MBTA essay-baidu

Recently, Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) announced the public that they are going to raise ride fare this year in July and the percentage of raising reaches 23%. MBTA once adjusted ride fare in 2007. The one-ride fare for taking subway changed from $1.5 to $1.7 from 2007 and the one-ride fare for bus changed from $1.25 to $1.5. After 6 years, MBTA has made a decision to adjust ride-fare again. Although many people disagree that the fare should be raised because the cost of taking public transportation now is high enough. I agree that MBTA should raise fare. After the fare has been raised, MBTA can increase their income to cover their net loss, improve their operating system to better service the public, and add the inspection cost to enhance its safety.

It is easy to understand that raising fare increases MBTA’s revenue. Fare is an important income source for MBTA, especially recent years, since the MBTA is always facing deficit. According to MBTA’s website report, the Authority’s operating cost for energy, fuel and health care have continued to rise, and costs for ride service have grown by nearly 400% over the last decade. Continuous raising costs cannot be covered by MBTA’s original percentage of revenue so it is essential to get extra financial support by raising fare to public. As soon as the revenue raises up, the pressure with high cost of operating expenses that MBTA has will be released for a while. Besides, MBTA can apply part of the fund from raising fare to make continuous adjustments in service for convenience and reliability. For example, some trains have provided wireless internet service on board already; further this service can be extended to each line serving to the public. This add-on service can greatly raise the quality of taking public transportation from the view of convenience. Regarding reliability, MBTA may consider utilizing GPS equipment to control punctuality. Several stations have been renovated and installed new elevators as well as accessibility features.

Additionally, MBTA can use some fund from raising fare to maintain its service equipment by doing inspection check on time so as to enhance its safety when serving to the public. It was happened before many times the train was out of service due to technical errors thus all passengers had to get off the train and waited for a long time until the train was examined without problems. Taking frequent regular inspection can reduce the risk of being out of service especially during rush hours.

To sum up, the decision of raising fare of MBTA can bring much more positive effects since it is extremely helpful to reduce MBTA’s deficit. Besides, it not only helps to improve public service from quality, but also keeps the sustainable value by doing regular maintenance.