Riders question proposed new bus hub location on I-195 land
The troubled efforts to move Rhode Island's main transit hub continue, despite concerns from riders
Press release from Patricia Raub and Amy Glidden, Co-chairs, RI Transit Riders
Over the last several months RI Transit Riders has heard that state leaders were focusing on yet another site to shift the Providence bus hub to. Although the transit rider community was not consulted about this latest location on a remote portion of I-195 land, the rumors were confirmed in this December 8, 2023 radio interview with Governor Daniel McKee.
From a transit perspective, this site is far from many of the most frequented downtown destinations, unlike the current hub location at Kennedy Plaza. RI Transit Riders have concerns about whether this location will be safe, central, and rider-friendly enough to be worth the expense. We will defer final comments for now, but we need a solid case for why this location is better for riders as compared with an improved hub at Kennedy Plaza. The case for the I-195 District will need to account for factors such as the convenience of getting to/from passengers' desired destinations, travel trip time comparisons to existing conditions in Kennedy Plaza or the previously proposed hub at Dorrance St., intermodal connectivity with rail and intercity bus, security, and transit center amenities. We would expect to engage with the Governor's administration and other decision-makers before a final determination of a site is made.
We also note that moving the hub, which was never requested by riders or approved by voters, would be highly expensive. Transit users' main budget priority remains to keep the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) funded and provide funds to implement the transit service improvements outlined in the 2020 state-approved Transit Master Plan (TMP). Without hesitation, we place a much greater priority on financing the TMP than on creating a new transit hub facility. In the long run, the service improvements called for in the TMP provide the only real opportunity to increase ridership across the state, help address our acute housing crisis, and alleviate the worst effects of climate change.
If there is a desire to press ahead with relocating the main bus hub, then we require not only a substantiated case that it would be helpful on balance for transit, but also a commitment from the state that funding to implement the TMP will be available despite the high cost of the proposed Providence hub relocation.
McKee does not ride the bus, and is totally clueless about how to keep ridership up. First fire Alviti and then commit to the Transit Master Plan and keeping the hub at Kennedy Plaza. And NEVER decide what to do about transit infrastructure without consulting transit riders.
sad that McKee mentions budget concerns but not rider concerns.
I think the underlying problem is that a politically connected wealthy downtown realtor with property alongside Kennedy Plaza thinks he will be even wealthier if the bus riders were banished to some other location no matter how inconvenient, and he had the clout o derail a wide consensus the city achieved in 2017 on how to improve the Plaza as a hub and as a public space. Sad, because he won't see that transit access to downtown from everywhere is the one transportation advantage downtown has over competing locations as well as being a help to reduce pollution, congestion, climate emissions, accidents...