The MBTA lost out on about $100 over the weekend after a group of fed-up transit riders skipped paying to ride the train in protest of the upcoming fare hikes.
“Boston Fare Strike,” a mixed-coalition of protesters from the International Workers of the World, Socialist Alternative, Common Struggle and an affinity group from within Occupy Boston, marched right passed the fare gates at Park Street Station on Saturday to “take a stand” against the impending increases.
The direct action ended an “Anti-Austerity” march yesterday through the streets of Boston.
The march was in protest of those measures.
Protesters waved flags, chanted, and banged on buckets as they flooded the steps at Park Street and filed through the gates without anyone to stop them.
The march and protest were held to rally against the 23 percent fare spike that will begin on July 1 and impact daily riders.
The MBTA voted on the increase—the first of its kind in half a decade—in April to close their multi-million dollar budget gap.
A member of the Occupy Boston affinity group, Julie Almond, said protesters rallied against the government’s unresponsiveness to fixing the derailed MBTA system and its backlog of debt.
“The State House has refused to take the MBTA debt seriously and we aren’t going to keep paying them if they continue to bring the T into a downward spiral,” said Almond.
In the video, protesters can be seen holding up the mechanical turnstile that usually separates when someone places a pass in the machine, or swipes their CharlieCard
“Their selfish actions do nothing more than worsen the T’s financial condition,” said Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the MBTA.
According to Almond, no one was issued a citation or arrested for skipping the fares.
“It shows the power of collective action, that folks can come together and make a difference even if it is breaking an ordinance or law,” said Almond.
More marches are planned and the group is encouraging riders to stop paying their fare to ride the T starting July 1.
“We hope that people are going to start using the tactic of evading fares and being on strike,” said Almond.
