Rep. Slater Calls for Free RIPTA Passes for Elderly & Disabled to be Reinstated

Wednesday, May 03, 2017

GoLocalProv News Team

Representative Scott Slater is calling for the reinstatement of free RIPTA bus passes for the elderly and the disabled.

“As a member of the House Finance Committee, I have the opportunity to take part in crafting our state’s annual budget and I will be forcefully advocating to restore funding to the elderly and disabled free bus pass program.  To ignore the needs of some of our state’s most vulnerable citizens is despicable and RIPTA should not be balancing its budget on the backs of these citizens.  Funding this crucial and necessary program is a top priority for me so that our elderly and disabled are not cut off from the community and the vital services they need to survive on a daily basis,” said Representative Slater.

GoLocal's Investigations into RIPTA

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GoLocalProv recently launched an investigation into RIPTA's new Safe Turn Alert System designed to alert pedestrians, bikers and other drivers that a bus is turning. 

"The [safety alert] is a distraction. We can't have electronics on our seat at all -- no radios, cells, etc. So if it was mounted on the other side, drivers wouldn't be distracted," thirty-one-year RIPTA veteran driver Joseph Cole told GoLocalProv. 

RIPTA has been under scrutiny and faces numerous lawsuits tied to deaths and accidents, and the agency has refused to turn over accident records to the media or to the attorneys, for the family of the 9-year-old girl killed by a RIPTA bus on Smith Street in 2015.

See the Lawsuit below

In a separate investigation, GoLocal uncovered that in 2016, more than 125 RIPTA employees made more than $20,000 in overtime. And, with overtime, more than 20 union positions earned over $100,000. The top overtimer at RIPTA earned $58,359.06 in overtime, on top of his base salary of $84,823.35 in 2016. 

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Related Slideshow: RIPTA Lawsuit

Related Articles

• 3 Dead, Dozens Injured, and Lawsuits Filed in Two Years - Is RIPTA Safe?
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• Big Changes at RIPTA
• RIPTA Hires AlliedBarton to Enhance Security at Kennedy Plaza
• NEW: Serious Accident at East Side RIPTA Tunnel in Providence
• Don Roach: Rate Hikes Won’t Solve RIPTAs Fiscal Woes
• NEW: RIPTA Driver Punched, Providence Police Seek Suspect
• NEW: RIPTA Bus Driver Assailant Surrenders to Providence Police
• NEW: RIPTA Fare Hikes Opposed at State House Rally
• RIPTA Announces Temporary Newport Bus Stops on America’s Cup Avenue
• NEW: RIPTA Detours 8 Routes Due to Winter Storm
• RIPTA Blocks Requests for Information from Family of Dead 9-Year-Old and Media
• READ Key Court Documents in RIPTA Case Involving Death of 9-Year-Old RI Girl in ‘15
• Does RIPTA’s $400,000 “Safe Turn Alert” System Work?
• RIPTA Bus Driver Raises Concerns About $400K “Safe Turn Alert” System
• Guest MINDSETTER™ Ford: RIPTA and Rhode Island Government Simply Not Working
• RIPTA Statement in Response to GoLocal Investigation, Says “Staffing & Overtime Managed Effectively”
• 21 RIPTA Union Employees Who Make More than $100,000 with OT
• Top 100 RIPTA Union Overtimers
• RIPTA: Agency in Chaos - OT Jeopardizing Safety and Financial Viability
• Millions in RIPTA Overtime Prompts Call for Review by RI Leaders
• Opponents of RIPTA Fare Hikes to Rally at RI State House Wednesday Afternoon

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