New Public Transit Alliance (NuPTA) RIPEC Study: Transportation at a Crossroads (2002) Growing Smart with Transit: A Report of the Transit 2020 Working Group (2007) Special Legislative Commission to Study Transit in Rhode Island (2007) RIPTA audit (2007) Abrams-Cherwony & Associates NuPTA Next Steps to Getting There [2008]

RIPEC Study [2002] Establish a systematic and stable funding structure. RIPTA will face annual Service reductions unless a multi-year, fiscal get-well plan is adopted and implemented. State policy-makers need to reinvent the way Rhode Islands transportation infrastructure will be financed in the future.

RIPEC Study [2002] Current state transit funding is inelastic and insufficient to sustain the existing statewide transit system even in a no growth mode …one option would be to earmark an additional three-quarter of one cent of the gasoline tax proceeds to support RIPTA operations. This should yield approximately $3.5 million

RIPEC Study [2002] To further diversify RIPTAs revenue base, it is also suggested that a portion of the revenue collected from motor vehicle registration and driver license fees be earmarked for mass transit….. If 10% of these funds were available to RIPTA, an additional $3.1 million would be available to support bus services.

The State Guide Plan Element 611 (now called Transportation 2030) Recommends indexing the gas tax for inflation (also recommended by the Governor's Transition Task Force on Transportation in 2002) as well as to diverting existing registration fees and vehicle sales taxes to transportation, new tolls, and a sales tax on fuel

Transit 2020 Working Group (2007) …fortunate to have a highly capable public transit provider, RIPTA, which provides very good service given funding constraints at a time of increasing demand for services Rhode Island must invest in transit that "builds on and complements the existing system" and that "such an investment will yield numerous benefits" for reasons related to congestion, quality of life, environment, and to get a "better position of the City and State in competition with metro areas making significant Transit investments."

Special Legislative Commission 2007 Require RIPTA, RIDOT and Statewide Planning to develop a public transit strategy for Rhode Island, that maximizes financial investments and connects all forms of transit such as pedestrian, bike, rail, ferry, bus, etc. Provide additional state and local funding to cover operating expenses of RIPTA thereby freeing up federal funding for capital investments to improve and expand services.

Special Legislative Commission 2007 Plan public transit services …as the defining element of New Construction And Redevelopment rather than as an auxiliary part of communities.

RIPTA Audit 2007 A Management Audit of the RIPTA carried under the direction Of the State Budget Office. April 12, 2007 Executive Summary noted that RIPTA performs better than its peer group in all five measures related to maintenance performance, better than peer averages on 15 out of 27 measures of performance indicators, and its trends were "generally favorable and comparable to the peer average in the cost per passenger measure and outperforming or coming very close to the peer average in per capita measures."

RIPTA Audit 2007 Areas for improvement identified included insurance, operations/ employee ratios and administrative costs. The report noted that per-capita state and local funding for transit in: Rhode Island $34.09 per person (states with big rail operations) MA $ per person New jersey $96.27 per person but also below a comparable state, Delaware $86.27 per person

Investing in Public Transportation Stimulates Economic Development Studies confirm the positive economic impact of public transportation investment on new development and business revenues. A Cambridge Systematic study estimated that each $10 million in capital investment yields $30 million in increased sales, while each $10 million operating investment yields $32 million. Every dollar taxpayers invest in public transportation generates an average of $6 in economic returns, ranging from $4 to $9.

NuPTA Next Steps to Getting There Friday, March 7, 2008 Develop a revenue stream for public transit that consists of transportation pollution fees. Global warming fee for the lowest 15% fuel-efficient Vehicles Road and bridge tolls Congestion pricing charges Vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) fee. Index gas tax to inflation for additional revenue for public transit. Dedicate registration fees and vehicle sales taxes to transportation