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Joe A. Kunzler <br />RE: EVERETT TRANSIT PROPOSAL TO TERMINATE ROUTE 70 <br />A Tate-1980s map of the Green Line shows the "suspended" segment of the E branch to <br />Forest Hills. The T has long since given up any pretext of resurrecting light rail service through <br />Jamaica Plain Courtesy of the MBTA. <br />A Tate-1980s map of the Green Line shows the "suspended" segment of the E branch to <br />Forest Hills. The T has long since given up any pretext of resurrecting light rail service through <br />Jamaica Plain. Courtesy of the MBTA. <br />Going back to 1986, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) temporarily <br />suspended a stretch of the Boston Green Line E due to nearby construction. Ultimately, this <br />service was permanently cut, to be replaced only by bus service, which set the city on its path to <br />nation -leading congestion issues. <br />Just as other budget crises have led to permanent service cuts, the COVID-19 pandemic <br />will be no different in its long-term effects. While it's important for us to use our resources wisely <br />during this public health crisis, we should also understand what's at stake. <br />Transit agencies are public service organizations, not Fortune 500 companies. Especially <br />during a pandemic -induced budget crisis, the success of these agencies should not be based on <br />financial solvency. Rather, public transit agencies should be evaluated on the service, access and <br />safety they provide to their riders. <br />If we don't maintain adequate transit service, riders may never return after the pandemic <br />is over. This makes no more sense than closing schools because children aren't inside them. <br />On top of maintaining transit service for the future, we need these services now COVID- <br />19 is surging across the country and many essential workers still need public transit to get to work. <br />Making "fiscally conservative" cuts to public transit now could have dire impacts on our ability to <br />overcome the virus and would be a betrayal of the frontline workers who are continuing to put <br />their lives on the line to get us through the pandemic. <br />"Temporary" almost never means what it should when it comes to transit. Instead of <br />rushing to approve budgets by making deep, permanent service cuts, transit agencies, governors <br />and legislatures should wait a few months so that we all have a better understanding of what the <br />future looks like with a vaccine and additional federal aid.... <br />Page 2of3 <br />