Governor Carcieri Vetoes Transit for Second Year

 

 

Providence, RI - On the eve of Independence Day, Governor Carcieri vetoed legislation that would have strengthened Rhode Island's public transit system and reduced our dependence on imported oil. Governor Carcieri's previous veto of the new RIPTA Statue, defining RIPTA as the mobility manager of the state, was overridden by the General Assembly last fall. 

 

Rhode Island's transportation sector is the largest source of global warming pollution in the state. Personal cars alone in Rhode Island account for as much greenhouse gases as all the electricity used in the state. At $4.00 per gallon, Rhode Islanders send over $1.5 billion every year to oil producing regions of the world.

 

"It is alarming that at the current price of gasoline and the current pressure on our bidges and highways, Governor Carcieri would squander an opportunity to improve clean, affordable transportation choices," said Chris Wilhite, Director of the Sierra Club Rhode Island Chapter. "We need a public transportation system that will take us towards energy independence. The legislation that the Governor vetoed would have been a turn in the right direction."

Bus Rapid Transit

Senate Bill 2077/House Bill 7264 would have allowed RIPTA to use new technology to extend green lights along their routes, an important component in Bus Rapid Transit.  This technology would have sped up ride times, lowering costs for RIPTA while decreasing air pollution by reducing idling time of buses at stoplights. 

 

The green light extension technology, recommended by the Aquidneck Island West Side Master Plan and the Providence Transit 2020 Working Group, lays the ground work for Bus Rapid Transit in Rhode Island. Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, is a form of rapid transit that uses buses, bus lanes, and bus sub-stations to provide rapid transit, rather than trains or streetcars. It is generally cheaper to build than rail transit.  

 

Recently, national guidelines were set to apply the green light extension technology safely. These national standards were the reason why both the Rhode Island Department of Transportation and the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority supported the bill during the legislative hearings in the General Assembly. Between the Senate and the House of Representatives, these bills had four hearings.

Senate Bill 2158 would have given students at state colleges the ability to purchase discounted RIPTA passes through RIPTA's UPass program. The UPass program provides an opportunity for college students to reduce their gasoline costs and will help to reduce pollution from cars. In addition, the UPass Act  would have helped several bus routes from facing service cuts due to rising fuel costs for the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. 

 

So far, most private colleges in the state, including Slave Regina and Brown Universities, use the UPass program with great success. Hundreds of cars have been removed from our roads, significantly reducing global warming pollution. The only public college in Rhode Island that participates in the program is URI Kingston. And at a time when gasoline prices are at an all time high, affordable transportation choices could go a really long way with our state college students.
 
The cost of the half-price program is roughly $5.00 per student per year. While student tuition and fees are increasing this year due to the state's budget problems, a $5.00 fee would be the one thing that students could benefit from. By purchasing half-price RIPTA passes, students can save hundreds of dollars per year on $4.00 per gallon gasoline.

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