Every RIPTA route tells a story. Is the General Assembly listening?
The RIPTA 40 bus serves stops in the Providence area between Butler Hospital and Kennedy Plaza. The route's low score in a new efficiency report fails to represent its vital role in helping passengers access psychiatric care and outpatient mental health and substance abuse programs, public transit advocates say. (Photo by Dylan Giles)
A new study for the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) is supposed to identify possibilities for cutting overhead costs in the name of 'efficiency.' A recently released chapter of the report attempts to classify the impact of bus routes using a composite route score that factors in impact, efficiency and equity.
This efficiency study was ordered in 2024 by the governor and the General Assembly as a condition of granting RIPTA the $15 million it needed to continue operating without service cuts. But Gov. Dan McKee's proposed budget released in January left RIPTA facing a $32.6 million budget deficit because of cost increases due to inflation, COVID relief money running out, and finally paying drivers a living wage.
Health care and RIPTA prevail in lawmakers' revised fiscal 2026 budget
The House version of the fiscal 2026 budget released Tuesday night includes an estimated $15 million in annual funding for RIPTA, about half of what the agency needs to maintain current service. This all but guarantees that the results of the efficiency study will be used to guide route cancellations and service reductions. While the additional revenue will help, the agency cannot 'fat-trim' its way out of what now is a $17 million hole. Riders who rely on routes that scored lowest in the new study are likely to be most at risk.
Consider the 40 bus, which received low scores, especially on impact. The 40 serves Butler Hospital, connecting riders with not only urgent psychiatric care, but also many outpatient mental health and substance abuse programs. How is this not one of the most impactful routes? Likewise, the 66 bus received an even lower score than the 40, but it provides vital service to students and staff of CCRI and URI, not to mention being a one-seat ride to the airport. Yet another example is the 73, even lower on the list, one of the only buses that serves Central Falls, the most densely populated area in our state with the largest percentage of people without driver's licenses.
The data points do not tell these stories. To their credit, the writers of the report go out of their way to acknowledge that the data does not account for the real-world impact of low scoring routes.
'Some routes may perform lower in terms of ridership,' the report states, 'yet still benefit the network as a whole by feeding passengers into other routes, serving vulnerable populations and providing service coverage in transit-dependent neighborhoods.'
The report attempts to strike an unachievable balance, ranking routes like they are players to be cut or traded, while calling low performing routes 'lifelines' and highlighting how any cuts to service will undoubtedly harm individual users. It even suggests maintaining service on the lowest scoring route, the 88, which links subsidized housing for the elderly at Simmons Village with the Cranston Walmart, because it connects people to vital services.
Reducing service would also undermine RIPTA's progress on the Transit Master Plan. For example, the plan calls for more crosstown and rural routes, yet many of these routes receive low scores in the efficiency study draft. For example, Pawtucket's crosstown routes received lower scores, as well as some of the express (X) buses, like the 59X in North Smithfield and Lincoln. Yet the report also noted the importance of the route as it connects commuters to employment centers. Furthermore, park-and-ride users are often 'choice' riders, who can choose to drive or take the bus. One rider noted that choice riders have a larger impact on climate change since most of their trips would otherwise be made by driving.
The report attempts to strike an unachievable balance, ranking routes like they are players to be cut or traded.
The report also highlights how important the fixed-route service is in achieving our climate goals. It states that fixed route service lowered statewide vehicle trips by 11.5 million trips and vehicle miles traveled by over 43 million miles. Furthermore, emissions of volatile organic compounds were reduced by 96% and greenhouse gas emissions by 25%. These numbers show how RIPTA is essential to reduction in carbon emissions required by the Act on Climate. Any reductions of fixed route service would lower the environmental impact of RIPTA and increase vehicle trips and emissions.
Any reductions on fixed route service will also impact service for people with disabilities, known as RIDE. Federal law mandates that RIDE service must be offered to disabled people within ¾ mile of a bus route. However, if that fixed route service is cut, all of the RIDE service along the route will be cut as well. The RIDE service also aids in our climate goals, further lowering statewide vehicle trips by 69,400 and reduction of vehicle miles traveled by over 1.7 million miles.One RIDE participant of the 'RIDE anywhere' pilot program noted, 'Up until the program began, I was housebound for 5 years.'
The data points in the report tell one story. Yet the underlying message of the report actually illustrates the importance of the totality of the services that RIPTA provides. Its narrative is that we should provide RIPTA with the full $32.6 million that covers each and every one of the routes. In order to achieve our economic and climate goals, we must fully fund RIPTA and provide them with a sustainable funding source for the future, so they are not underfunded year after year.
Funding RIPTA will ensure that the routes in 37 out of 39 municipalities in Rhode Island will continue along with vital service for those with disabilities, students and commuters. Otherwise, we face service cuts that will devastate rural and suburban service and cut off transportation access for those with disabilities. Cutting service in the name of efficiency abandons the very people transit is meant to serve. To build a fair, connected Rhode Island, we must fully fund RIPTA's $32.6 million shortfall and commit to equity as a guiding principle — not a secondary goal. Public transit isn't just about numbers; it's about people.
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