A bill sponsored in both chambers of the legislature this year and supported by the 47-member Coalition for Transportation Choices -- The Transportation Investment and Debt Reduction Act of 2011 -- provided an opportunity for Rhode Island to take bold but economically sound steps to help stabilize funding for roads, bridges and transit while reducing our reliance on costly borrowing for transportation repairs and improvements.   

Some good elements of the Transportation Investment and Debt Reduction Act -- such as provisions increasing license and registration fees to establish a new Transportation Trust Fund -- made it into the final budget. 

But the budget measure that passed will provide funds solely to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT). So while the Debt Reduction Act will help reduce state borrowing and bonding through pay-as-you-go revenue sources for road repair and construction, mass transit got kicked to the curb. 

Transportation is more than just cars, roads and bridges, something the enacted budget failed to recognize. When the final budget passed, none of the money from the new Trust Fund was allocated for RIPTA.

As we warned repeatedly over the last few months, failure by our elected officials to act to fix RIPTA's broken funding system could lead to rate increases and/or service reductions. RIPTA has already announced a series of public hearings at the end of this month to get public input on proposed service reductions.

Mass transit is vital part of Rhode Island's economy. Fifty-one percent of riders take RIPTA to work. Forcing RIPTA to make deep service cuts will become yet another barrier between people and jobs -- particularly for those working second shift.

In addition, none of the money from the new Trust Fund was allocated to cities and towns, which need the revenues for fixing local roads. 

RIPTA: An unjustifiable target
Despite having among the highest fares in the U.S., RIPTA ridership continues to grow. One of the reasons for this is that mass transit is helping Rhode Island families to lower their household transportation costs at a time when it's most needed. While RIDOT has been recognized nationally for using its limited resources wisely on "fix-it-first" projects versus building yet more road capacity, few people realize that RIPTA has scored quite well in third-party audits examining its operational and fiscal management.   

Too often RIPTA has become an unjustifiable target of armchair critics. Like RIDOT, RIPTA relies on a declining source of revenue -- the flat per gallon gas tax, which robs each agency of purchasing power through ordinary inflation and as cars become more fuel efficient. Both RIPTA and the needs of municipalities should be a given when assessing the function of a viable, interwoven transportation and transit system.

CTC urges Governor Chafee and the Legislature to give this vital aspect of everyday life another look. It is a simple, logical and economically beneficial step to take to use the funding in that budget to support not just building concrete roads and bridges, but to help the human beings who need mass transit. Even the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC) suggested in a 2002 report that a portion of revenue collected from registration and driver license fees should be earmarked for mass transit.

Otherwise it is RIPTA -- and its many passengers -- that ironically and sadly will be thrown under the bus.