Have you signed that petition yet?

I agree with drz, who mentioned the riders’ unions in a comment earlier today.

There was news that a fare hike was definitely in the works as early as February 24th. And yet, not a peep from the Rider Oversight Committee (ROC), until–if I am not mistaken–May 15th–with publication of Jeremy Marin’s very ably argued open letter to the legislature on the issue. But that’s nearly three months. What might have been accomplished beyond an op-ed in the Metro in that time?

What is the ROC for, but to be in on this, and to proactively–not RE-actively–seek rider involvement in this process?

How have riders’ unions been coordinating their response? How have they been communicating with their constituents? How have they been reaching out to inform, solicit ideas, recruit? I’m genuinely curious. Please put me on your mailing list.

I agree wholeheartedly with Bryper that the T needs a blog. But where’s the ROC’s blog? Where are the riders’ unions’ blogs?

These are organizations actually charged with looking out for riders. Where were they back in February, and where are they now?

I happened to notice that a very prominent member of the local cabaret scene, and if I am not mistaken a founding member of the legndary Traniwreck(!!!), has signed the TJUSTICE PETITION, and I wanted to take a moment to personally thank her, and to mention that we can use PROTEST SINGERS on JUNE 6TH, and TJUSTICE TRANNIES and CABARET QUEENS, too, if any such are out there and want to cross-dress for The Cause.

So I had a little talk with a friend of mine about my little petition. She told me she thought I was a little off-message, somehow, and implied I may have become an MBTA tool in the process of pursuing this whole rally idea.

So I feel I should address the issue here.

First of all, the important thing to remember is that there are four parties that must be involved in the decision-making process here: the public, the legislature, the MBTA management, and the unions. Presently, the public feels alienated, the legislature has washed its hands of the matter of mass transit, and MBTA management is pleading helplessness against an immovable legislature and bullying unions. The unions, for their part, remain silent on the fare hikes, pointing mutely at the management, who says it has been left no choice by the legislature but to raise fares. It’s a classic case of passing the buck, as I’ve already said.

All parties must take responsibility, and all must have real power to influence the outcome of any negotiations on T funding. The public has gained a mostly symbolic place at the table, but the riders’ reps and unions have not been very proactive in communicating with their constituents, much less mobilizing them.

So as for negotiations–and here’s my friend’s point–it’s not only the manner in which the T is funded that’s broken. So saying the T needs more money doesn’t even begin to address the problem. My friend brought up the Big Dig. The government threw tons of money at it, and, honestly, it’s still a mess.

She is right, then, that in addition to the manner of funding, the culture of the MBTA needs to be reexamined and reformed. The relationship between T management and the unions is, erm, problematic, let’s call it. The T is run like a traditional bureaucracy, where self-preservation always trumps quality service. There is no transparency, and no trust. And the customer is too often looked at as the enemy.

So funding, management and maintenance are all issues that impact fares, and all need to be addressed in the long-term.

But let me tell you what I have learned so far in my very first, very brief, very pathetic, and hopefully very last foray into activist organizing:

1. Everybody’s got their own gripes, and their own separate agenda.

2. Nobody wants to take the first step, but when somebody does, one thing’s for sure: it’s gonna be a step in the wrong direction, according to everybody else.

3. You need organizations on board, not just individuals. The T sprang this on us and gave us very little time to organize. You’ve got groups like MassPIRG and Sierra Club, the T-riders’ unions, and organizations like Livable Streets that already have vast mailing lists. Not only can they get the word out much faster than a couple of bloggers, they also have a history of lobbying that lends legitimacy to any public action they promote or participate in. Without some of these groups’ active participation, you got nothin’. And if any of them oppose a public action, you got less than nothin’.

3. If the ball ever does get rolling, suddenly everybody’s got something to say, and some objection to a line, a word, or a period instead of a semicolon. I mean, individuals and groups. So then you have to hussle to make the appropriate compromises and try to retrofit your message without losing your focus, because…

4. …if you listen and amend your every statement, you end up with a rally with so general a message, no real and practical action can be taken. Yes, I support the Intergalactic Zen Peace Initiative and the World Hugs Fund, but right now I want to fix my T fares. That’s one step towards world peace, and we’ve got to take it one step at a time.

Just like in these MBTA hearings. There are always a number of people attending them who bring up some very specific incident from three or four years ago that they all the sudden want to address. At a recent MBTA Q&A, a guy got up and complained that one day, eight or nine months ago, there was no one in the token booth to help a certain person with a problem at the turnstile. The T representative at the meeting said he would like to know the station, the date and time, which is reasonable enough. Then after some very cursory probing, the complainant, I guess you’d call him, says, “well, maybe there was someone there, but the glass in the token booth is too dark.” There were several other comments like this. Which… you know, whatever. Let’s just agree that the service isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

The truth is, as my friend informed me after we’d hashed some of this out, her monthly combo was actually going to be cheaper with the fare restructuring, while my subway pass was going to go through the roof. So it’s no wonder she’s not all that into a demonstration against fare increases that minimally impact her. She feels it’s much more important to address management and labor.

But that’s simply not a battle I’m capable of waging. I mean if you can’t even get a consensus on fares among activist groups and organizations (many of whom have said they love the idea of a rally for fair fares–whatever those are–but not one of whom is willing to get onboard with it), then what do you think the case would be if you dragged the union issue into it?

“Yikes,” is about all I can say to that.

In fact, “Yikes” pretty much sums up this whole freakin’ project.