Dozens of people gathered at the Hingham Shipyard to protest cuts planned for the MBTA’s Hingham/Hull Ferry service.
The MBTA is facing a $580 million deficit, and General Manager Steve Poftak says fare revenue remains at “unprecedently low levels” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They’re transporting 330,000 trips on an average weekday, but running the same level of service as it ran to serve 1.6 million trips.
“This level of service delivery, along with the loss in revenue is not sustainable,” Poftak said in an update on the MBTA website.
The Hingham/Hull ferry service could be eliminated as soon as March 2021, and riders are worried if the service would ever return.
“I’m a nurse at Mass. General Hospital and I take it every day, back and forth – every day. It would be devastating to lose,” said Ellen Kinnealey, a Shipyard resident. “I used to live in Canton and I took the Commuter Rail, which was nowhere near as reliable as the ferry is. It’s just a pleasant way to travel.”
Kinnealey says there’s a certain camaraderie and calm among the passengers. Before the pandemic, the parking lot at the Herbert Foss Hingham Terminal was packed with passengers taking the ferry into Boston.
Her friend, Lois Lanning, moved to the Shipyard with her husband because of the service.
“That’s what pushed us over the line in saying ‘yes,’ was we could get to Boston without having to drive and having to worry about parking,” said Lanning. “We could support the city, go to the restaurants, go to the museums. It makes no sense when they’re spending millions of dollars trying to address the congestion on the highway — then they’re cutting the ferry.”
With other reductions along the Greenbush Commuter Rail line, many residents are concerned that the South Shore will be cut off from transportation options.
Hull Town Manager Phil Lemnios feels it’s an “outrageous plan” to cut the services. The commuters and businesses in Boston are left holding the bag.
“Part of the issue is that Route 3 is already very congested. Anybody who drives Route 3 in the morning will tell you that it’s a nightmare commute,” said Lemnios. “If you wanted to kill Boston, one of the best ways to kill Boston is to reduce Commuter Rail and the ferry system.”
Bob Lawler, the General Manager of the Boston Harbor Cruises, feels that the cuts are disproportionate.
“The MBTA is trying to solve a $580 million deficit, and we make up only about between $13-$15 million of that, so less than three percent. They’re considering wholesale cuts to ferry service, which will take years to come back if they do that,” said Lawler. “We understand they’re in a budget deficit. We understand what COVID has done to all business. We really want to work closely with the T to solve the problem and not cut the service.”
More information can be found at SaveTheFerry.Org.
The MBTA is planning on voting on the proposed cuts during a meeting on December 7.
