Patricia Raub | Coordinator, Rhode Island Transit Riders
1. What is your concern about the Providence bus hub plan? The R.I. Department of Transportation proposes to eliminate the centralized bus hub in Kennedy Plaza and move to a remote location where almost no passengers would want to go. Also, the plan relocates bus lines so that not all will intersect, making some passenger transfers more difficult and the transit experience worse for many riders.
2. Some argue the Dyer Street hub reflects future growth in businesses and apartments. Do you agree? It might, but the Jewelry District is already easily accessible by RIPTA’s [R.I. Public Transit Authority] new Downtown Transit Corridor linking Rhode Island Hospital with the train station with stops at points in between. Furthermore, the proposed Dyer Street hub is too small to serve as a primary hub.
3. What should RIDOT do, given the concerns? Gov. [Gina M.] Raimondo should direct RIDOT to withdraw this plan so transit riders and the general public can help develop a plan that benefits the many, not just the few. RIDOT needs to let the transit professionals at RIPTA take the lead in the development of any future projects. RIPTA has a history of involving the public in formulating transportation plans and has a wealth of knowledge regarding public transit operations and passenger habits.
4. How can businesses, or employers, influence what happens? Through RIPTA’s transit planning process (
www.TransitForwardRI.com), many businesses have already engaged in shaping a future vision of transit that will work for more of their employees and customers. Now they must speak up to the governor and call for RIDOT to withdraw its backward proposal and work with RIPTA, riders and community groups to improve any central bus hub and better use RIPTA’s good transit access … as a tool for economic growth.
5. What is your concern, if any, about how the pandemic may affect transit use? Short term, the pandemic will negatively affect transit use until there is a reliable vaccine. Long-term, the bold and nearly complete Transit Master Plan for Rhode Island offers an opportunity to shape a transit system that works for many more Rhode Islanders. As climate change intensifies, we believe people are rethinking their energy consumption, and if our transit system can get more people where they’re going quickly and efficiently, more Rhode Islanders will use it.
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Macdonald@PBN.com.
