Pahkcah02 rant on the MBTA

The MBTA is proud to announce that ridership is up 6.1% this quarter. Many suburbanites have finally figured out that taking public transportation to work is less expensive than driving (pat yourselves on the back - good job!). In my humble opinion, there is no excuse for people who work in Boston and live near a commuter rail/subway/ferry line not to take public transportation. With gas at $4/gallon and a horrendous economy, it shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody that T ridership is up. Unless you're Dan Grabauskas, of couse. Then you can hem and haw to anyone that will listen that the MBTA needs more cash as they are simply not capable of handling the influx of passengers.

Like most other state agencies the MBTA doesn't have two nickels to rub together. Rather than raise fares to reflect the real cost of commuting in and around Boston, some folks on Beacon Hill are grumbling that the most cost effective thing to do would be to raise the gas tax in order to subsidize public transportation. Greenies and squishy liberals who live in the city are obviously on-board with screwing car-driving assholes like myself in order to validate their superiority complexes.

I for one will not be shocked when Cadillac Deval announces that the state gas tax is increasing from 41c a gallon. Roads and bridges are expensive to maintain and if anyone's going to pay for them it should be the drivers of Massachusetts. However, expecting people who rarely use the MBTA or folks who live in parts of Mass where public transportation isn't an option to help defray the cost of commuting for people living in greater Boston is insanity. Believe it or not fair people of Boston, the world does not revolve around you or your desire to live a car-free life.

Despite the fact that the MBTA is far from perfect, many cities are envious of the options the citizens of greater Boston have with respect to public transportation. However, options and convenience costs money and it's up to the people who utilize this public service to foot the bill. My local gas station owner doesn't even blink when he has to raise the price of a gallon of gas and neither should the MBTA.