Rosa was waiting near the end of a line of about 30 people when I found her at 8:30am in the Kennedy Plaza terminal building Wednesday morning. In her hand she held a senior/disabled bus pass that was due to expire in September 2020, but a driver told her that the pass was no good anymore and that she had to get a new bus pass if she wanted to continue to ride at the reduced fare.
“I paid for this pass, and now it’s no good and I have to pay again,” said Rosa.
Barbara Polichetti, Director of Public Affairs at RIPTA (Rhode Island Public Transit Authority) said that, “Individuals who obtained their passes before January 1, 2013 will be required to pay $10 for their new passes. Anyone who obtained their pass after January 1, 2013 will still need to re-qualify but will not have to pay the $10 processing fee.”
Further up the line Frederick, a disabled man in his late thirties, told me that he had waited in line for over two hours the day before. “They cut off the line at ten people, and told the rest of us to come back tomorrow,” he said. He added that it is difficult for him to get around without a bus pass.
RIPTA announced back in April that they were “re-qualifying all passengers eligible to participate in RIPTA’s Reduced Fare Bus Pass Program for lower income senior citizens and persons with disabilities.” All participants were then required to obtain new passes by July 1. That deadline was later extended to September 1.
I asked Polichetti why re-qualification became necessary. “We looked at all aspects of this program as part of the Comprehensive Fare Study that was conducted last year. In addition to looking at fares, or in this case our no-fare customers, we also looked at the administration of the program. It became very clear that having passes that were valid for five years at a time was not practical or prudent – it was simply too long to go without having people check back in to see if they still qualify for the program.
“There was no way to determine if a pass holder had died or moved away; their passes remained active and in use in our system until they expired. So we knew we needed to lessen the time the passes are valid. They will now be valid for two years, not five. The passes being issued now will expire on a customer’s birthday after the two-year mark, so everyone will not have to re-qualify at the same time again – it will be staggered.”
Originally senior and disabled bus riders were facing a $.50 price hike, but that increase was put off until January, when the General Assembly might reconsider the fare increase.
“We are sensitive to the fact that this program serves a population that is facing financial, health and other stressors in their lives,” said Raymond Studley, RIPTA’s CEO in June when the extension was announced.
That population includes Alan, who first got in line for a new pass on August 31. He was told that he lacked the proper paperwork. It took him a while to get what he needed from the IRS. I wasn’t sure that the one paper he had in his hand would be enough, but Alan seemed confident.
RIPTA’s outreach to the public about the program changes has been extensive, said Polichetti, and has included distributing information at charitable organizations and senior centers across the state, running radio ads for five months, and posting reminders on its website, social media and the digital boards on buses and at the Kennedy Plaza transit hub.
Still, many senior and disabled people didn’t get the message until a bus driver informed them that their pass was no good. Jose, who was waiting in line with Rosa, doesn’t speak much English and his pass didn’t expire until May 2019. He was visibly annoyed that his pass was invalid, despite the date printed on it.
“A lot of riders thought that at the last minute the governor would have a change of heart and decide to honor the passes until they expired,” said Don Rhodes, president of the RIPTA Riders Alliance. So why didn’t RIPTA grandfather in people like Jose and Rosa, who have passes that won’t expire for a few years?
“Since one of the goals was to end the five-year tenure of the passes for better administration of the program,” said Polichetti, “this would not have worked. It would have meant that some people were still going to have five years without checking in with RIPTA, five years without us verifying that they still qualify for the program, and that they are the rightful pass holder.
“We tried to minimize the financial impact of the re-qualification process by not charging anyone who received a pass after Jan. 1, 2013 for their new passes. The fee – which is the administrative fee for getting a photo ID pass – remains the same at $5 per year. The new two-year passes are $10.”
Mary waited in line on Tuesday from 1pm to 3:30pm, only to be told to go home and come back tomorrow. She had spent Tuesday morning at the DMV, getting her state issued ID, and then spent hours in vain at RIPTA. It was a long day of waiting in line, with tons of other people, and she didn’t get the bus pass she needed.
“It was crazy in here yesterday,” said Mary, “It was nuts. The line was over twice as long, and stretched around the room and outside into the rain.”
Hopefully Mary will have better luck today, since she arrived an hour before the office opened.
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza today announced plans for a 1.4 mile “Enhanced Transit Corridor” in downtown Providence. The service will “run along Exchange, Dorrance and Eddy streets, providing quick and reliable transportation between Kennedy Plaza, two new intermodal transit hubs planned for the areas around the Providence Station and Hospital District, and key office, retail, entertainment and institutional destinations both within and beyond the Downtown area.” (See map)
The project is being paid for with $13 million in TIGER VI funds, secured with the help of the congressional delegation. The total cost of the project will be $17 million, with the city and state kicking in the rest.
Elorza said that the increased cost of parking in Providence is creating a demand for dependable public transportation. The new route is projected to have buses running every five minutes during peak hours. A series of sheltered bus stops, similar to the one pictured below, from Cleveland, will provide WiFi and bike share service as well as other amenities.
Governor Gina Raimondo said that when she talks to businesses, they are seeking young talent, and that young people want public transportation. This is born out by a pair of statistics mentioned by Congressperson David Cicilline, who said that “4 out of 5 young people want to live without a car” and that “two-thirds say access to public transit is a key factor in deciding where to live.”
Don Rhodes, of the RIPTA Riders Alliance, told me that he is very pleased with the new plan, and that he and his group has been advocating for an enhanced bus route instead of a streetcar for years.
The new plan is the result of a collaboration between RIPTA, the RI Department of Transportation (RIDOT) and the City of Providence.
This is my third year writing about the Buy Nothing Day Winter Coat Exchange. (here and here) This is also the 19th year of the effort, in which donated coats are given to the people who need them while at the same time challenging the consumerism that plagues us every year on on the day after Thanksgiving, “Black Friday.”
The weather this year was virtually Spring-like, which is both worrisome and enjoyable. Set on the lawn of the RI State House in the shadow of the Providence Place Mall, the line of people wanting a new coat stretched to the train station. When I arrived volunteers were still setting up. Among the volunteers I saw Don Rhodes of the RIPTA Riders Alliance and Greg Gerritt, who started this program nearly two decades ago.
Setting up at tables was Recycle Together RI, handing out flyers containing information on how to recycle, and the URI SNAP Outreach Project which “helps low-income individuals and families access the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” what are commonly called food stamps.
Also on hand was Books Are Wings, which was preparing to send every child who attended the event home with a book, as well as a coat.
Though the continuing need for events like this serve as an indictment of our economic and political system, the fact that so many people respond with generosity speaks volumes about our deeper values. This event demonstrates a deep truth about us:
We can do better.
RIPTA Riders Alliance, an advocacy group for bus riders, held a press conference in Kennedy Plaza across from Providence City Hall on Thursday afternoon to protest “a sharp bus fare increase” of $1 per ride for low-income disabled people and seniors. Right now the increase is only a proposal and the current fare for senior and disabled riders is $0.
According to the RIPTA Riders Alliance, “RIPTA officials say that they haven’t decided yet on bus fare increases, [but] some information about the planned increases is already publicly known. According to comments made by RIPTA officials at RIPTA’s July 20 board meeting, their planned budget includes plans to raise fares.”
RIPTA Riders Alliance release a list of cities and states with bus systems of comparable size to RIPTA. The average fare in these systems in $1.60 for regular riders, 40 cents lower than RIPTA. The average rate for seniors and disabled riders is 68 cents. RIPTA Riders Alliance wants RIPTA to find savings via internal efficiencies, not with additional costs to riders.
Don Rhodes, president of RIPTA Riders Alliance, said in a statement, “RIPTA Riders Alliance is opposed to balancing the deficit on the backs of the passengers. The Alliance is against the imposition of an off-peak fare for disabled and elderly people living on a limited income. And during peak hours, charging them $1 per ride is far too much of a financial burden, greatly limiting their mobility. We are also opposed to any increase in the $2.00 base fare, which is already higher than average base fares in similar bus systems.”
Several speakers spoke of the economic hardships they would face under a new rate system.
