Plutocracy and its discontents, continued

by Ben Geman

An important new grassroots player is joining the battle for transportation equity in Boston. For years, minority activists have argued that state transportation officials have ignored service upgrades and new projects for low-income and minority riders while lavishing resources on suburban commuter lines and other programs that service whiter, wealthier riders. The most infamous battle involves replacement service for the old elevated Orange Line that once thundered down Washington Street. Thirteen years after it came down, the replacement service remains the "temporary" #49 bus. The MBTA plans to replace the old train with an elongated bus, but Roxbury transit activists say that's inadequate: it could get stuck in traffic, and it will not be connected to the central subway system for years. Other problems also persist, such as crowding and the absence of a comprehensive system of transfers for riders who rely on multiple buses and bus-to-subway commutes. The discrepancies, says transit activist Khalida Smalls, "just scream at you. I call it transit racism."

Enter the Transit Riders Union (TRU). The group, more than a year in the making, is set to launch formally this fall. Modeled after a similar, effective grassroots movement in Los Angeles, TRU is coalescing under the auspices of Clean Buses for Boston, a coalition that includes Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), the Bowdoin Street Health Center, and MassPIRG. Organizers say TRU will stage protests, lobby T officials, and use other tactics to create a groundswell of popular, rider-based support for improvements to the T. Major goals include pushing the MBTA to entirely replace its diesel-fuel fleet with clean-burning buses within five years, concentrating first on areas with high rates of respiratory illness. Other goals include fighting for a comprehensive system of free and low-cost transfers, adding more buses, and, more generally, forcing the MBTA to give riders a seat at the table in agency decision-making.

The MBTA's deputy general manager, Mike Mulhern, says he hopes to develop a "fruitful and cooperative" relationship with the new group. At the same time, Mulhern defends the MBTA's record on environmental and equity issues. The T has increased the number of clean-fuel buses, but Mulhern says that replacing the entire fleet within five years is probably impossible ("If we rolled it out to seven years it is probably achievable," he adds). Mulhern says that the MBTA has just begun using a low-cost bus-to-subway transfer system on three routes, and that the agency will likely launch a more comprehensive transfer system after a new fare-collection system -- using prepaid cards scanned to deduct fares when riders board -- is implemented in 2003.

But the MBTA has been notoriously lax in keeping its existing commitments to urban riders, so expectations for additional changes, such as the ones called for by TRU, are correspondingly dim. "We have been talking for a while about the need for an organizing entity able to hit the T from the ground," says Smalls, who is the coordinator of TRU and works at ACE. "We will not allow ourselves to be walked all over by the MBTA. We will, by all means necessary, hold them accountable to us."

She adds that if "talking does not work," then the activist group will have "no problem" engaging in more direct protests, including civil disobedience.

In fact, don't be surprised if TRU makes a big splash in Boston September 18 -- the day the MBTA fare hikes go into effect. The group, which opposes the hikes, will hold a rally and press conference decrying the lack of a transfer system, and Smalls also hints that the day's action could include a more dramatic way to get the message out: transit activists, including some local politicians, might refuse to pay the increase in fares.

If the group is effective, it will provide new leverage for transit activists. Groups like Clean Buses for Boston and the Conservation Law Foundation have been fighting for transit equity, but much of their strategy has been inside baseball -- filing public comments, complaints, and lawsuits. For example, a coalition that includes Clean Buses for Boston and the NAACP filed an administrative complaint with federal transportation officials earlier this year, alleging that the MBTA has failed to devote equal resources to minority neighborhoods. Now, with the arrival of TRU, Smalls says that kind of effort will be backed up by grassroots, ground-up pressure from the riders themselves.

What's more, given the MBTA's tendency to promise change and then fail to deliver (witness the lack of a permanent replacement for the Washington Street Orange Line), one transit activist says this will help create a standing base ready to snap into gear when new problems arise. "It means that instead of trying to create from scratch when a particular issue comes along, the organization already exists," says Seth Kaplan, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation. Adds City Councilor Chuck Turner, whose Roxbury district has been hurt by the MBTA's lack of investment: "I think it is a major step forward in beginning to mobilize to have the MBTA respond to the concerns of people who actually use the system." Turner plans to participate in the September 18 actions.

At the very least, TRU can help hold the MBTA's feet to the fire when it comes to existing commitments. Late last week, state transit and environmental officials agreed to a consent order forcing them to uphold mass-transit commitments originally made to win approval for the Big Dig, such as completion of the "Silver Line" between Dudley Square and downtown Boston. However, last week's deal, while mandating the MBTA's purchase of more clean-burning buses, does not require the fleet expansion that Smalls and other transit activists would like. For the new group, there's much work to do.

Ben Geman can be reached at bgeman[a]phx.com.

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