'It is essential': Riders and advocates plea for a lifeline for RIPTA
PROVIDENCE - Public transportation advocates are making a final push for state lawmakers to rescue the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority from a looming budget crisis that, if unaddressed, could slash bus service across the state.
They came to the House Finance Committee in support of a slate of bills that would close or partly close a projected $33 million RIPTA budget deficit for the year starting July 1, protecting bus routes and transportation for the disabled.
Jean Ann Giuliano of East Greenwich said RIPTA service had been a "game changer" for her 28-year-old autistic son, allowing him to live independently and ride it to his job at CVS.
"RIPTA for him is a lifeline. It is not a convenience for James, it is a necessity. It is essential," Giuliano said at a May 21 House Finance Committee meeting. "Last year, the bus he takes was on the chopping block ... fortunately it was saved. This year it is probably going to be on the chopping block again and for us it is panic time."
Amy Jo Glidden, co-chair of Rhode Island Transit Riders, said the cuts to bus service that would be required without money budgeted for transit would result in layoffs at RIPTA, routes cut or made less frequent, and lost jobs across the state by people who are no longer able to get to work.
"This issue is personal for me. I do not own a car and rely on the bus to get around," Glidden said. "If RIPTA does not get the $32 million, catastrophe awaits."
RIPTA's budget woes have reached this crisis point over the course of many years, but like most transit agencies in the United States, accelerated during the COVID pandemic.
The pandemic cratered ridership and sent costs spiraling, but for four years federal aid plugged the revenue gap.
Gov. Dan McKee has not suggested any new funding ideas for RIPTA.
The "Save RIPTA" alliance has backed seven different public transit funding bills and it is not clear which have the best chance of passing.
They include:
Appropriating $32 million in the state budget
Borrowing $100 million for transit
Shifting more gas tax collections to RIPTA
Dedicating taxes collected from ride-hailing companies such as Uber to transit
Using every year of inflation to calculate the every-two-year gas tax increase (currently only the most recent year is counted.)
Last year, the General Assembly provided $15 million − the other half of the deficit was plugged with the last remaining COVID funds − but made no move toward funding the agency long term.
The one string attached to the $15 million was a requirement that RIPTA conduct an "efficiency study" by March that would search for ways to run the bus system at lower cost or in a way that generates more revenue.
But last year was also a time of turmoil at RIPTA and, after the ouster of former CEO Scott Avedisian, the bus system's board of directors opted to give new CEO Chris Durand's team and consultants more time to search for efficiencies.
On Thursday, May 22, Durand told the RIPTA board that the study was still being finished and he expected more documents from it to be available next week.
RIPTA did send a "best practices review" of other similar-sized transit agencies from study consultant WSP to lawmakers May 16.
It recommended, among other things, eliminating underperforming routes, increasing eligibility verification for paratransit service and shifting some service to "microtransit."
On the revenue side, the report said agencies could look for more advertising opportunities.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said May 22 he has more requests for spending than the state has revenue and he expects RIPTA to find efficiencies.
"They have to right the ship," he said about RIPTA. "The reality is they have to change. Public transit is important, for the economy and environment ... We gave them an extra $15 million and all I asked for is an efficiency study that's behind schedule."
The only bill in the Save RIPTA package that McKee's administration has weighed in on is a proposal to shift some gas tax proceeds from highway projects to transit.
Transportation Secretary Peter Alviti Jr., who is also the RIPTA board chairman, wrote to lawmakers that the Department of Transportation opposes the bill because it would "result in an annual loss of approximately $7 million, significantly impacting our capital program."
Liza Burkin, board president of the Providence Streets Coalition, argued at the Finance Committee meeting that it is past time state leaders start making long-term decisions about RIPTA.
"It is very sad we are still in the same place. We have studied this over and over and over and over," Burkin said. "The Save RIPTA campaign has chosen seven different ways of funding RIPTA. They are diverse, different ways. It is up to you all to decide. Just choose one or two."
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RIPTA is heading toward a crisis. Riders are begging for a lifeline.
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