News & Notes

30,000 people rode the Tide opening day [WAVY.com]

30,000 people rode the Tide opening day: wavy.com

Car, bus or rail: for some Americans none of above [Reuters]

More than half a million households in the 100 largest U.S. cities do not have cars or any access to public transportation, according to a study released on Thursday by the Brookings Institution.

RIPTA decision on possible service cuts delayed until September [The Providence Journal]

The board of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority on Monday postponed a decision on major service cuts until September.

[RIPTA CEO Charles Odimgbe] said he is in negotiations with the unions representing the authority’s drivers and mechanics. He said he applauded the unions for negotiating

Incoming economic development director says Providence’s port is the closest to Europe. False [Politifact RI]

“Providence has got a number of assets…The port [is] 200 miles closer to Europe than any other Eastern port,” [Providence Economic Development Director James Bennett] said. “We need to, I think, focus on turning that into an economic engine.”

When I first heard this I thought, “huh, no it’s not.” But I didn’t feel like doing the math. Politifact did it for me

So we turned to Google Maps, and asked for the distance, as the crow flies, to Dublin (to pick a relative landmark). Here’s the result:

From Providence: 3,030 miles (and a very tired crow)
From Boston: 2,993 miles (37 miles closer than Providence)
From Portsmouth, N.H.: 2,950 miles (80 miles closer)
From Portland, Maine: 2,906 miles (124 miles closer)

Not the world’s biggest scandal by far, but let us not run around making stuff up when we try to be boastful about our city. We have plenty of actual facts to be proud of.

Recession Forcing Cutbacks at Nearly 80 Percent of U.S. Transit Agencies [DC.Streetsblog]

In survey results released today, the American Public Transportation Association reports that 51 percent of transit agencies have either raised fares or reduced service since last year. Meanwhile, 79 percent said they are planning to, or considering, doing so in the near future. Worse, 40 percent of agencies that have made cuts are still facing budget shortfalls in the coming year.