By SANDY McGEE

BURRILLVILLE — For years, people with jobs in Providence have used public transportation to beat downtown parking costs, traffic congestion and rising gas prices. With RIPTA’s proposal to shorten its Route 9, that commuting alternative could be a thing of the past for many northern Rhode Islanders.

“RIPTA’s proposed cuts are dramatic since it is cutting off an entire portion of the state,” said Barbara-Ann Karpinski of Pascoag, a legal assistant for the downtown law firm of Alder, Pollock and Sheehan. “Unlike the city, there are no other means of public transportation. It is not like we can walk two blocks over and catch a different bus. We do not have cab service that is just minutes away. We do not have trolleys. We have one bus route, Bus 9.”
Under the RIPTA plan, Route 9 between Kennedy Plaza and the Apple Valley Mall in Smithfield would remain in service.
However, the rest of the run would be eliminated beginning in December. Route 9 now travels through Greenville, Glocester and Burrillville to the Eleanor Slater Hospital’s Zambarano unit.
The scaled-back route has been proposed as part of RIPTA’s effort to address an anticipated $12 million deficit,
A public hearing to discuss the plan for Route 9 is on tap for tonight at 7 p.m. at the Smithfield Senior Center, 1 William J. Hawkins Jr. Trail. Area residents are encouraged to attend. Sponsoring the hearing are Sen. Paul W. Fogarty (D-Dist. 23, Burrillville, Glocester and North Smithfield) and Sen. John J. Tassoni Jr. (D-Dist. 22, Smithfield and North Smithfield). RIPTA executive Mark Therrien is also scheduled to be there.
In defense of the status quo, Fogarty said, “This is the only public transportation in this area. Cutting this bus route means that people who rely on it for any number of reasons are going to be greatly inconvenienced. It could have dire consequences for families in this area of the state, especially those who need the bus to get to their jobs.”
For example, consider Allison Rich, 40, of Chepachet.
Rich, a Brown University librarian, has used public transportation for decades, taking the subway while growing up in New York City, then the “T” while she made her home in Boston. 
“It’s something I’ve done all my life,” she said. “It’s a huge savings. There’s limited parking around Brown University. It just makes more sense (to use public transportation).”
Joanne L. Mansolf of Pascoag is a legal assistant for the city-based law firm of Hinckley, Allen and Snyder. Mansolf also commutes via public transit. “I have been riding the bus for nearly eight years now,” she said. “I depend on the bus to get me back and forth to work because I can’t afford the gas or the parking fees.”
“I started riding the bus for economic reasons since I just could not afford to pay the parking,” Karpinski said. “Now, I ride as a necessity since I do not have a car and the bus is my only means of transportation to get back and forth to work.”
Many Route 9 regulars say the truncated run would be of little value to them given the long ride from their homes to the Apple Valley Mall.
Muriel Glose of Rascoag has ridden Bus 9 for the past 16 years. According to Glose, it is almost 17 miles, and a 34-minute drive, from Zambarano Hospital to Apple Valley Mall,
The regulars contend that ridership is up in the area north and west of the mall.
“We’ve been keeping a count of how many people are on the bus prior to its arrival at Apple Valley Mall, the proposed route’s beginning,” said Glose, who works at Sovereign Bank in Providence. “For the past six weeks, the 6:46 a.m. and the 7:15 a.m. buses average 28 to 35 riders each. This number has consistently been greater than the number of riders getting on at Apple Valley (Mall).”
Some riders are also concerned about parking at the mall. “There is not going to be enough space (for parking)” there, Mansolf said. “I don’t know where they expect another 20 to 30 cars to park there.”
And, as Glose sees it, the highways don’t need “56 to 70 additional cars every morning and evening.”
Ditto for Karpinski, who said,  “(The bus) benefits everyone since the more people that ride the bus, the less cars are on our roadways.
 “I must say that the passengers on this route sympathize with the fact that RIPTA is having financial difficulties and they do need to make some changes in order to make its budget balance,” she said. “However, like I said in 2004, the answer isn’t always elimination … I am not sure what the answer is, but I am sure they could balance without stranding people that depend on this transportation.”