Smog alerts last week saved riders of the state's "trolley" bus system the full effect of a 100 percent fare hike.

This is because on so-called "ozone days," most riders on Rhode Island Public Transit Authority buses ride "free" -- on trolleys as well as regular buses -- with federal money covering the fares to lure commuters and shoppers away from their pollution-producing cars.

A fare increase, from 50 cents per ride to $1 a trip, was scheduled to go into effect July 1, because the federal funds that had helped underwrite the service have run out. As it turned out, however, the fare boost coincided with the summer's first heat wave, which brought four days of ozone alerts.

The trolleys operate in two continuous loops through downtown under a schedule designed to keep passengers waiting no more than 12 to 15 minutes. The goal is to fill in service not provided by regular RIPTA buses, giving motorists a way to get from parking garages to work, or to get riders from the system's hub at Kennedy Plaza to other downtown locations.

The 19 boxy, green-painted vehicles, trimmed in polished wood, have become a familiar downtown sight since being introduced three years ago, and RIPTA spokesman Lee Beliveau says about 60,000 riders are using the system monthly. During the heavy period during last Thanksgiving and Christmas, he says, RIPTA surveyed riders about the prospective increase and found them willing to shell out more. "We may not have a significant loss in ridership in going to $1," Beliveau says. "Passengers felt it is a good value."

It will take about 30 days of real service -- not interrupted by free-riding ozone days -- to find out whether RIPTA's polling holds up, he says.

One of the ironies of free rides during heavy pollution days is that the trolleys themselves are pollution-fighters: they're powered by compressed natural gas, which is supposed to be cleaner than diesel and gasoline.

The move to balance the books of the trolley network is small change for the money headaches that RIPTA sees coming a year from now. The overall transit system is facing a major deficit of $7.5 million, according to Beliveau, and it's not clear where the added money can be found, especially during a period when the state itself is so short of cash.

Issue Date: July 12 - 18, 2002