The Providence Journal has a great editorial today about mass transit issues in Rhode Island. RIPTA, the public transit system (buses) in the state, is going through a financial crisis, one seemingly worse than their annual crisis. Unfortunately, the governor, Donald Carcieri, is basically a complete idiot and doesn’t really listen to anyone who actually lives in the state, with maybe the exception of the rich white folks in the suburbs who don’t give a crap about and don’t need public transit as they drive around in their SUVs.
RIPTA is now saying that they will likely need to cut some routes to save money because of high gas prices. If the governor and the general assembly were smart, they’d allocate more money for RIPTA rather than depend solely on the guys in Washington to get us some money. We pay a gas tax, but where does that go? It’s most likely going right into the general fund. Perhaps they should raise the gas tax and give all (or at least most, RIPTA does need the roads to be improved and the bridges to be repaired) of the money to RIPTA.
The longer I stay here, the more I understand just why the people in Rhode Island are so bitter. The government goes ’round and ’round and never gets anything done. They work for themselves and not for the people who elected them. It’s actually pretty sad. If you have ever even considered running for office in RI, please do. We needs new bodies, not more of the same old corrupt politics that have brought this state into the problems that exist. Dump the state employee unions, they’re great and all helping the people who belong to them, but the state employees aren’t really in too much danger of losing benefits of getting poor wages. Force them to pay a higher percentage for their medical coverage and dental coverage, something more in line with what people in the private sector pay (something around 15-20%). They’ll be all up in arms and the unions will threaten strikes, but stick to your guns. Working for the state should not make you any more special than working in the private sector. That’ll give the state more money to deal with the state budget crisis, prevent fewer cuts, and allow the state to give more money to RIPTA, even though Carcieri would probably love to see RIPTA stop running. He won’t even give a boost to it by allowing the state colleges to have a U-Pass (a program that allows college students free or discounted bus rides by swiping their IDs).
Anyway, public transit is the way to go here. There’s no reason RIPTA should have to reduce the number of routes and increase the headways so that the bus becomes basically unuseable for most people, especially those who rely on it to get to and from work. If anything RIPTA should be increasing the number of routes and decreasing headways so that more people find it useful.
I completely agree… here in Boston, the frequency of trips have INCREASED due to less and less people being able to afford to drive to work every day. The fare has also increased fairly significantly in the past month, but I think it’s justifiable. Many workplaces now will deduct the cost of a monthly T pass from employees’ pre-tax earnings, making it even more attractive to take the bus or T.
In my opinion, the state of RI is approaching this in COMPLETELY the wrong way — by reducing the amount of public transportation, they contribute to a myriad of issues: traffic congestion, overcrowded buses, never mind the public resentment of the state government. Never mind the simple economics: Less rides, less revenue. Good move, Carcieri.
Carcieri and the general assembly are so fucking out of touch with the rest of the state that it’s a wonder how they get re-elected every year. There’s a reason people are leaving. That reason is because of the political imbeciles on Smith Hill. While I’m not a fan of the T (I don’t think there are enough stops and it’s too much of a hub and spoke style system, much like RIPTA), it is far more efficient than RIPTA and MA gets it.
Carcieri believes that public transit should be funded solely by fares. There’s one problem with that… it’s called PUBLIC transit. PUBLIC money should be funding it. People who don’t own cars pay taxes that go towards the roads. Their tax money should be going towards public transit. Get a clue Carcieri!