Stories of Philanthropic Leadership in Advancing Regional and ...

REGIONAL OPPORTUNITYexpansion/service improvements, and a basis fordeveloping a fair fare policy; and• A fair fare policy that considers, among otherfactors, distance traveled, peak and off-peak use,and special discounts for seniors, students andthe disabled (that should maintain and improvethe existing bus-to-bus transfer policy andinclude free subway-to-bus and reduced-cost busto-subwaytransfers and expanded hours and useof student passes for public school students).Campaign activities focused on accessing theinformation that the MBTA had used to support itsfare increase decision through a public recordsrequest. Its main community organizing and advocacyactivities were petitions, a position paper, andparticipating in MBTA board hearings and otherpublic hearing opportunities. Combined, these effortsled the campaign into direct negotiations with theMBTA’s general manager, its chief financial officer,and the state Secretary of Transportation (who alsoserved as chair of the MBTA’s board of directors).In the end, the campaign achieved many of its goals,including:• A reduction in the proposed increase in bus fares(the rate was changed from $0.75 to $0.90, not$1.00 as originally proposed);• The creation of a Rider Oversight Committee(ROC) that will meet monthly with MBTA staffand quarterly with the state Secretary ofTransportation, as well as the MBTA’s generalmanager and its chief financial officer;• The inclusion of fare policy, fare structure, serviceimprovements, quality standards, and alternativefunding sources in the ROC’s mandate;• A fare freeze until at least January 2006;• The consultation and creation of a new farepolicy before Automated Fare Collection isimplemented;• A reduced price for bus-subway and subway-bustransfers with the Automated Fare Collectionimplementation; and• A better public process for future fare increases.BaltimoreSimilar to New York and Boston, Baltimore’s transitriders dealt with a transit agency’s proposed fareincreases. “Farebox Recovery,” refers to the percentageof a transit agency’s expenses generated by fares. PerMaryland law, the Maryland Transit Authority couldrecover 40 percent of its expenses from fares. But thispercentage was to sunset in 2004, increasing to a 50percent farebox recovery rate, forcing the MarylandTransit Agency to raise its fares.Based on its equity mission and extensive experience,the Citizens Planning and Housing Association(CPHA) spearheaded the community response. Forover 60 years, CPHA has dedicated itself to the beliefthat the united action of informed citizens is essentialto improve the quality of life for the people of theBaltimore region. In the past several years, more andmore informed citizens have made it clear that thequality of life must be addressed on both aneighborhood and a regional scale.The organization envisions a well-planned Baltimoreregion with equity among jurisdictions, wherecitizens respect diversity and have access toresponsive government and quality housing invibrant neighborhoods. Its vision is to mobilizeinformed citizen action by training and organizingcitizens and neighborhood leaders to be advocates onissues consistent with the vision, advocating forpolicies and actions that prevent sprawl and improvethe livability of existing neighborhoods, andconvening partners to address policy and planningissues of common interest to Baltimore City and itssurrounding counties.Due to the 2003 fare increase, the CPHA formed theMaryland Transit Coalition. The Coalition is a mixof transportation advocates like the ActionCommittee for Transit and the Transit Riders League;environmental groups such as the Chesapeake BayFoundation; social justice groups such as MarylandPublic Interest Research Group (MaryPIRG); andsmart growth advocates represented by theWashington Regional Network for LivableCommunities and Solutions Not Sprawl, amongothers. The Coalition worked to advance statelegislation—Senate Bill 282 and House Bill 282—tofreeze farebox recovery at 40 percent until 2008.With the Transit Riders League in the lead, Coalitionmembers wrote letters, sent e-mail, called theirrepresentatives, and testified at hearings, whichresulted in the near-unanimous approval of each Bill.On May 26, 2004, Maryland 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 and Livable Communities