Many media outlets and some advocates cheered after Governor McKee and the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) released a joint letter claiming there would be no “severe cuts” to bus service. The announcement read as a victory following months of intense public pressure to stop drastic reductions.
Unfortunately, the devil is in the details, and what it shows is the exact opposite.
The letter reads in a positive manner, assuring the public that the severe cuts are no longer. Buried in the language, however, it alludes to the need for RIPTA to scrape together the bare minimum to function by increasing bus fares, cutting service, and reducing upper-level staff. The rest of the funds will be obtained through other means, including a $3 million loan that RIPTA is forced to pay back.
The new proposal slashes service to around 75% of its routes. This includes fewer buses on the road and the complete elimination of some routes altogether. With the addition of higher fares, “victory” appears more like a self-deluded lie.
While RIPTA was able to escape an immediate, sweeping blow, it will instead be struck with a thousand smaller ones.
As fares rise and buses come less often, ridership will fall. This will set off a domino effect, giving politicians an excuse to chip away in the future. RIPTA’s financial burden deepens, weighed down by a multi-million-dollar loan.
If drastic cuts were being considered initially, and the system is now being set up for an even worse situation next year—all the while blindly pouring millions into the Washington Bridge to uphold its car-centric infrastructure—is it too far-fetched to ask whether Rhode Island will eventually consider eliminating its public transit entirely?