RIPTA Riders Alliance

October 16, 2016

Occupy wants to reclaim Kennedy Plaza for the people

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A protest organized by Occupy Providence and supported by RIPTA Riders Alliance was held in Burnside Park Saturday against plans by downtown building owners and allied politicians to push out buses and homeless people from the Kennedy Plaza area. October 15 marks the 5th anniversary of Occupy Providence. “We oppose the damaging idea of moving the state’s bus hub to a worse location far from downtown, and pushing people without homes into other parts of Providence without adequate services,” said the group in a statement, “We also oppose efforts by downtown owners to assert more control over the Kennedy Plaza area to the detriment of others.”

2016-10-15-occupy-5-years-04 — “There is no ‘those people’ there is only ‘We the people!'”

As is the tradition at Occupy, the event took the form of an open microphone, where anyone was invited to stand up and address their concerns and ideas to the crowd. A sampling of the speakers is presented blow. Technical difficulties marred the video, but the audio is clear.

People spoke about the issues surrounding homelessness, the persecution of panhandlers, and the increase in the bus fares that will be impacting the most vulnerable come January. Three student from the Alpert Medical School at Brown University attended, arguing that public transportation is a health issue.

Randall Rose, a member of Occupy Providence, said, “The Kennedy Plaza area should be kept safe for everyone, and not put under the sway of a few owners who want to use their insider connections to make more money from a more tightly restricted downtown.”

September 7, 2016

Senior/disabled bus pass re-qualification leads to long lines

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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.

June 16, 2016June 16, 2016

Progressives mixed on standing against RIPTA fare increase

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As far as the $8 billion state budget goes, an additional $900,000 to fund free RIPTA rides for the elderly, disabled and destitute through the fiscal year seems like a small ask. But in this year’s House budget bill, it was the only evidence of dissent between progressives and the more conservative Democrats who control the chamber.

Even at that, House Republicans were more united in their support of the free RIPTA rides program than were several left-leaning legislators. The smaller but demonstrably more vocal GOP caucus spent Wednesday’s marathon budget session offering amendments and peppering Finance Committee Chairman Marvin Abney with questions and concerns. The only amendment from the progressive left came from Rep. John Lombardi, who represents the Federal Hill section of Providence. He made an impassioned plea to restore free bus service to Rhode Island’s most vulnerable residents.

“Some of my constituents earn about between $700 and $800 a month and believe it or not 50 cents can make the difference,” he said, suggesting the money could come from the General Assembly’s own budget. “I’ll tell you what, many of my constituents are alone. They just received their citizenship from other countries. They’re here. They’re from the islands, they’re Russians, they’re Albanians, they’re people from Africa. That’s who my constituency looks like and I’m sure many of you are starting to see that in your neighborhoods. I think we have a duty to help these people. I think we have to assist these people because they are most in need.”

The RIPTA Board of Directors decided to end free rides for the elderly, disabled and destitute earlier this year. The House budget keeps it alive until January, while Governor Gina Raimondo’s proposed budget did not fund it at all. The governor and House Speaker Nick Mattiello have each indicated the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority is in need of a full overhaul. Lombardi’s amendment would have funded the free rides for the entire fiscal year, regardless of a systemic overhaul.

The amendment failed, 41 voted against it and 27 supported it. House Republicans, who spent most of the evening trying to shrink government spending, were unanimous in their support of the social welfare program. Progressives, on the other hand, were not. Reps Teresa Tanzi, Art Handy, Chris Blazejewski and Shelby Maldonado all voted against extending free RIPTA rides to the elderly, disabled and destitute.

Tanzi, who represents Narragansett and South Kingstown, offered her own impassioned plea on why RIPTA shouldn’t receive additional funding.

“It is with a heavy heart that I urge folks not to support this amendment because it’s not the best thing to do with the limited funds that we have,” she said. “Believe me I would love to make a $900,000 investment in RIPTA this is not the best way to do it.”

Tanzi explained, “The problem is the state was forced to contract with a third party vendor. That third party vendor is called Logisticare and since they have taken over the number of people who have qualified for these free passes has grown. And while that has happened they have changed it so they are no longer billing those passes the way that RIPTA used to … when RIPTA was in charge of it they billed so that medicare would be reimbursing the state, so we lost significant federal dollars to match it.”

She continued, “I think what the committee heard at the end of the night heard was that throwing $800,000 more dollars at a program that is being very poorly run is not the solution and that giving them six months to renegotiate the contract with this third party vendor, giving them six months under perhaps oversight under Chairwoman [Pat] Serpa’s guidance or under a subcommittee through finance, we’re going to look at this holistically and try to come up with a solution. So nobody wants this program to end in January, nobody wants people isolated and locked up in their homes in the middle of winter. We’re looking for a solution and right now throwing $893,000 more dollars at a program that we know is being mismanaged is not the best answer.”

Tanzi is making a concerted effort today to get Speaker Mattiello to bring to a floor vote her bill that would limit the ability of felony domestic abusers to possess guns, and her advocacy against the amendment may have been part of the deal making that happens as the legislative session draws to a close.

Nonetheless, her stand drew some measure ire. Sam Bell, director of the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats, tweeted. “I rarely publicly criticize our legislative allies, but I personally think @tanzister made an error here.” When it was Lombardi’s turn to speak, he shot back sarcastically, “I’m so glad people in this chamber have heavy hearts.”

Rep. Joe Almeida, who also represents a poor neighborhood in Providence, said if the attempt to outsource the program has failed, the state should waste no more time with the private company.

“If this third party can’t run a business right, why do we still have to wait six months?” he asked. “Why do people gotta be left on the sidewalk and can’t get nowhere? If this third party can’t do it, they should have been fired a long time ago. In business we wouldn’t have waited this long. I hope RIPTA has the common sense not to bring this company back if they can’t do the job.”

Meanwhile Majority Leader John DeSimone, known for parroting the will of Speaker Mattiello, tacked to the right of Tanzi – who herself took a more conservative position than the GOP caucus.

“We need to take a comprehensive look at what we are doing,” he said. “We are the only state in the country currently that has no fare and as a result we are losing millions of dollars from the federal government. But the usage of the bus is not as good as the states that charge so there is obviously something wrong. At this point we have to be responsible, we have to get the federal money that is available to us and RIPTA may need to be revamped or remanaged or something has to happen. But the answer is not to just keep the fares free. While the motives of having a free fare are fantastic, it’s just not working.”

The RIPTA Riders Alliance held a rally outside the State House earlier this week at which an elderly woman said, “I know there is money in the budget, they just want to squander it on their friends.”

June 15, 2016June 15, 2016

RIPTA riders rally against fare hikes on RI’s most vulnerable

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The RIPTA Riders Alliance rallied at the State House yesterday to call attention to bus fare increases to the elderly, disabled and very low income people.

RIPTA decided to end free bus fare for these riders earlier this year. The House budget restored free fares for the elderly and disabled until January. Advocates say it would cost the state $800,000 to extend the service for the entire year.

RIPTA riders who utilize the reduced fare spoke at the rally about why they need it and how it affects their lives.

“If we already can’t afford to get to and from places and RIPTA raises the fare where does that leave us,” asked Michael Viera, who is disabled and uses a wheelchair. “If this program doesn’t exist I would not be able to make it to all my doctor appointments.”

A developmentally disabled man said, “If I don’t ride bus free I will be lonely and stranded.”

Another RIPTA rider added, “It will not only restore the sanity to our souls, it will also keep us materially safer.”

Malcus Mills, an organizer with DARE, said, “The board at RIPTA are not thinking of the people they serve. They are not thinking about us. They are not thinking about the low income folks who need this the most.”

One woman called it, “simply a matter of justice. The fact is RIPTA gets funding from all of us through our taxpayer dollars. The fact that we all pay into it, we all should be able to access it. We should not be segregated from other people.”

Another said, “I know there is money in the budget, they just want to squander it on their friends.”

Camilo Viveiros also spoke about legislators role in the process. “Are they going to use their expertise to assist the most vulnerable? Or are they going to throw people who are disabled and seniors literally under the bus?”

Randall Rose added, “We have to keep fighting for this. We already achieved something. RIPTA wanted to raise the fares in July, but we postponed it at least six months and we can keep doing it as long as we keep coming out here.”

June 13, 2016

How to stop the fare hikes on RI’s most vulnerable

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A devastating fare hike for Rhode Island’s most vulnerable seniors and disabled people is the focus of a new budget fight. Although Rhode Island has long had a program where seniors and disabled people who have trouble affording bus trips ride free, the last year has seen efforts to end this program and charge more to those who can least afford it.

Things are now coming to a head.

The recently revealed House budget includes money to put off the fare increase for six months, until January, but doesn’t quite put in enough funds to stop the fare increase altogether. RIPTA Riders Alliance is working to fight this, and there are several easy things people can do to help. When the budget comes up for a House vote Wednesday, there will be a proposed amendment to add a small amount of funds to RIPTA ($800,000) and stop the fare increase. Many disabled people and seniors have said publicly in the past year that they cannot afford to pay what RIPTA wants on their limited income, and RIPTA admits that they expect steep drops in how many bus trips disabled and senior Rhode Islanders will take. Fortunately, there are ways to make this better.

One way people can help is by signing our online petition — it automatically sends messages to the State House when you sign. Please also share the petition link with others — we need people to respond quickly.
Another thing you can do to help is to contact your state representative and state senator and ask them both to support budget amendments: $800,000 more for RIPTA to stop this attempt to squeeze more money from RI’s limited-income disabled and seniors who are already facing challenges. Go to vote.ri.gov to find your elected officials’ contact info — you can call them and/or email. RIPTA Riders Alliance has been distributing a flyer about this.
Finally, RIPTA Riders Alliance will hold an event at 1:30 this Tuesday at the State House to talk about how important this is. We are sending the message that if Rhode Island’s senior and disabled people can’t afford to travel, they will be stuck at home, less able to shop, volunteer and visit loved ones — and isolation is deadly for seniors and the disabled. Protest makes a difference sometimes! Please come at 1:30 on Tuesday at the State House — and let people know about the Facebook event page.

Ironically, we’re facing this terrible fare hike on the most vulnerable because of a sneaky General Assembly move last year. When the House debated the budget last year, the House Finance Chair at the time, Raymond Gallison, put in a last-minute amendment to allow (that is, encourage) RIPTA to charge more to limited-income seniors and disabled people. Since then Gallison has had to resign. But it’s fitting that what began with one last-minute budget amendment is now leading to another, this time to save the most vulnerable who have been targeted as budget victims in the past. An amendment will be proposed in the House for Wednesday’s debate, and we are hoping to get an amendment in the Senate, too.

More useful information is available on RIPTA Riders Alliance’s Facebook page.

June 9, 2016June 9, 2016

House budget raises bus fares on most vulnerable in six months

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Some of Rhode Island’s most vulnerable people were dealt a serious blow in the recently released House budget. Disabled and senior Rhode Islanders are going to be hit with a bus fare hike now expected to start in January.

Hundreds of seniors and disabled people have given moving testimony over the past year about how they can’t afford this bus fare hike on their limited income and will be stuck inside their residences, rarely able to go out. Advocates had called for the House budget to include money to prevent the fare hike. RIPTA Riders Alliance is disappointed that the House budget did not do this.

All the budget does is to reschedule the fare hike — RIPTA had wanted this fare hike to start this July 1, and the House budget provides only enough funding to postpone the fare hike by six months (to January 2017), according to the Providence Journal and legislative leaders. This fare hike will be devastating to Rhode Island’s most vulnerable seniors and disabled people who rely on public transit. It would be a travesty for the General Assembly to go home on vacation without addressing this problem, leaving the fare hike to take effect at the beginning of next year.

These low-income seniors and disabled people will be left in further isolation, and isolation increases feelings of depression and other medical problems. In many cases they will have to cut back on shopping trips, volunteer work, and visiting friends and family, or squeeze money elsewhere in their fixed-income budget.

This fare increase on the most vulnerable has already roused considerable opposition from the wider public, and the General Assembly cannot shirk its responsibility here. Only about $800,000 more in the budget was needed to prevent this harmful fare increase from taking effect, and the General Assembly should pass the bills (H7937 and S2685) which cancel this fare increase, as Rhode Islanders want.

[From a press release]

June 8, 2016June 8, 2016

House budget bill contains wins, losses for progressive left

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The budget passed by the House Finance Committee last night, and slated to be vetted by the full chamber next Wednesday, contains some wins and some losses for the progressive left.

The budget bill contains some money to restore low-cost bus fare for indigent people – a social service that RIPTA cut earlier this year. The RIPTA Riders Alliance declined comment until more information is available. House Speaker Nick Mattiello told RI Future the funding for this program is temporary and said larger changes with RIPTA are afoot.

The proposed budget also includes new money to pay nursing home caregivers and those who works with the developmentally disabled. The investment would help raise wages for underpaid caregivers, many of whom work full time and still live in poverty. SEIU officials hailed the move as a step toward a $15 an hour minimum wage for front line caregivers.

It also preserves Governor Gina Raimondo’s increase to the Earned Income Tax Credit, and increased the investment in housing for the homeless proposed by Raimondo.

“We find it encouraging that the House Finance Committee showed their commitment and concern for Rhode Islanders experiencing housing insecurity by supporting the Governor’s budget proposal for affordable housing production and adding an additional $10 million for urban revitalization and blight remediation for a total $50 million Housing Opportunity Bond,” said Jim Ryczek, executive director of the RI Coalition for the Homeless. “We appreciate that the House Finance Committee ensured that this year’s budget invests in the long-term solutions to addressing homelessness and the lack of affordable housing in our state.”

But the House budget left out a proposed increase to the minimum wage that Raimondo included in her budget proposal. The current minimum wage in Rhode Island is $9.60 and Raimondo’s budget proposal would have raised it to $10.10. While the minimum wage does not have a fiscal effect on the budget, it is customary in Rhode Island to include policy changes in the state budget.

The House budget also nixed Raimondo’s proposal to increase investment in the school construction bond money. Many urban school buildings in Rhode Island are in dire need of repair.

It reduced Raimondo’s proposed fee on medical marijuana plants from $150 to $25. While the House measure exempts low income people from the fee, it still requires a new state tag for each plant – a move opposed by independent growers of medical marijuana.

While medical marijuana patients will pay more, beach goers will pay less under the proposed House budget. According to a news release from the House of Representatives, “Just in time for beach season, the Finance Committee slashed parking fees at state beaches — mostly in half — to better enable Rhode Islanders and visitors to enjoy one of the state’s greatest treasures. The cuts, effective July 1, eliminate hikes made in 2012, and apply to all types of passes: single-day weekend and weekday as well as season passes for residents, nonresidents and senior citizens. (Admission to state beaches themselves is free.)”

Charter school opponents should be even more pleased with the House budget proposal than with Raimondo’s version. According to the news release, “The [finance] committee moderated the governor’s proposal somewhat, allowing districts to reduce payments by either 7 percent of the per-pupil tuition cost or the average difference between per-pupil unique costs of the sending districts and those of the charter schools, whichever is greater. The committee also provided some temporary relief for districts with particularly high concentrations of students attending charter or vocational schools.”

And the House budget seems to make it easier for Rhode Islanders to generate more renewable energy. The proposal “expanded the state’s net metering program to allow “virtual” or off-site net metering by all customers, opening up access to renewable energy generation to more Rhode Islanders. Net metering is a practice that allows those who install renewable energy systems such as solar panels to connect them to the electric grid and receive credit on their bill for any excess energy they generate,” according to the House news release.

But a reader sent this comment: “The budget article 18 expands net metering, but it has a completely silly cap on it (major concession to Grid), and messes up the rates (another major concession). It will serve as a disincentive to net metering, not an incentive. The PUC is in the middle of considering the right net metering rate, and this is sort of like sticking a monkeywrench into their machinery. This is in no way a win, except superficially.”

The House is expected to vote on the budget bill next Wednesday.

May 18, 2016May 18, 2016

House Finance hears moving testimony on no-fare bus passes

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House Finance heard moving testimony from elderly and disabled Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) passengers about the economic burden placed upon them with the proposed abolition of free fares. Representative Scott Slater introduced a bill, H 7937, that would remove RIPTA’s bus “fare adjustments” and restore the free rider program.

About eighteen people spoke out in favor of the free rider program, noting that it is one of our state’s most needed and useful social welfare programs. As is usual when the government targets vulnerable populations for cuts in services or increased taxes, people begin to suffer as soon as the new proposals are suggested. The stress of having to fight for something so basic and essential to human dignity as the right to travel is an unnecessary cruelty inflicted by an uncaring government.

Many also spoke out about the failure of Logisticare, a private contractor employed by the state to get Medicaid recipients to their doctors. I’ll be preparing a post on that over the weekend.

“It’s financially impossible for me to be able to take a bus. You might say it’s only fifty cents, but I take the bus like seven or eight times a day. So fifty cents becomes two, three, four bucks a day… I just don’t have the money. I live off the government.”

“I only live on Social Security. I don’t get a pension from where I worked. I retired. I don’t have a husband for financial support… This is another bill to pay, and you don’t get a lot from Social Security.”

“Our seniors today are more active than ever, as you can see. We have people here that are volunteering, making a difference in kid’s lives, helping with raising their grandchildren, going to after school programs because parents have to work… think about your own family, and ask if your grandmothers and grandparents should have to pay to go to a grocery store, or a pharmacy or a doctor.”

“I live on a fixed income. I live alone. I have to go to the doctor’s for COPD, hypertension, cancer… I cannot afford it. To pay fifty cents even, I would just lose my life…”

“About seven thousand low-income seniors use these passes. They use them for many things. The only thing that Medicaid covers is trips to licensed medical providers. It doesn’t cover non-medical support groups like AA, other social services, food shopping, food pantries, employment, education, religious, family and social activities…

“RIPTA estimates that 60 percent of the people would pay the fifty cents. Applying that to the numbers, 7000 disabled people and 2800 seniors would not be able to afford [the bus]. This is RIPTA’s estimate.”

“It also affects our homeless population… If the folks who need to travel to and from shelters do not have the money to do so, they may be put in the position to panhandle to get this fare… they may be put in the serious position where they may have to sleep outside…”

“I have to go places seven days a week… We need to vote no fare on this bus pass.”

We know how many [homeless people], who have limited or no income, rely on the us pass program… to have their basic needs met. To get to shelter, to go to meal sites, to access clothing distribution and to recovery meetings like NA and AA. Our constituents also use the no-fare pass as a means to obtain housing and exit homelessness…”

“The vast majority of riders who pay two dollars support the no-fare bus pass… Riders really do support this program.”

“It’s very important that we don’t hit the most vulnerable population to fill a budget deficit.”

“The reason I’m here today is because I could get here for free. You’re going to shut up a lot of people by taking away their free bus ride because they’re not going to show up for these hearings. They won’t be able to make it to any of the support groups they are now attending.I won’t be able to get to church, I won’t be able to make it to RIPTA Riders…”

“People’s lives will become desperate if they have to pay fifty cents a ride…”

“The people who oppose free bus passes… have a lot of wrong information…”

“The impact is going to be devastating… If we charge people fifty cents they can’t get to the food pantry… Another woman called me and said ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do. I won’t get out of my apartment, I’m going to get depressed, and I can’t afford to shop in my own neighborhood.”

“The fifty cents can be a problem…”

“It’s harder for me to express why this would be devastating to me. I don’t volunteer. I keep thinking I would like to volunteer, and I seem to be overwhelmed by things I have to do or want to do and can’t seem to get to… I take buses sometimes just to be able to get places and see people. Circumstances in my life force me to be somewhat of a recluse. That’s why I’m saying there are subtleties here I’m not sure how to express…”

“I don’t think it’s right. I don’t know how many people on SSI, making $766 a month. Those people shouldn’t be getting charged at all. And I do believe in that…”

“I can’t believe some of the heartless things people say about this. They say, ‘Why should Rhode Island do this? Rhode Island is an outlier.’ We don’t have to be ashamed of who we are in Rhode Island. We don’t have to be ashamed that we’re more generous tan other states because we’re doing the right thing…”

March 14, 2016March 15, 2016

New high frequency RIPTA line to link key areas of downtown Providence

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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.

December 15, 2015December 15, 2015

RIPTA fare increase is cruel, whether it happens or not

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The worst part must be the stress of not knowing when and if their lives are going change. You can see it on the faces of many of those who come to speak.

Those on fixed incomes and dependent on the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) for their transportation needs gained a brief reprieve yesterday when the RIPTA board voted on a modified fare increase package due to Governor Gina Raimondo’s last minute intervention.

The governor promised to direct state agencies to “develop programs that will ensure the continued mobility of the low-income elderly and persons with disabilities.”

As a result, a fare increase from free to $1 for the disabled, elderly and homeless has been delayed until July 2016, and the new proposed fare increase is only 50 cents, tentatively starting in July. At the board meeting RIPTA Director Peter Alviti said that, “our target is zero” meaning that he hopes the governor will find the money to avoid charging even that 50 cents and keep the free bus fare system in place.

More than a dozen elderly, disabled, homeless and transportation advocacy groups have been fighting this fare increase since it was announced. Hundreds of people have attended meetings and spoken out against the fare hike. Randall Rose, of the RIPTA Riders Alliance said that the fare increase is “a badly thought out plan” that, “is not going to stand.”

There is a good chance Rose is right, and ultimately this will all be about nothing.

But if you are one of those dependent on RIPTA for your transportation needs, you don’t know this; not with any certainty. Some estimate that those on a fixed income will have to spend $30 a week or more on transportation. Not on doctor’s visits, they will be covered by Logisticare, a private contractor. But pharmacy visits, shopping, friend and family visits, trips to twelve-step programs, church, political meetings, or any other kind of travel, will be money taken out of the budget for food, medication, utilities, toiletries or rent.

Some will start trying to make their medication last longer, because maybe half a pill is just as good as the one pill prescribed by a doctor. Maybe take one pill every other day, or skip certain medications entirely. That might work.

Less food will become a certainty. Life without electricity or heat will be endured. Little joys will be sacrificed. Life will become grayer. Life will be less.

Many will not travel any more. They will become home bound, economically imprisoned in their homes. Their health will suffer. Some will die.

Did the General Assembly, when they voted to force the RIPTA board to increase the fares on the most vulnerable, think about the people whose lives will be ruined? Even if this entire issue goes away over the next weeks and months, did the Senators and Representatives who voted for this think about the stress they inflicted on the poor, the elderly, the disabled and the homeless?

Lives already clouded by poverty shouldn’t have their stress compounded for no reason. It’s cruel.

The actions and inactions of our General Assembly have consequences. People suffer when the General Assembly behaves so cavalierly. The Speaker of the House cares mightily for the concerns of his “well-to-do” neighbors yet seems to think nothing of inflicting senseless cruelty on the poor.

If we are to be judged by how we treat the most vulnerable among us, we are failing.

We must do better.

November 20, 2015November 20, 2015

RIPTA Riders Alliance rallies against elderly/disabled fare increases

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The RIPTA Riders Alliance held a rally and press conference outside the State House yesterday to call attention to the proposed increases in fares for elderly and disabled passengers. As has been reported here before, in order to close a budget gap, the General Assembly and Governor Gina Raimondo authorized RIPTA (Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority) to do away with free rides. In response, RIPTA is planning to charge, “all disabled people and seniors $1.00 per ride during peak AND off-peak hours, regardless of those passengers’ income levels.”

Other fare increases for monthly and weekly passes and transfers have been proposed, as well as eliminating discounts on multi-ride tickets.

Many seniors and disabled passengers live on fixed incomes and will be negatively impacted by this rate increase. Though the state will provide rides for scheduled doctor’s visits, free rides will not be provided for shopping, visits with friends and relatives, or attending political rallies. Those stuck at home will face isolation and declining health outcomes.

Balancing budgets on the backs of the most vulnerable populations in a state that continues to cut taxes on the wealthiest, is a moral outrage.

State Senator Harold Metts and Representative Aaron Regunberg both addressed the crowd and promised to revisit RIPTA funding when the new session of the General Assembly begins in January.

Here are RIPTA’s proposed fare hikes for early 2016, from the RIPTA Riders Alliance press release:

SENIORS AND DISABLED PEOPLE will be charged $1 per ride. Disabled people must go back and submit proof that they’re disabled again.

MONTHLY PASSES will go up from $62 to $70. Weekly passes will go up from $23 to $25. The 15-ride pass will be discontinued and replaced with a 10-ride ticket costing $20.

TRANSFERS, which now cost 50 cents, will double in price. The new transfers will cost $1 for regular riders and are usable for travel anywhere in a 2-hour period.

SENIORS AND DISABLED PEOPLE will pay 50 cents per transfer. If they want a monthly pass, that will be $35 per month. Weekly passes will be $12.50.

October 20, 2015

Opposition to RIPTA fare hike on elderly and disabled intensifies

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About 100 people turned out to oppose the RIPTA‘s planned fare hikes on the elderly and disabled at yesterday’s board meeting, packing the small conference room and overflowing into the halls. This almost doubles the opposition the plan faced a month ago at the last board meeting.

This time 29 people spoke out against the fare hikes. Some were speaking out for themselves, as affected riders, others were there to advocate for the people they serve.

“Our constituents literally have no money,” said Lee Ann Byrne, policy director at Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless. She noted that 53 percent of Rhode Island’s homeless population are disabled.

Willa Truelove, of the State Rehabilitation Council, pointed out that it is “about to be really cold” which will create mobility issues for people who would normally use the bus to travel. These people, says Truelove, “cannot afford to pay another dime.”

But the most contentious moment of the afternoon was during the testimony of William Flynn, executive director of the Senior Agenda Coalition of RI. It was at this moment that a seemingly exasperated Mayor Scott Avedisian, the head of RIPTA’s board, interrupted Flynn to “clarify” the issue at hand.

Flynn was making the point that lack of access to affordable transportation will strand seniors at home, leading to disastrous health outcomes for seniors and greater costs to Medicare. Theses are the certain results of the actions the board takes today, said Flynn. Avedisian interrupted, (at the 1m 10s mark below) insisting that the issue was not up for a vote today, and that the decision has not been made.

Avedisian insisted that today’s vote was, “the beginning of a public hearing process” but as the later discussion made clear, the public hearing process and subsequent vote to raise fares is all but inevitable. There are no plans under consideration that do not include fare increases, and if the board does not increase fares there are no alternative revenue streams to balance their $6 million shortfall.

RIPTA will shortly announce a series of ten public hearings throughout the state to take place in the evening and afternoons. After the hearings RIPTA hopes for a vote sometime in December and for the fare increase to be in place by February.

Reverend Donald Anderson, representing the Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty, asked the board to take a stand against the idea of balancing budgets on the backs of the most vulnerable. While acknowledging the fact that RIPTA’s budgetary woes are entirely due to the General Assembly’s lack of support for RIPTA, he maintained that a vote against beginning the process that will inevitably lead to raising the rates on seniors and the disabled might set a moral example for other boards throughout the state.

Despite Anderson’s plea, the entire board voted to proceed.

Though the fare increase on seniors and disabled riders seems inevitable, as Randall Rose, a member of the RIPTA Riders Alliance pointed out, this outrage can be defeated if enough people raise the issue and fight against it.

This meeting easily doubled the number of people who turned out against the fare increase last time. As awareness of this issue grows and media outside of RI Future start to cover this, opposition will grow as well. Further, we are entering an election year. Members of the General Assembly will begin their bi-annual treks to elderly housing complexes searching for votes. You can be sure that these voters will be wondering why their fixed incomes are being mined o pay for previously free services.

You can also be sure that RI taxpayers will be wondering why RIPTA is being forced to take actions that will result in soaring Medicaid and Medicare costs. As seniors and disabled riders are forced to choose between transportation and medication, or cut down on the essential transportation that keeps them socially engaged and healthy, taxpayers will be footing the bill.

It is far cheaper to provide free transportation than it is to provide round the clock nursing care.

Below is the testimony of all twenty-nine people to speak against the fare hikes.

September 29, 2015May 23, 2016

People to RIPTA: raising bus fares on the elderly, homeless, disabled is immoral

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Scott Avedisian, fully engaged, with his phone

RIPTA is considering raising bus fares by $1 on disabled, elderly and the homeless, and more than two dozen advocates and representatives from those communities voiced their opposition at the RIPTA board meeting held in the middle of the afternoon yesterday.

They wondered why RIPTA (Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority) is considering balancing its budget on the poorest and most vulnerable communities. For some, the bus is their only means of travel. Raising the rates will mean getting out of the home and into the community less.

As William Flynn, executive director of the Senior Agenda Coalition of RI said, “Isolation kills, and transportation is a vital part of fighting isolation.” He thinks as many as 4,500 Rhode Islanders may be affected by the plan.

Another speaker, from the RIPTA Riders Alliance, cited a Brown University study that showed that on average, people on fixed income may have as little as $40 a month of discretionary cash. Raising the bus fares on these people is estimated to cost an average of $30 a month. Several present and former clergy, such as the Reverend Chris Foster of the Providence Presbyterian Church, implied that the very consideration of a plan that goes after the last dollars of the poor and vulnerable was “immoral” and implored the board to find other ways of closing the funding gap.

Amazingly, the RIPTA board almost didn’t have a quorum when the meeting started, many of the board members did not even show up at what one observer called the most packed public commentary meeting in years. Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, chairman of RIPTA’s Board of Directors, was often seen reading his cellphone during testimony, apparently unable to feign interest for the concerns of the poor, disabled, homeless or elderly.

Ray Studley, RIPTA CEO, like most other board members presents, was attentive, but after public commentary ended, he made false and misinformed comments about the availability of Medicare billable transportation services through Logisticare. Logisticare is a private company used by the state to transport people to non-emergency doctor appointments. The company requires scheduling trips up to weeks in advance, and according to many who spoke to me outside the meeting, is unreliable, often late or doesn’t show up at all.

Further, Logisticare does not provide rides for anything but Medicare billable transportation. Shopping, work, visits to family, social engagements, pharmacy visits and even necessary trips to rehabilitation support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, are not covered, despite what Studley was saying. Of course, Studley said this after public comment was over, so those I talked to outside RIPTA after the meeting were frustrated that they had no chance to refute this.

Logisticare is expensive. The state is billed, through Medicare, much more than it costs to provide free bus trips for some groups of people. If a senior is able to use the bus for a regular doctor’s appointment, why force that person to use a more expensive and more specialized means of transportation at a much higher cost to the state?

William Flynn of the Senior Agenda Coalition knows a woman in recovery who goes to four or five AA meetings a week. These meetings are her lifeline. If she misses meetings, her odds of relapsing go up. Others may start missing needed doctors appointments or not fill prescriptions in a timely manner. The economic cost to our state in terms of emergency medical services will rise, but more importantly there will be a rise in misery and suffering.

Balancing budgets on the backs of the poor is never the right thing to do.

Below is the testimony of all 17 people who spoke out at the board meeting.

“I can not impress upon you the damaging effect… many of these people are living on incomes of less than $800 a month…”

“…the dollar will cost them $360 a year, we’re talking about people who make $782 a month…”

“…to a lot of the people here… that’s not a lot of money at all..” but to those on a fixed income…

…not only the cost, but the isolation they face in Providence with the difficulty of getting around…”

“…there will be an increase of physical and mental afflictions as well as an increase in visits to the emergency room…”

“Those with mental illness tend to isolate, and if they don’t have a lot of support they isolate and don’t take care of themselves…”

“If this proposal goes through… I won’t be able to go to Rhode Island College…”

“The Pope [was] talking about the small things that we do that result in justice, mercy and the care of others. This is what he’s talking about…”

“There’s people downtown stranded right now and there’s homeless people downtown every day in Kennedy Plaza. They cannot get on the bus if they don’t look right…”

“The greatest single factor that leads to shorter lives for people is isolation.”

“We are all responsible for all, and to all. This is a basic framework, a basic belief of all our major religions. The Judeo-Christian, the Muslem, the Hindu, Buddhist, even the non-religious, the Humanists!”

“Each time we take the bus we have to take several buses a day to attend programs that greatly improve the quality of of our illnesses or disablities…”

“In my last twenty years I’ve seen seniors who are of low income come to me because they have no food. I’ve seen them come to my center because they have no money. I’ve seen them come to my center because they’re in the dark because they can’t pay their electric bill…”

“I know people who have cars and high paying jobs who are ethically outraged by this…”

“Brown University did a study and the average discretionary monies per month for disabled and elderly people is around $40…”

And here’s RI Future’s own Andrew Stewart!

August 28, 2015

Bus riders protest proposed RIPTA rate hikes on seniors and disabled

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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.