The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced earlier this month that it may increase fares and cut services to mitigate its deepening financial woes, which include a budget deficit of $180 million this fiscal year and over $5 billion in debt.

According to a July 8 MBTA pamphlet that details the possible changes, officials are considering raising both the subway fare and the bus fare by 50-cents for those who buy single-ride tickets, from $1.50 to $2.00 for bus and $2.00 to $2.50 for the subway. Discounted fares for frequent-user Charlie Cards would also rise, with the price of an individual T-ride increasing from $1.70 to $2 and the price of an individual bus ride increasing from $1.25 to $1.50.

Service reductions are also being considered, including the elimination of several bus routes with low ridership and a 50 percent reduction in all weekday bus services after 8:00 p.m.

The proposed fare hikes and service cuts would bring the MBTA $124 million in revenue and savings. The agency had warned in March that such changes could be necessary to close the growing deficit.

The MBTA's principal and interest payments on its $5.2 billion debt consume nearly 30 percent of its operating budget—the highest debt burden of any transit agency in the United States, the pamphlet said. MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said that the agency's growing budget deficit is the result of both insufficient funding from low state sales tax revenues and debts from capital projects such as the Big Dig.   [CORRECTION APPENDED]

"We have a structural problem now that really requires a multi-year solution," Pesaturo said. But he added that the package of fare hikes and service cuts proposed last week is by no means finalized.

"We're holding public hearings in the month of August and value public input," Pesaturo said. "Ultimately, the [MBTA] Board of Directors will make the final call."

The MBTA will soon receive additional funds from other sources as well. The federal government's stimulus package provides the agency with $64.3 million for improvements and repairs to existing lines, as well as construction of a transit center in Greenfield. And roughly $160 million in revenue anticipated from the impending statewide sales tax increase has been appropriated to the MBTA by the state legislature to help alleviate the agency's debt.

State representative Alice K. Wolf, whose district includes Harvard and much of western Cambridge, said that while the aid from the sales tax hike was substantial, both the state and the MBTA would need to seek more long-term solutions to eliminate the remainder of its deficit.

"It's no good just being mad at the T," Wolf said. "We have to find some overall solution, which is difficult since there is not enough money in the state to be doing what we should be doing in terms of long-term solution."

But she also noted that the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority backed away from a toll hike for drivers after much public outcry, and said that "it is very important that the public revolt" to indicate their desire for a solution to the MBTA's financial woes that does not necessarily depend on fare hikes.

"The voices of the T-riders have not been heard as clearly as the drivers," Wolf said.

Regular T-riders interviewed by the Crimson bemoaned the possible reduction of services, especially the cuts to the late-night bus schedule.

"It shouldn't be done at all," said Ross W. Mair, who commutes daily for work. "But I know the system's in dire trouble, and look at what you pay for public transport in other areas of the country."

Sally M. Pierce, also a regular commuter, expressed concern at the job losses that would result from the elimination of certain bus routes.

"The increase is hard, but I'd rather pay more than not have service at all," she said. "If these services are cut, where are all those people going to go?"

News of the possible cutbacks also follows a reduction in the size of the agency's staff, including 190 jobs through a hiring freeze this past year and 96 additional layoffs this spring, according to a July 11 Boston Globe op-ed by MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas, who also wrote that the changes had saved the agency $8 million annually. 

According to Pesaturo, the MBTA spokesman, total weekday ridership for transit services declined by 5.8 percent since last year's "record-high levels," as of May 2009. He attributed the decrease to the weak economic climate and growing unemployment.

—Staff writer Shan Wang can be reached at wang38@fas.harvard.edu.