DISMAL FARE REVENUE ‘NEW NORMAL’
The MBTA is $51 million behind what it expected to take in from fare revenue in the first half of this fiscal year, and indicated it doesn’t expect ridership to return anywhere near pre-pandemic levels.
Chief Financial Officer Mary Ann O’Hara said fare revenue was 22% lower than budgeted for the first two quarters of fiscal year 2023, $183.6 million compared to the $234.7 million benchmark.
Those numbers are relatively small when compared to prepandemic FY20 levels, when the T took in $179.4 million in fare revenue for that year’s second quarter, compared to the $94.3 million it collected this past quarter, which represents an $85.1 million decrease, according to O’Hara.
“We’re very far from prepandemic levels for fare revenue,” O’Hara said. “And you can see that factor by reviewing the fare recovery ratio at 23% means fare revenue is now supporting
If a train bursts into flames, the MBTA says the safest thing to do is remain on board until help arrives and refrain from kicking out windows or jumping into a nearby body of water to escape on your own.
Chief Safety Officer Ronald Ester said Thursday the MBTA is working to provide more communication to riders regarding its train and streetcar evacuations, to less than one quarter of operating expenses today.”
By comparison, O’Hara said fare revenue was accounting for 42% of the T’s operating budget in pre-pandemic years.
This dip in ridership, which was 53% of pre-pandemic levels in December, means the T’s operating budget is more dependent on non-operating or subsidy revenue, such as the state sales tax, and dwindling federal funds for COVID-19 reimbursement, O’Hara said.
On Thursday, T officials said they don’t expect riders to return, at least not at a rate that is nearly as high as what was seen prior to the pandemic.
The question was posted by board member Mary Beth Mello, who asked at what point does it become no longer useful to compare today’s fare revenue figures to FY20, saying that “we’re in a different reality.”
“We’re in recovery mode,” Mello said. “At some point, I think we have to move on and grapple with what this new reality is, in looking at our metrics. But I’m just throwing that out there today to encourage people to maybe start thinking about that.
“Because, you know, going backwards might not be something that we’ll ever achieve again.” prevent what occurred on the Orange Line last summer, when terrified passengers jumped out of a train that caught fire on a bridge over the Mystic River.
One woman dove into the river, while the rest opted to lower themselves onto the electrified rail, one of several recent examples of train self-evacuation that MBTA Board of Directors member Mary Beth Mello described as “extremely dangerous.”
“We have information on each of the cars as to what the evacuation procedures are and how to move from car to car,” Ester said.
“But I think we can do a
David Panagore, the T’s chief administrative officer, said the goal for budget development was to get those figures stabilized for a couple of quarters. little more just to ensure that everyone understands that you don’t have to kick out windows and jump off the train, that there’s a path to the other end of the train in order for you to exit safely.”
According to Ester, there are three types of subway evacuation, depending on whether the train becomes disabled at a station, is partially berthed when an emergency situation occurs or is in between stations.
In the first two instances, passengers can usually evacuate onto a station platform. But in situations where a train is in between stations, like when three Green Line trolleys
But he added that the “new normal” in terms of people’s commuting patterns, is being factored into budget development for next year. became stuck in a subway tunnel last month, the evacuation procedures become more nuanced.
For incidents that require evacuation, Ester said the train operator must immediately contact the operations control center and then proceed to make an on-board announcement to customers, informing them of the situation and providing them with instructions.
If it is safe, the operator will wait to evacuate passengers until emergency responders arrive to facilitate the process, he said.
Following initial notification, the OCC “will immediately open power and stop
“We’re starting to see that new normal this year, and certainly there are questions about service and scaling up, etc. over time, but the stability is starting all train movement” in the area around the incident; identify the incident commander, who will be the to be seen in terms of people’s work patterns,” Panagore said. “So I really think it’s a slow walk to that, not a clean break.” point of contact until emergency responders arrive, and send MBTA personnel to the scene, Ester said.