Exercising that discipline will mean that the MBTA can continue to expand to meet the region's needs once it achieves financial stability. Riders will see immediate benefits from the fare increase and focus on maintenance. Old track that dramatically limits train speeds on parts of the system will be replaced, more bus shelters will be constructed, stations will be better maintained and lighted, and improved communication systems will provide riders with more and better information. The challenges of forward funding are great. But those same challenges exist under the current funding scheme.
Forward funding represents a special moment in time.
A moment in which the MBTA is for the first time empowered to implement policies that can ensure Boston-area residents a vibrant mass transit system for generations to come. We must rise to the challenge. Charles D. Chieppo is a member of the MBTA Blue Ribbon Committee on Forward Funding and directs the Center for Restructuring Government at Pioneer Institute, a Boston think-tank.