By JIM BARON

PROVIDENCE — Caught between the high price of its own clean diesel fuel, and lower receipts from the state gas tax because high pump prices are causing people to buy less gasoline, RIPTA says it is being forced to cut service on routes across the state.

Of the 50 regular bus routes that are being cut or cut back, and all eight Park n' Ride locations being closed, many of the changes will affect riders in the Blackstone Valley.
Riders and residents will get a chance to learn more about the changes, and to let their opinions be known, at a series of six public hearings throughout the state.
The closest of these hearings, which begin Sept. 26 in Narragansett, will be Wednesday, Oct. 1 at the Smithfield Senior Center from 2-4 p.m. and 6:30 to 8 p.m.. The final hearings will be Oct. 2 at the DiVinci Community Center in Providence, from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m.
Some  routes, RIPTA says, are going to be eliminated altogether, some will see segments cut; bus service will be less frequent on some routes, and on others the buses will stop at 7 p.m. on weekdays and not be on the road at all on weekends. All holiday service will stop and the special beach buses already have.
Also, because ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) service is offered within a three-quarters-of-a-mile corridor of fixed-route service, the paratransit ADA service that RIPTA provides through the RIde Program would also be reduced wherever there is the elimination of a route or a segment of a route.
The state's public transit authority says it does not want to reduce service and eliminate routes, but General Manager Alfred Moscola said there is a $10.8 million shortfall in RIPTA's budget this year and, “after years of cost-cutting, we’ve run out of options.”
Moscola said there was originally a $12.2 million deficit, but that was lowered by increasing advertising revenue and decreasing costs by deferring six general overhauls, deferring capital projects requiring a local match, leaving a dozen  staff vacancies unfilled, and reducing building maintenance supplies.  “None of these help to improve the system,” Moscola said. “We need a first class transit system if we want economic development in Rhode Island.”
“The Ocean State needs a public transportation system that is able to grow with demand,” said Chris Wilhite, director of Sierra Club’s Rhode Island chapter. “With smart investments in clean, affordable transportation choices in Rhode Island, our state can move toward a future of energy independence, clean air, and climate recovery.”
The RI Sierra Club recently issued a report that agrees with Moscola's assertion that RIPTA needs more than just one funding source and can not rely solely on the gas tax.
The report, titled “A Fare Choice,” calls for indexing the gas tax to inflation, or the price of gasoline, as well as tolls on the state's major traffic arteries, perhaps during peak hours to also avoid congestion, a quarterly tax on employers, an excise tax on parking and charging a tax to suburban businesses that offer free parking, surcharges on motor vehicle registrations, and taxes on real estate transactions and new subdivisions.
“The last thing we should be doing is cutting our public transit service,” Wilhite told The Times Tuesday. “The surge in ridership over the last three or four years is such an excellent opportunity for the state to move forward to encourage more people to use public transit and invest in public transit so that we can help solve global warming, so we can clean up air pollution from cars and so that we can have a state that is more invested in energy independence.”
Local routes targeted for complete elimination are Route 53, Smithfield Avenue; Route 73, Fairlawn/CCRI, and Route 80 Armistice Boulevard.
The Route 90 Park n' Ride, which offered service from Lincoln Mall and the Blackstone River Visitors Center and Chimney Hill in Cumberland, will also be done away with.
Local route segments being cut include Route 9 Pascoag, all service beyond Apple Valley. This has become one of the more controversial of the cuts, with residents and public officials calling for the route, which now extends to Zambarano Hospital, to be kept intact.
Saturday service will be cut on Route 79, Columbus Ave. in Pawtucket and Sunday service will be stopped on Route 34, East Providence. All weekend service will be eliminated on Route 76,  Central Ave. in Pawtucket.
Fewer buses will run during the day on  Route 33 Riverside; Route 34, East Providence; Route 54, Woonsocket (all express runs eliminated); Route 77 Benefit/Broadway and Route 99, Providence/Pawtucket.
Buses will stop at 7 p.m. on weekdays on Route 33, Riverside; Route 34, East Providence; Route 54, Woonsoscket; Route 71, Broad Street; Route 72, Weeden Street; Route 76, Central; Route 77, Benefit/Broadway; Route 78, Beverage Hill; Route 87, Fairmount/Walnut Hill, and Route 99 Providence/Pawtucket.
On Saturdays and Sundays, service will end at 7 p.m. on Route 33 Riverside; Route 34, East Providence; Route 71 Broad Street; Route 92, Weeden Street and Route 99, Providence/Pawtucket.
Service will stop at 7 p.m. on Saturdays only on Route 77 Benefit/Broadway and Route 78, Beverage Hill.