PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A plan to eliminate free passes on Rhode Island’s public bus system for low-income riders who are either disabled or elderly has been delayed by a month.
The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority’s free-pass program was supposed to end Sunday, but agency officials said the delay gives riders time to adjust after the holiday season.
It’s also given more time for advocates of the poor to make one last push to stop the change and make the no-fare passes permanent.
Passengers who had qualified for the free rides will have to pay 50 cents a ride beginning Feb. 1. The full fare is $2.
Opponents of the new fares include Providence Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin and more than 60 of his diocese’s pastors who sent a letter this month urging the transit board to rescind the fare increase.
“We face daily many of those people who will suffer from this price increase,” they wrote before Christmas. “Their needs and concerns are valid and we believe a call for further review is crucial.”
Advocates want state lawmakers, who begin their 2017 session Tuesday, and Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo’s office to review the policy again and stop the increase. The bus system has said that talks are ongoing with other state agencies “to balance RIPTA’s budget constraints with riders’ needs.”
This is not the first time the new fares have been delayed. The RIPTA board approved the changes just over a year ago and they were supposed to take effect in July. It was delayed until the new year because of additional funding in the state budget.
To qualify for the reduced fare passes of 50 cents a ride and an extra quarter for a transfer, passengers must have an annual income that’s no more than two times the federal poverty level. For a single-person household under current guidelines, that means an annual income of no more than $23,760. They must also be at least 65 years old or certified as having a disability.
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