Providence City Council wants a quick plan to transport students. Will biking be a part?

Transportation for Providence Students

At last night’s Providence City Council meeting, and with RIPTA’s warning that fixing their driver shortage problems is a longer term issue, a resolution was passed calling on the Providence Public School District (PPSD), Providence administration and the RI Department of Education to “quickly” develop a public transportation plan for Providence students.

Currently, the school department partners with RIPTA to transport than than 4,500 students to get to and from school. Due to the RIPTA labor shortage, many students are now without rides.

The resolution:

WHEREAS, In response to an unprecedented labor shortage, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) has temporarily reduced services statewide; and

WHEREAS, The Providence Public Schools District (PPSD) partners with RIPTA to transport over 4,500 students who solely rely on the buses for rides to and from school; and

WHEREAS, There were several Providence students who were left without a ride to school earlier this week as a result of long-delayed bus arrival and a lack of buses available to transport them; and

WHEREAS, In addition to negatively impacting students’ performance, these delays are causing significant hardship to parents and students who are attempting to get to classes; and

WHEREAS, Reduced RIPTA services are expected to continue for the foreseeable future; and

WHEREAS, In light of the reduced capacity of RIPTA, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), PPSD, and the City administration should collaborate their efforts and immediately develop a plan to address public transportation issues for Providence students.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Providence City Council hereby calls upon PPSD, the City Administration, and RIDE to urgently develop a plan to address public transportation issues for Providence students.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That upon passage, copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of Providence, PPSD, and the RIDE.

The resolution was referred to the Finance Committee and was sponsored by Councilperson Nirva LaFortune, who represents the area that includes Hope High School, Ward 3.

Not a new problem

Transportation has been a problem for a long time in the Providence school system, and students have said that this is nothing new, but it has gotten worse. Bus schedules are not always kept, with some students taking as long to get to school – in Providence – as it would take to drive the length of the state of Rhode Island. With seasonal weather issues here, and RIPTA saying that even if it recruited all of its drivers at once, it would take months to properly train them and get them in force, an alternate plan is being requested expeditiously.

“It is unacceptable to leave Providence students out on the street with no means of getting to class. These bus delays and reduced services are causing real hardships for students and working parents. We can do better. We need an immediate plan to fix our public transportation problems for our students and ensure they have access to before and after school opportunities,” said LaFortune.

RIPTA Changes

RIPTA has put the state on alert that service issues are continuing and likely to get worse. They have also issued a plan to changes service route schedules, without eliminating any route, beginning on October 22nd, while maintaining early morning, night, weekend, and holiday service, but early morning is often the problem for transporting Providence students.

While RIPTA regularly makes service adjustments three times a year in response to seasonal changes and/or passenger use, this round of changes is directly related to the agency’s struggle to competitively recruit new drivers in the current marketplace.  RIPTA says this temporary reduction should mean riders will encounter fewer canceled trips and more accurate schedule,

RIPTA will temporarily reduce service frequencies on Routes 17, 19, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 31, 50, 51, 54, 55, 56, 57, 60, 63, 65X, 67, 72, 87, and 92 beginning Saturday, October 22, 2022. RIPTA.com/ServiceChanges.

Scott Avedisian, RIPTA’s Chief Executive Officer notes they are facing fierce competition from higher-paying private-sector companies for commercial drivers, and they are negotiating with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Division 618 (which represents RIPTA drivers) to increase starting hourly pay for van operators in an effort to become more competitive in the marketplace. He also notes retirements that have happened since the pandemic.

Notably, RIPTA drivers begin as van drivers after training, and advance to driving large buses only after several months. Beginning salaries are lower than that of full-bus drivers.

2022 Fall Service Changes

In addition to the temporary service reductions, RIPTA will also implement annual changes which include trip time adjustments to Routes 13, 29 and 67. In addition, a trip time will be added to Route 54 (Lincoln/Woonsocket), and Route 92 (East Side/Federal Hill/RI College) will now serve Governor Apartments.

The following routes will be affected by temporary service reductions and/or fall service changes:

13 Coventry/Arctic/CCRI – 17 Dyer/Pocasset – 19 Plainfield/Westminster – 21 Reservoir/Garden City/CCRI – 22 Pontiac Ave. – 27 Broadway/Manton – 28 Broadway/Hartford – 29 CCRI Warwick/Conimicut – 31 Cranston St. – 50 Douglas Ave./Bryant University – 51 Charles St./Twin River/CCRI – 54 Lincoln/Woonsocket – 55 Admiral/Providence College – 56 Chalkstone Ave. – 57 Smith Street – 60 Providence/Newport – 63 Broadway/Middletown Shops – 65X Wakefield Park-n-Ride – 67 Bellevue/Mansions/Salve – 72 Weeden/Central Falls – 87 Fairmount/Walnut Hill – 92 East Side/Federal Hill/RI College

For Providence students:

In addition to special school trips, RIPTA runs regular fixed-route service to Providence Schools. Students are advised to ride their local RIPTA route Inbound to Kennedy Plaza and then transfer to one of the routes listed Here . Students can use the Trip Planner to plan their trip from home to Kennedy Plaza or they can call RIPTA Customer Service at 401-784-9500 x2012 for assistance.

RIPTA Jobs

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority’s next on-site job fair is set for Wednesday, October 12th from noon to 3pm at their 705 Elmwood Avenue facility.

Bike to School?

With bike lanes such a priority in the city of Providence, will there be an effort to encourage students to bike to school? Will resources be directed to help students purchase/rent/loan bikes to do so? Hope High School, alone, has nearly 800 students, staff and faculty who could be encouraged to bike rather than take bus transportation.

Will PVD Streets Coalition add this to their initiatives? Will Providence redirect some of their funding towards this effort? Councilor Nirva LaFortune, an avid biker and bike advocate, says her daughter bikes to school, and is advocating for the Hope Street bike lane. How many students at this one school would be willing to transition to bike transportation? Will safety concerns of biking on busy roads, in “protected” lanes or not, nix the thought before it starts? Or – will the “quick plan” include bike-to-school transportation?

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