Boston councilmen speak against proposed NFTA cuts at ECC public hearing

Residents from across the Erie County Southtowns, the city of Buffalo and elsewhere packed the cafeteria at ECC South on Feb. 2 as they shared their concerns regarding proposed cuts in services by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority. At stake, according to the public transportation agency, is a several million dollar budget deficit, which is forcing the NFTA to reduce or to slash services entirely throughout the region.

One town caught in the crossfire is the rural town of Boston, where a bus route that runs between downtown Buffalo and North Boston twice a day is proposed to be cut entirely.

As a result of the possible reductions in services, two Boston councilmen, Jay Boardway and Lawrence Murtha, attended the public hearing to share their concerns. That evening, Boardway called the NFTA’s service in Boston an “absolute necessity,” adding that Boston has “done its part” to invest in the service, setting aside money to build a new bus shelter at the site in North Boston. The town has routinely paid for the upkeep of the parking lot.

Murtha also expressed his feelings toward the NFTA cuts as he admonished NFTA leaders by saying, “You did well to highlight cuts on the map in blood red, because they are going to hurt a lot of people.” Murtha gave NFTA leaders more than eight pages of signatures petitioning the NFTA to reverse these proposed cuts in services that he helped to collect throughout the past weeks.

After the close of the meeting, Murtha said that there were “a lot of hard stories to listen to” that evening, but added that he believed NFTA leaders “seemed to be shaken” by what they heard.

Other Western New York representatives spoke at the hearing and discussed how the cuts could negatively affect the region. County Legislator Lynne Dixon pointed out that businesses interested in moving to the Southtowns may rethink doing so if there is no public transportation for employees. Dixon also voiced her concern about the large amount of students who use the NFTA’s service as they travel to schools like ECC and Hilbert.

State Assemblyman Kevin Smardz presented some strategies that he said could be used to save the NFTA’s service in the area. Calling for the agency to look at what could be done internally to reduce the deficit, Smardz also suggested that 90 - 95 percent of those who called his office in opposition to the cuts said they would be willing to pay a “25-50 cent fare hike” rather than see services cut entirely.

The NFTA also presented its ideas to save services, which include reducing the frequency of trips on some routes and combining or “servicing” some routes with others.

Throughout the rest of this month, the NFTA said it will work toward presenting a “refined” and a “commissioners” plan to the cuts it previously proposed. According to an NFTA poster presented at the meeting, the final plan will be announced in March and will be implemented by late April.

For those interested in becoming more active or educated on the issue, the NFTA’s website can be accessed at www.nfta.com. Dixon can be reached at her office at 858-8671 or by email at Lynne.Dixon@erie.gov. Smardz can also be contacted at 826-1878 or smardzk@assembly.state.ny.us.

For Boston residents interested in the matter, Boardway can be contacted by email at councilmanboardway@townofboston.com or by phone at 941-6113 ext. 38. Murtha can also be reached at 941-6113 ext. 36 or councilmanmurtha@townofboston.com.