Spring Break
Bus service to Newport slated to be cut
Jeff Sullivan
Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: News
10/10/08 - Due to a deficit of more than $10 million, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority has considered eliminating bus routes throughout the state, including route 64 that provides service between the University of Rhode Island and Newport, R.I.
RIPTA officials said an estimated 20 percent decrease in spending is necessary for RIPTA to get back on its feet and out of the red.
According to Planning Department Manager Tim McCormick, gas prices are a large part of the problem. The state tax on gasoline is fixed per gallon instead of a percentage like sales tax. When the price of gasoline or diesel fuel goes up, revenue generated from these taxes either remains the same, or, as in this case, decreases.
"We are funded by gas tax revenue," he said. "[RIPTA's] gas tax revenue has been declining as the price of gas has gone up as Rhode Islanders buy less and less gasoline."
The other side of the problem, McCormick said, is the fact that most of RIPTA's revenue is spent on gasoline, and they need about 10,000 gallons a week.
"Although we don't pay taxes, our costs [are] going up as we are paying for more and more [gas]."
McCormick said there is a system called Fairbox Recovery that collects data in four categories: passengers per hour, per trip, per mile and how much bus fare is collected from each passenger.
"The 64 Newport-URI rates is one of the lowest in the system when you take those four measures together," McCormick said. "We don't want to cancel any of the services, but the service with lowest performance is the service scheduled to be canceled."
Being canceled and being on the schedule to be canceled are two very different things. Recently, RIPTA held public hearings to get feedback from riders. The last hearing was held Wed night, and the board is now making final decisions. The amount of RIPTA riders who attended and discussed their views on whether the route should be cut are factored into the decision.
RIPTA officials said an estimated 20 percent decrease in spending is necessary for RIPTA to get back on its feet and out of the red.
According to Planning Department Manager Tim McCormick, gas prices are a large part of the problem. The state tax on gasoline is fixed per gallon instead of a percentage like sales tax. When the price of gasoline or diesel fuel goes up, revenue generated from these taxes either remains the same, or, as in this case, decreases.
"We are funded by gas tax revenue," he said. "[RIPTA's] gas tax revenue has been declining as the price of gas has gone up as Rhode Islanders buy less and less gasoline."
The other side of the problem, McCormick said, is the fact that most of RIPTA's revenue is spent on gasoline, and they need about 10,000 gallons a week.
"Although we don't pay taxes, our costs [are] going up as we are paying for more and more [gas]."
McCormick said there is a system called Fairbox Recovery that collects data in four categories: passengers per hour, per trip, per mile and how much bus fare is collected from each passenger.
"The 64 Newport-URI rates is one of the lowest in the system when you take those four measures together," McCormick said. "We don't want to cancel any of the services, but the service with lowest performance is the service scheduled to be canceled."
Being canceled and being on the schedule to be canceled are two very different things. Recently, RIPTA held public hearings to get feedback from riders. The last hearing was held Wed night, and the board is now making final decisions. The amount of RIPTA riders who attended and discussed their views on whether the route should be cut are factored into the decision.
