RIPTA seeks to raise base fare 16.7%

PROVIDENCE – The rising cost of fuel has spurred the R.I. Public Transit Authority to propose across-the-board rate hikes, including a 25-cent increase in the agency’s base fare. Public hearings on the plan will be held across the state in early May, RIPTA said.

The new rate plan would take effect July 1 if approved by the RIPTA board of directors.

It calls for 16.7-percent increases in both the base fare, now $1.50, and the 10-trip RIPTIK price; they would rise to $1.75 and $17.50, respectively. Cash bus transfers, now 10 cents, would rise 400 percent to 50 cents.

The price of a monthly pass, now $45, would rise 22.2 percent to $55.

Off-peak bus fare for seniors and the disabled, now 75 cents, would rise 13.3 percent to 85 cents. Fares for the RIde Program’s handicapped-accessible vans, now $3, would rise 16.7 percent to $3.50.

“Unfortunately, we have to seek fare increases to compensate for some of the steep increases in the cost of fuel,” Alfred J. Moscola, RIPTA’s general manager, said yesterday in announcing the proposed rate hikes. “Fuel costs have more than tripled since FY 2002, when we paid on average 87 cents for a gallon of fuel. Now, we’re averaging close to $3 a gallon for the current fiscal year.

“Fare increases won’t absorb the full impact of the higher cost of fuel, but they will help.”

Afternoon and evening public hearings are planned at each of five sites across the state:

• In Providence, in Room 260 at the University of Rhode Island’s Feinstein Providence Campus, 80 Washington St., from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 8.

• In Warwick, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 3275 Post Road, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, May 9.

• In Narragansett, in the Assembly Room at Town Hall, 25 Fifth Ave., from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, May 9.

• In Newport, in the program room at the Public Library, 300 Spring St., from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, May 12.

• In Barrington, in the second-floor auditorium at the Public Library, 281 County Road, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, May 12.

Auxiliary assistance for persons with sensory impairments is available, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, by contacting RIPTA’s ADA coordinator at 784-9553 (TDD) or 1-800-745-5555 (R.I. Relay TDD).

R.I. Public Transportation Authority information, including RIPTA bus schedules, is available by calling 781-9400 or visiting ripta.com.