Lowell Sun | By Katie Lannan, Sun Statehouse Correspondent | 09/23/2011

BOSTON — MBTA workers are blasting a proposal that would force them to pay to ride the system’s buses and subways.

Active and retired MBTA employees are issued a pass that grants them free access to passenger services, but Beacon Hill lawmakers are considering a bill that would take that access away from retirees and off-duty employees.

The bill, which is sponsored by Rep. Steven Howitt, R-Seekonk, comes as the T faces a $160 million budget shortfall for the next fiscal year.

Richard Guiney, a member of the Boston Carmen’s Union, Local 589 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, said the rides come at no extra cost to the state.

“The cost of this access is included in the wage package negotiated with the MBTA,” he testified in a Joint Committee on Transportation hearing. “It’s not a free ride.”

Guiney said that when MBTA employees are on trains or buses, they often help passengers board and disperse crowds, keeping routes on schedule.

“It’s in the public interest to have trained personnel riding the system, whether they’re active or retired,” he said.

James O’Brien, vice president of the same union, said the number of trips taken by MBTA retirees was so small compared to the total ridership that the fares for those rides would not make a significant impact on the transportation agency’s bottom line.

“It’s like decimal dust,” he said.

MBTA retirees took 137,099 trips last year, accounting for less than 1 percent of the T’s total ridership of 380 million, according to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.

Pesaturo said because the free rides are a part of workers’ compensation, they are negotiated in labor deals with 16 different collective-bargaining units.

While the Legislature tackles the issue of free passes, it’s also being discussed in contract negotiations between the MBTA and union members.

“What this bill would do is basically micro-manage our collective bargaining,” O’Brien said. “It’s a shame to take the collective-bargaining issue out of our hands.”

Transportation Committee Chairman Rep. William Straus, D-Mattapoisett, said the Legislature generally prefers not to get involved in issues that are being actively negotiated.

“Just speaking for myself, my hope is that the process of successful collective bargaining and negotiations will help some resolution occur,” Straus said.

Union member Larry Kelly said a more effective way for the MBTA to save money would be to make sure all stations are fully staffed with agents who can prevent riders from boarding without paying.

“In obvious locations and on obvious days, there are lots of people who are beating the fare system and just going through without paying their fares,” he said. “The effective enforcement of all fares at these locations would result in greater revenue savings than the minimal savings that are realized by removing the T employee passes.”

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