Service cuts the biggest concern for area commuters
By Kat Russell, Reporter
Stamford Advocate
February 28, 2018
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/Talk-of-Metro-North-fare-hikes-service-cuts-12715042.php
STAMFORD — For Roberta Reese, the decision to move to Danbury from Norwalk was an easy one.
Property was a bit more affordable, she said, and her home’s proximity to the Metro-North Danbury branch made her daily commute to her accounting job in Norwalk a no-brainer.
However, she now has serious concerns since the state Department of Transportation announced it plans to cut service and raise fares. Reese said the proposed service cuts would eliminate the off-peak train she takes every day to get home from work, forcing her to wait 90 minutes for a later one to arrive.
“I would not have moved to Danbury had I known I wouldn’t be able to depend on the train to get to and from work,” she said Wednesday. “I never wanted to buy into a driving commute.”
Reese is just one of the tens of thousands of commuters who would be affected by the DOT’s proposal to eliminate weekend service and reduce weekday off-peak trains on the Shoreline East, Danbury, Waterbury and New Canaan branches.
The proposal would also raise Metro-North rail fares by 10 percent beginning in July, followed by additional 5 percent increases in 2020 and 2021, and bus fares would increase by 25 cents.
Reese echoed the thoughts of many who shared their concerns Tuesday night at the University of Connecticut-Stamford during a public forum to discuss Metro-North’s looming changes. Most of the crowd who packed the auditorium favored raising fares instead of cutting service.
“Fare hikes are a necessary evil,” Stamford resident Layne Rodney said. “The prices are too low already. I have a senior citizens fare card. It’s $30 and (with this proposal) it is going to go up to $34. It was a steal at $30 and it is a steal at $34.”
Rodney, who said he lives on a fixed income, gave up his car more than a year ago and became a “bus rider,” and twice a week he takes the train to Westport. He said he would be willing to pay higher transportation fees, but added the state needs to improve efficiency and not just raise fares.
But raising fares alone is not going to solve the problem, said Jim Cameron, a commuter advocate and Hearst Connecticut Media transportation columnist.
“Commuters cannot bear the brunt of the Special Transportation Fund any longer,” he said. “It’s time to make motorists pay their fair share."
“We already pay the highest fares of any commuter rail system in North America, and raising them is not going to help ridership and it is certainly not going to allow us to improve service,” he added. “Motorists are only paying 25 cents per gallon of gasoline as a tax in Connecticut. That is much lower than the neighboring states — in Pennsylvania it’s double that.”
Cameron also advocated for toll roads, a proposal that has been floated over the past few months as a way to build revenue for the state’s Special Transportation Fund.
However, tolls would not be an immediate solution, said DOT Commissioner James Redeker, who added it would take years to get a toll system up and running and the Special Transportation Fund needs revenue now.
“We all know the system is very stressed right now,” said Mike Bernard, a train conductor on Metro-North and a local chairman for the Association of Commuter Rail Employees, Local 1. “The funding situation for transportation is not good, and it is going to get worse unless we do something. I’m willing to pay a little more for gas taxes to get additional dollars into the transportation fund now.”
But service cuts, Bernard argued, would hurt the very people the rail system was designed to serve.
“The people who ride our trains are good people who depend on (us) to get them to and from their destination each day,” he said. “It might be a dad from New Canaan going to Wall Street in Manhattan, or it might be a mom commuting from Bridgeport to New Haven for her job. It could be a student who rides to their school or college, or a family going to New Haven or New York City.”
For Dave Hendershot, a Metro-North engineer and legislative representative for the Association of Commuter Rail Employees, Local 9, the impact of service cuts goes beyond inconveniencing commuters.
Henderson said the service cuts could mean layoffs for engineers and other rail personnel, “then these highly-skilled professionals will be looking for jobs elsewhere.” Even if the service is restored, Hendershot said it could take months for the system to get back up and running.
“Cutting service is not like turning off a faucet,” he said. “It’s more like locking a safe. It’s easy to shut the door and spin the wheel, but it’s difficult to reopen, even with the combination.”
Redeker said he shares the same concerns that many have voiced since the DOT made its announcement, especially when it comes to service cuts.
“This is not what we (the transportation department) want to do,” he said. “The DOT is not advocating any of these cuts. In fact, it is completely contrary to our vision for mass transit in the state. … But we don’t control the revenue, and it’s frustrating because we are supposed to advocate to provide more and better service to rail travelers and commuters, and instead we’re doing this.”
kat.russell@stamfordadvocate.com
Property was a bit more affordable, she said, and her home’s proximity to the Metro-North Danbury branch made her daily commute to her accounting job in Norwalk a no-brainer.
However, she now has serious concerns since the state Department of Transportation announced it plans to cut service and raise fares. Reese said the proposed service cuts would eliminate the off-peak train she takes every day to get home from work, forcing her to wait 90 minutes for a later one to arrive.
“I would not have moved to Danbury had I known I wouldn’t be able to depend on the train to get to and from work,” she said Wednesday. “I never wanted to buy into a driving commute.”
Reese is just one of the tens of thousands of commuters who would be affected by the DOT’s proposal to eliminate weekend service and reduce weekday off-peak trains on the Shoreline East, Danbury, Waterbury and New Canaan branches.
The proposal would also raise Metro-North rail fares by 10 percent beginning in July, followed by additional 5 percent increases in 2020 and 2021, and bus fares would increase by 25 cents.
Reese echoed the thoughts of many who shared their concerns Tuesday night at the University of Connecticut-Stamford during a public forum to discuss Metro-North’s looming changes. Most of the crowd who packed the auditorium favored raising fares instead of cutting service.
“Fare hikes are a necessary evil,” Stamford resident Layne Rodney said. “The prices are too low already. I have a senior citizens fare card. It’s $30 and (with this proposal) it is going to go up to $34. It was a steal at $30 and it is a steal at $34.”
Rodney, who said he lives on a fixed income, gave up his car more than a year ago and became a “bus rider,” and twice a week he takes the train to Westport. He said he would be willing to pay higher transportation fees, but added the state needs to improve efficiency and not just raise fares.
But raising fares alone is not going to solve the problem, said Jim Cameron, a commuter advocate and Hearst Connecticut Media transportation columnist.
“Commuters cannot bear the brunt of the Special Transportation Fund any longer,” he said. “It’s time to make motorists pay their fair share."
“We already pay the highest fares of any commuter rail system in North America, and raising them is not going to help ridership and it is certainly not going to allow us to improve service,” he added. “Motorists are only paying 25 cents per gallon of gasoline as a tax in Connecticut. That is much lower than the neighboring states — in Pennsylvania it’s double that.”
Cameron also advocated for toll roads, a proposal that has been floated over the past few months as a way to build revenue for the state’s Special Transportation Fund.
However, tolls would not be an immediate solution, said DOT Commissioner James Redeker, who added it would take years to get a toll system up and running and the Special Transportation Fund needs revenue now.
“We all know the system is very stressed right now,” said Mike Bernard, a train conductor on Metro-North and a local chairman for the Association of Commuter Rail Employees, Local 1. “The funding situation for transportation is not good, and it is going to get worse unless we do something. I’m willing to pay a little more for gas taxes to get additional dollars into the transportation fund now.”
But service cuts, Bernard argued, would hurt the very people the rail system was designed to serve.
“The people who ride our trains are good people who depend on (us) to get them to and from their destination each day,” he said. “It might be a dad from New Canaan going to Wall Street in Manhattan, or it might be a mom commuting from Bridgeport to New Haven for her job. It could be a student who rides to their school or college, or a family going to New Haven or New York City.”
For Dave Hendershot, a Metro-North engineer and legislative representative for the Association of Commuter Rail Employees, Local 9, the impact of service cuts goes beyond inconveniencing commuters.
Henderson said the service cuts could mean layoffs for engineers and other rail personnel, “then these highly-skilled professionals will be looking for jobs elsewhere.” Even if the service is restored, Hendershot said it could take months for the system to get back up and running.
“Cutting service is not like turning off a faucet,” he said. “It’s more like locking a safe. It’s easy to shut the door and spin the wheel, but it’s difficult to reopen, even with the combination.”
Redeker said he shares the same concerns that many have voiced since the DOT made its announcement, especially when it comes to service cuts.
“This is not what we (the transportation department) want to do,” he said. “The DOT is not advocating any of these cuts. In fact, it is completely contrary to our vision for mass transit in the state. … But we don’t control the revenue, and it’s frustrating because we are supposed to advocate to provide more and better service to rail travelers and commuters, and instead we’re doing this.”
kat.russell@stamfordadvocate.com
