Dorchester, MA – My name is Marvin Martin. I’m 72 years old and live in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. Ever since I was a kid growing up black in Baltimore, I have been involved with a quest for equity and justice. Now I’m the Executive Director of Action for Equity.
A little over a year ago, I had heart failure and started making use of mobility transit. They come, pick me up and drop me off at my door, mostly for doctors appointments. Though I don’t get out for social activities as much as I used to, I also use the commuter rail, buses and the T to get to work, the market and sometimes a park to go for a walk.
I really rely on transit but have developed some concerns. Though Boston probably has one of the better bus systems in the country, it lags far behind first world and second world countries.
The Silver Line, S1 for example, is supposed to be Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) but it has to stop at all the same traffic light as cars so it’s not fast. We need a real BRT line so riders can get where we need to go efficiently and to encourage drivers to get out of their cars. I would also like to see mini-buses running on the smaller streets to connect us to the main lines. That would be something that would really work for people.
Recently, I found out too late that buses don’t even run at some times. I live a block from the #21 bus stop and it runs pretty frequently – every 10 minutes during rush hour and every 15-20 during off peak hours. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that the bus starts very late on Sunday, after many people are already in church. I had to get to a program we were running and found out that the bus didn’t even start until after the program would have started. I tried the #26 nearby but it started even later. There weren’t any other alternatives and I didn’t have money for an Uber. I ended up walking 2 miles on a bad foot.
Operations funding is really important if we want transit that runs on timelines that work for people and take us to the places we need to be. The Stronger Communities Through Better Transit would dedicate funding specifically to improve transit service.