Providence has joined Pawtucket and Burrillville in passing a resolution in support of RIPTA.
Will your city or town by next?
On Nov. 17, the Providence City Council passed a resolution that "requests that the General Assembly amend the State budget to provide adequate funding for a sustainable and efficient RIPTA system." With this act, the Providence City Council's voice is added to chorus of City leaders calling for expanding funding for RIPTA.
In early August -- after RIPTA held statewide public hearings to present its service reduction plans -- Providence Mayor Angel Taveras sent a letter to RIPTA CEO Charles Odimgbe stating, "I urge you to reconsider the proposed cuts to current RIPTA bus services and stand ready to support you in your efforts to identify a sustainable funding stream to support transit in Rhode Island."
The support from Providence runs still deeper. Providence's Director of Planning and Development Thomas Deller -- a longtime RIPTA board member -- was elected Chairman of the Board in April 2011. As a result, Deller and Odimgbe share the responsibility for steering our transit agency through these troubled times.
On Dec. 19, responding to mounting deficits and increased demand for transit, the RIPTA Board of Directors voted to layoff 33 non-transportation workers and to hire 20 new bus drivers. Still, the board is projecting a $3.4 million deficit this year and a $10 million deficit for FY2013, due in large part to a steadily declining yield in state gasoline tax revenues and contractual increases in wages, benefits and debt service. The state gasoline tax is the primary source of revenue that supports both road and bridge repair and mass transit.
CTC is calling on Providence's state senators and representatives from Providence (including House Speaker Gordon Fox), Burrillville and Pawtucket to lead the charge for reforming the way transit is funded, making it stronger, more sustainable catalyst to economic growth and improved quality of life.
How can you help?
If you live outside of Providence, Burrillville or Pawtucket, urge your town to pass a resolution in support of RIPTA.
E-mail Sierra Club's Abel Collins to get sample language you can use for your resolution and more details about how you can make this happen where you live.
If your city or town has already passed a resolution, you can pitch in by promoting the "Save RIPTA" petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/save-ripta. Please sign it and share it with your friends and email list.
Together with leadership like that shown by Providence, Burrillville and Pawtucket, we can preserve public transportation in Rhode Island.
