The most recent change to the Red Bus schedule was accomplished by RIRA and RIOC collaborating, sharing information, and arriving at the best-informed decisions.

1. We’ve heard virtually no complaints about the new routing improvements. All in all, we believe this change was a success. If there are problems in the future, RIRA would be happy to hear suggestions from residents, and RIRA would be happy to present a consolidated presentation of residents’ points of view.

2. We appreciate The WIRE making the announcement of the service change via its e-mail bulletin service. In the future, we would prefer that RIOC provide more visible signage on RIOC letterhead/logo. Possibly RIOC could use a mechanism similar to the WIRE bulletin service.

3. Although we made good progress on the issues of the turnaround, subway stop, and slightly shortening the schedule for the morning rush, we still have several outstanding issues from our original letter:

• Stop signs on Main Street

• Reducing the variability in waiting times for the buses (also known as the "bunching" issue)

• Permitting parents with open strollers at all times

• Improving non-rush-hour scheduling to synchronize with the Tram schedule

As reported by RIRA Common Council members: There are safety issues concerning the lack of stop signs. Not a day goes by where someone is[n’t] almost hit by a car/truck/bus, especially seniors and disabled. Traffic enforcement is especially problematic during the hospital shift changes.

At our meeting of June 20, we (RIRA and RIOC) acknowledged that we would continue to work on these remaining issues at a later day. We recommend scheduling a follow-up meeting 2-3 weeks from now to address these remaining issues.

4. What is the consolidated bus schedule? Given the multiple changes, it is unclear what the current comprehensive schedule is. We suggest that one of us (RIRA or RIOC) draft a document that contains the updated schedule and that both of us review the wording. The WIRE might be helpful in reviewing the wording; its WIRE e-mail bulletins have managed to translate MTA announcements on F-train service changes into words that normal people can understand.

In summary, we’ve collaborated and made good progress. I’m hopeful that this will be a template for future RIRA-RIOC collaboration.

Frank Farance, Residents Association
Communications Chair,
receives e-mail at Frank@Farance.com (include "RIRA" in subject).