No amount of ridership or city tax revenue would make the MBTA solvent. It's a sinking ship that is beyond rescue without massive federal intervention. Nobody in MA wants to say that though, because it's an admission of failure.
why is MBTA's solvency relevant to anything? Nobody expects the DOT, or any of the roads and highways they build and maintain to be solvent, or for the police department, or the firefighters to be a profit center for the city.
But as soon as we start talking about public transit, everyone's counting coppers and wringing their hands about the system's solvency.
