The article “No plan for low-income fare draws ire” (Metro, Jan. 21) is yet another story on MBTA leadership not doing right by its riders. The facts around the low-income fare system are clear as day: It would increase ridership and put money back in the pockets of Massachusetts riders. From health care workers to grocery store workers, we all use the T and are bearing the brunt of the high cost of riding.
The pandemic has taken a financial toll on working people, and reducing the cost of public transit would dramatically improve the affordability and accessibility of the T. We estimate that a pilot program would cost the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority only $42 million, 2 percent of its budget. The T could use one-time funds to run a yearlong pilot program. The agency must do this now, instead of ignoring the needs of our communities and MBTA riders.
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Collique Williams
Hyde Park
The writer is an organizer with Community Labor United and the Public Transit Public Good coalition and a regular rider of the Fairmount Line and the Red Line.
