It’s time for Gov. Carcieri to get on board

OUR TRANSIT system finds itself in both a time of opportunity and a time of challenge.

We need a first-class transit system, not just to help our environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but to support our economic development.

If we are going to attract employers they need to know that we have affordable and accessible transportation choices available for their employees, who are already stressed with skyrocketing commuting expenses.

If we want our universities to attract and keep the best students, we will need our college students to have access to affordable transportation.

We have arrived at a time when public transportation is becoming a necessity rather than an alternative for more Rhode Islanders every day.

The General Assembly has taken some action at our level. Unfortunately, R.I. Gov. Donald Carcieri seems to be dragging his feet on moving forward with a commuter rail system in our state. He recently vetoed two of the bills that we and our colleagues worked hard to pass, even though they had no impact on the state budget.

One of those bills, co-sponsored by State Rep. Ed Pacheco and State Sen. Dan Connors, is a simple idea to allow transit buses to extend green lights – a system called Transit Signal Prioritization that has national standards and safety guidelines.

Transit Signal Prioritization is a major component to moving toward Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, a more affordable way to provide transit service usually offered by light rail or subways.

It will make bus travel more efficient by helping to keep the buses running on time with little disruption to normal traffic flow. It would also significantly reduce RIPTA’s fuel and maintenance costs.

The system is recommended in the State Guide Plan and the Aquidneck Island West Side Master Plan; it has the support of transit advocacy groups, the Transit 2020 Working Group, and the R.I. Department of Transportation.

By his veto, the governor blocked a law that would reduce operating costs and make bus commutes more reliable.

The other bill vetoed by the governor would help make transportation to and from state public college campuses more affordable by requiring that all public colleges participate in RIPTA’s UPass program, as most of the private colleges already do.

The bill was a compromise made with the Board of Higher Education to allow those with student IDs to buy half-price monthly RIPTA passes. While URI already does this, the compromise would extend the program to CCRI and RIC, which spend a great deal of money to build and maintain free parking for students and staff.

The UPass bill would end this regressive policy through which parking is subsidized by those who cannot afford a car or are unable to drive.

In vetoing the bill, Governor Carcieri set back efforts to promote campus transit. We hope he was just misinformed about the issue and, working with RIPTA, the Board of Governors for Higher Education, and the administrations at URI, RIC and CCRI, we plan to promote the program on a voluntary basis.

We all have to see transit as an economic opportunity to grow the economy and recapture some of the gasoline money – at today’s prices totaling more than $1.5 billion dollars – that flows out of our state to oil-producing regions of the world. This money, which is currently lost to the Rhode Island economy, could be redirected to support a robust, attractive transit system.

We also need to ensure that the long-delayed commuter rail extension to TF Green and Wickford Junction (and possibly other stops) finally gets underway.

The commuter rail can provide an alternative to our often congested I-95 corridor. The Carcieri Administration needs to get this project started before the earmarked Federal funding, needed to finance the project, expires with the current federal transportation policy.

Finally, we call on Gov. Cacieri to work with all stakeholders to find ways to finance RIPTA adequately enough in the short-term so that we can avert the service cutbacks announced for next winter.

Those service cuts come at the time when it is apparent that we need more bus service, not less, to handle the increasing ridership, to provide choices for Rhode Islanders hurt by high gas prices.

Our transit system needs long-term dedicated funding that is designed to grow with demand. The time is right to invest in clean, affordable transportation choices. All aboard, Governor.

State Senator Joshua Miller represents communities in Cranston and Warwick and sponsored the UPass Act, a bill championed in the House of Representatives by Art Handy.

Representative Edwin Pacheco, of Burrillville, co-sponsored the Transit Signal Prioritization Act with Senator Dan Connors.