>f-peak use,<strong>and</strong> special discounts for seniors, students <strong>and</strong>the disabled (that should ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> <strong>and</strong> improvethe exist<strong>in</strong>g bus-to-bus transfer policy <strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>clude free subway-to-bus <strong>and</strong> reduced-cost busto-subwaytransfers <strong>and</strong> exp<strong>and</strong>ed hours <strong>and</strong> use<strong>of</strong> student passes for public school students).Campaign activities focused on access<strong>in</strong>g the<strong>in</strong>formation that the MBTA had used to support itsfare <strong>in</strong>crease decision through a public recordsrequest. Its ma<strong>in</strong> community organiz<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> advocacyactivities were petitions, a position paper, <strong>and</strong>participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> MBTA board hear<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>and</strong> otherpublic hear<strong>in</strong>g opportunities. Comb<strong>in</strong>ed, these effortsled the campaign <strong>in</strong>to direct negotiations with theMBTA’s general manager, its chief f<strong>in</strong>ancial <strong>of</strong>ficer,<strong>and</strong> the state Secretary <strong>of</strong> Transportation (who alsoserved as chair <strong>of</strong> the MBTA’s board <strong>of</strong> directors).In the end, the campaign achieved many <strong>of</strong> its goals,<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g:• A reduction <strong>in</strong> the proposed <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> bus fares(the rate was changed from $0.75 to $0.90, not$1.00 as orig<strong>in</strong>ally proposed);• The creation <strong>of</strong> a Rider Oversight Committee(ROC) that will meet monthly with MBTA staff<strong>and</strong> quarterly with the state Secretary <strong>of</strong>Transportation, as well as the MBTA’s generalmanager <strong>and</strong> its chief f<strong>in</strong>ancial <strong>of</strong>ficer;• The <strong>in</strong>clusion <strong>of</strong> fare policy, fare structure, serviceimprovements, quality st<strong>and</strong>ards, <strong>and</strong> alternativefund<strong>in</strong>g sources <strong>in</strong> the ROC’s m<strong>and</strong>ate;• A fare freeze until at least January 2006;• The consultation <strong>and</strong> creation <strong>of</strong> a new farepolicy before Automated Fare Collection isimplemented;• A reduced price for bus-subway <strong>and</strong> subway-bustransfers with the Automated Fare Collectionimplementation; <strong>and</strong>• A better public process for future fare <strong>in</strong>creases.BaltimoreSimilar to New York <strong>and</strong> Boston, Baltimore’s transitriders dealt with a transit agency’s proposed fare<strong>in</strong>creases. “Farebox Recovery,” refers to the percentage<strong>of</strong> a transit agency’s expenses generated by fares. PerMaryl<strong>and</strong> law, the Maryl<strong>and</strong> Transit Authority couldrecover 40 percent <strong>of</strong> its expenses from fares. But thispercentage was to sunset <strong>in</strong> 2004, <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g to a 50percent farebox recovery rate, forc<strong>in</strong>g the Maryl<strong>and</strong>Transit Agency to raise its fares.Based on its equity mission <strong>and</strong> extensive experience,the Citizens Plann<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> Hous<strong>in</strong>g Association(CPHA) spearheaded the community response. Forover 60 years, CPHA has dedicated itself to the beliefthat the united action <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>formed citizens is essentialto improve the quality <strong>of</strong> life for the people <strong>of</strong> theBaltimore region. In the past several years, more <strong>and</strong>more <strong>in</strong>formed citizens have made it clear that thequality <strong>of</strong> life must be addressed on both aneighborhood <strong>and</strong> a regional scale.The organization envisions a well-planned Baltimoreregion with equity among jurisdictions, wherecitizens respect diversity <strong>and</strong> have access toresponsive government <strong>and</strong> quality hous<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>vibrant neighborhoods. Its vision is to mobilize<strong>in</strong>formed citizen action by tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> organiz<strong>in</strong>gcitizens <strong>and</strong> neighborhood leaders to be advocates onissues consistent with the vision, advocat<strong>in</strong>g forpolicies <strong>and</strong> actions that prevent sprawl <strong>and</strong> improvethe livability <strong>of</strong> exist<strong>in</strong>g neighborhoods, <strong>and</strong>conven<strong>in</strong>g partners to address policy <strong>and</strong> plann<strong>in</strong>gissues <strong>of</strong> common <strong>in</strong>terest to Baltimore City <strong>and</strong> itssurround<strong>in</strong>g counties.Due to the 2003 fare <strong>in</strong>crease, the CPHA formed theMaryl<strong>and</strong> Transit Coalition. The Coalition is a mix<strong>of</strong> transportation advocates like the ActionCommittee for Transit <strong>and</strong> the Transit Riders League;environmental groups such as the Chesapeake BayFoundation; social justice groups such as Maryl<strong>and</strong>Public Interest Research Group (MaryPIRG); <strong>and</strong>smart growth advocates represented by theWash<strong>in</strong>gton <strong>Regional</strong> Network for LivableCommunities <strong>and</strong> Solutions Not Sprawl, amongothers. The Coalition worked to advance statelegislation—Senate Bill 282 <strong>and</strong> House Bill 282—t<strong>of</strong>reeze farebox recovery at 40 percent until 2008.With the Transit Riders League <strong>in</strong> the lead, Coalitionmembers wrote letters, sent e-mail, called theirrepresentatives, <strong>and</strong> testified at hear<strong>in</strong>gs, whichresulted <strong>in</strong> the near-unanimous approval <strong>of</strong> each Bill.On May 26, 2004, Maryl<strong>and</strong> Governor Robert L.Erlich, Jr., signed the legislation, which extended the40 percent farebox recovery requirement forBaltimore-area transit riders until 2008.97Funders’ Network for Smart Growth <strong>and</strong> Livable Communities

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