RIPTA's recent public meetings that sparked the riders' rally helped drive an announcement by RIPTA chief Charles Odimgbe that no service cuts would be instituted, at least until 2012.  Previously Odimbge had announced the possibility of a 10% cutback in service.  

However at a Tuesday (9/27) meeting, the RIPTA Board of Directors approved reductions that would decrease the frequency of service, mostly in the evening, on 13 bus routes, saving $548,000 annually. They could also cost upwards of 20-30 jobs at the authority (see NBC10 news coverage).  Overall these announced service reductions do not eliminate routes entirely or shorten the span of service, as had previoulsy been proposed. Still any reduction of service in this period of increased transit demand and economic hardship is a step backward for a state trying desperately to rebuild its economy.  And we are convinced that the  public outcry against the original proposal for a 10% cutback in service was instrumental in reducing the severity of the cutbacks.

These "frequency adjustments," to use bureaucratese, translate directly into "service cuts" in real life. RIPTA is indeed going to introduce service cuts - albeit reluctantly - that fly in the face of what the public wants and needs, as riders and many legislators made clear at the public forums.

State Sen. John Tassoni, who attended the RIPTA board meeting, was highly critical of RIPTA's lack of advocacy and communication to legislators at the State House for adequate funding during the last session of the General Assembly.  

However, the CTC and its 45 member organizations had been quite vocal and visible on Smith Hill, and had supported the Transportation Investment and Debt Reduction Act of 2011.  This act would have provided for a reliable alternative funding stream, which would have helped to avoid a harmful budget deficit and resulting service cut-backs. It specifically targeted a portion of those funds to support investments in mass transit, rather than directing all the proceeds to reduce future RIDOT borrowing, as eventually was the case.

The key elements of the Transportation Investment and Debt Reduction Act are still viable, and need to be included in the State Budget during the 2012 General Assembly. A responsible solution to the perennial funding problem that results in untenable cuts to transit service is readily available for legislators' consideration and action.  More than 60 percent of RIPTA passengers are using transit to get to school or work, and RIPTA is helping to reduce household transportation costs at a time when it is most needed. Rhode Islanders need our leaders in government and our elected representatives to prevent the further weakening of our state's vital mass transit system.