Joshua Miller/Edwin Pacheco: Time for the governor to board the bus

by Josh Wood Sunday August 10, 2008

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Edwin Pacheco, a state representative from the Burrillville and Glocester area, and Joshua Miller, a state senator from eastern parts of Cranston and Warwick, wrote an excellent opinion piece in today’s Providence Journal concerning Rhode Island’s lagging transit system.

The article covers the obvious economic benefits of having affordable and accessible transportation choices. The state’s piggy bank, long cracked and empty, may offer little hope for immediate state transportation spending. But efforts have been made to lay the legal groundwork for expanding transportation options. The article also notes that essential federal funds have been made available for commuter rail projects. Miller and Pacheco urge the state to take action on those projects before the opportunity to use the money is lost.

Here are some excerpts from the article:

… the governor has just vetoed two of the bills we and our colleagues, Sen. Dan Connors and Rep. Arthur Handy, worked hard to pass, even though they had no impact on the state budget.

One of those bills, co-sponsored by Representative Pacheco, a co-author of this column, and Senator Connors, is the simple idea to allow transit buses to extend green lights — a system called Transit Signal Prioritization that has national standards and safety guidelines.

This system, already in use in many other states, is recommended by the State Guide Plan and the Aquidneck Island West Side Master Plan and has enjoyed the support of transit advocacy groups, the Transit 2020 Working Group, and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. Surely, the governor did not intend to block a law that would reduce operating costs and make bus commutes more reliable?

The other bill 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 UPass bill would end this regressive policy where parking is subsidized by those who cannot afford a car or are unable to drive. Indeed all students can benefit from reduced transit costs, and the incentive can help get cars off the road and reduce the costly pressure to expand parking lots.

A healthy transportation system is vital to Rhode Island’s economy, and the vision to bring Rhode Island’s transportation system into the future is there. It would seem that any governor who trumpets economic growth as part of his platform would naturally support the growth of transportation options.

Rhode Island has been relying on the same hub-and-spoke bus system for 44 years now, and we’re long overdue for a new vision. Unfortunately, that vision isn’t shared by everyone at the state house.

Read the full article.

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