Transit budgets hit by recession

Associated Press

BOSTON

Cash-strapped and debt-ridden, public transit systems across the nation are trimming service, raising fares and postponing badly needed upgrades just to maintain daily operations, even as rising gas prices increase demand and experts call modernization critical to cities’ futures.

The economic downturn and cuts in government support have forced transit agencies to pare down, complicating the daily lives of commuters who depend on trains, trolleys and buses. Frustration comes easily.

“I can’t rely on it at all,” said Frank Summers, who has been commuting to Boston from suburban Ashland on commuter rail for about seven years and believes service is declining. “It’s always jammed-packed and rarely on time.”

The trains, operated by a company under contract with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority — a network that includes the nation’s oldest subway and is known to Bostonians simply as the T — were plagued by equipment problems during the past winter.

The fleet of 80 aging locomotives had, among other woes, trouble starting, keeping auxiliary power functioning for lighting systems and maintaining enough air pressure for braking systems, according to transit officials.

On one cold February night, a commuter train bound for Worcester broke down outside Boston, transforming passengers’ usual 80-minute commute into a four-hour nightmare.

The T bought two new commuter rail locomotives this year — the first new ones in 20 years — and is pledging to continue efforts to modernize the line.

But financial struggles are hardly unique to Boston or other big cities, and are reflective of the vast majority of transit systems large and small.

By one survey, more than 80 percent of U.S. transit systems had cut service, raised fares or both since the economic downturn started.

The Federal Transit Administration has pointed to tens of billions of dollars in deferred maintenance nationwide, a problem particularly acute for older urban systems.