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Why don't more people use RIPTA?

Cotuit

By Cotuit
in Rhode Island

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maverick Unincorporated Area

maverick

Posted
Posted

A barrel of oil traded briefly at $80 today on Wall Street. If the price for a barrel of oil remains around $80, gasoline will rise to about $3.50 a gallon and you'll see more riders on RIPTA.

You would think so, but many studies have shown that increases in gas prices do not necessarily cause a decrease in consumption or increase in public transit ridership. Case in point - this past summer, when gas prices rose to historic highs, gas consumption actually increased by about 0.5%. The problem is - that $80 per barrel does not get equitably represented in gas prices here thanks to subsidies provided to the oil businesses.

I think, though, that if prices CONTINUE to stay high, you may see folks pressuring their local and state governments to push more alternative transit options.

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Bil Whistle-Stop

Bil

Posted
Posted

URI has free parking?!?! man... i had to pay $84 to have my car at UConn.

URI does not have free parking for commuters. I think grad students get free parking, and I don't know about people who live on campus, but commuters need to buy a parking pass (not sure how much it is, though)

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JimmyGreaves Hamlet

JimmyGreaves

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I apologize for the long post, but I believe it is important.

I wanted to post about something good related to transit that came out of the special session yesterday of the RI General Assembly. During the 2007 session, the RI Senate introduced a bill which would serve to do the following:

refine the powers and duties of the Rhode Island public transit authority

The bill revised the general laws of the state related to the powers and purpose of RIPTA as follows:

Purpose

(1) provide public transit services that meet mobility needs of the people of the state, including the elderly and disabled;

(2) increase access to employment opportunities;

(3) connect different modes of public transportation, including rail, air and water services;

(4) promote community design that features public transit services as defining elements of a community;

(5) facilitate energy conservation and efficient energy use in the transportation sector by providing public transit services; and

(6) mitigate traffic congestion and enhance air quality.

Powers

(1) To participate in and contribute to transportation planning initiatives that are relevant to the purposes of the authority;

(2) To plan, coordinate, develop, operate, maintain and manage a statewide public transit system consistent with the purposes of the authority, including plans to meet demands for public transit where such demand, current or prospective, exceeds supply and/or availability of public transit services;

(3) To work with departments, agencies, authorities and corporations of federal, state and local government, public and private institutions, businesses, non-profit organization, users of the system and other entities and persons to coordinate public transit services and provide a seamless network of mobility options.

The bill also added a "findings" section which states as follows:

(1) Rhode Island has had a long and rich legacy of providing public transit services that contribute to the fabric of the state;

(2) Public transit continues to evolve and can play increasingly important roles in the future;

(3) Public transit services provide benefits to the quality of communities by curtailing energy consumption, helping people participate in their communities by offering mobility options, defining spaces and promoting sound urban design, and linking activity centers to support social networks;

(4) Pedestrian access and safety is crucial to supporting public transit services;

(5) One of the values of an improved public transit system is the generation of investment and wealth in areas served by the system;

(6) The state's public transit system should provide a variety of mobility options for people that include services for people with special needs, and services to tourism destinations, employment and retail centers, education institutions and other modes of transportation including rail, air and water transportation services;

(7) The use of technology is vital for making informed decisions about existing and future public transit services and for providing efficient, user responsive public transit; and

(8) The state in partnership with local communities should support the legacy of public transit services in Rhode Island and improve, expand and augment that system to meet the needs of the people in the twenty-first (21st) century.

The point is that this bill codifies into law all the things that we want RIPTA to achieve. After the House and Senate voted in favor of the bill, the governor, shockingly, vetoed it. The good news is that the general assembly overrode this veto and it is now law which is very exciting news.

I want to thank the sponsors of this bill (Senators Connors, Paiva-Weed, Goodwin, Pichardo, and Miller) and the members of the House and Senate that voted to support and strengthen transit in the state. We are making progress, and we should appreciate this victory while looking forward to resolving the other issues so that Rhode Island can become more transit friendly.

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mr2448 Whistle-Stop

mr2448

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How much does RIPTA make for net profit now with this increase in riders?

more revenue is generated, but there is no profitabilty. most systems can't make a profit even with a full bus, even standees. At $1.50 a pax you generate about $75 a bus that is filled. driver cost, (salary, benefits, management rules, etc.), standard maintenance and admistrative costs make it highly unprofitable. only charter service makes money or at least breaks even.

Most runs are at least 30-40 minutes. The Broad Street line, once the busiest, by itself is 15 minutes; but it is now incorporated with the Pawtucket line, making the total run about 40 minutes. Still it is rare to have more than 75 riders on it throughout its run.

Public transit has been unprofitable since the 50's. The basic 20 cent fare of the late 50's would have to be $3.50 with current passenger levels. RIPTA now carries 26 mill a year. In the late 50's those numbers were still 50 mill a year and just about break even. FYI; back in the 50's all Newport service was run privately owned. The Newport run was private and all service south of East Greenwich was privately run. Thus, their figures were not included with the UTC(United Transit Company) which RIPTA began with in 1967. Also, there were zone fares. the basic fare was 20 cents, but into Pawt and Warwick was an extra zone. Woon was 4 zones and East G was 5 zones all at an extra 5 cent per zone.

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JimmyGreaves Hamlet

JimmyGreaves

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Ferry company drops plan for stop at Colt State Park

A setback for efforts to provide ferry service to Colt State Park in Bristol.

New England Fast Ferry, the company that operates the service, has concluded that the pier in the park is too small and that the waters surrounding it are too shallow for a regular stop...
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  • 2 weeks later...
Recchia Town

Recchia

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There's a great article in November's RI Monthly about a guy taking RIPTA from one end of the state to the other. Couldn't find it online but if you see the magazine, it's worth the read. It outlines a lot of RIPTA's needs in a way that the average reader can relate to.

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mr2448 Whistle-Stop

mr2448

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I have noticed that RIPTA is using a trailing bus on the #99 route to help alleviate overcrowding on that route. Good to see some positive action being taken.

I would rather have them return to 1980 level of service when buses ran every 7-8 minutes on North Main Street and every 5 minutes during commute times.

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