By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

SMITHFIELD — Contrary to what some might believe, Rhode Island Public Transportation General Manager Alfred J. Moscola actually likes the riders of the RIPTA Route 9 bus that services Burrillville, Glocester and Smithfield.

“I love the No. 9 people. I know many of them very well,” Moscola said at a public hearing hosted Thursday night by Sen. Paul W. Fogarty (D-Dist. 23, Burrillville, Glocester, North Smithfield) and Sen. John J. Tassoni Jr. (D-Dist. 22, Smithfield, North Smithfield).
The hearing, which saw the Smithfield Senior Center packed with more than 150 residents and town officials from the three communities, was held so the public could voice its concerns over RIPTA’s plan to cut bus routes, particularly that portion of the Route 9 bus route beyond Greenville to Eleanor Slater Hospital’s Zambarano Unit in Burrillville.
“We don’t want to cut service anywhere and we haven’t yet,” Moscola told the crowd. “But you have to understand that this isn’t anything we did ourselves.”
Friendships aside, Moscola told residents that the agency has no choice but to consider eliminating a segment of the No. 9 bus route as part of a proposed plan to address a $12 million budget deficit.
 The agency wants to shut down 160 routes across the state in an effort that would save approximately $9.7 million in 2009. The cuts, which are aimed first at routes that have low ridership or are close to other routes, would eliminate some routes, shorten others and stop evening or weekend service on others.
According to the proposal, the segment of the No. 9 route between Kennedy Plaza and Apple Valley Mall would remain in service, but the rest of the route, which runs through Greenville, Glocester and Burrillville to Zambarano hospital, would be eliminated. That, says Moscola, would result in an annual cost savings of $197,623.
“We’re stuck in the middle like everyone else,” said Moscola, adding the high cost of fuel (RIPTA purchases 2.5 million gallons of fuel per year) and the downward spiral of the gas yield has cripped the agency.
Couple that with the fact that RIPTA already recieves the lowest state and federal per capital transit funding than any other east coast state and it’s easy, he said, to see how the agency found itself with a a $1.8 million deficit for the fiscal year that ended June 30, and the prospect of an additional deficit of $5.7 in the fiscal year that just began.
“We’re not these fat cats just sitting around over there,” he told residents. “We have 854 employees who work very hard. We need support from  senators and representatives and folks like you to adress the issues of a sustainable public transit system. We’re hoping you’ll all march to the State House and ask Governor Carcieri and Legislature to help solve this problem.”
While many in the audience said they understood the financial problems facing RIPTA, they also felt the agency has not considered other options other than to do away with the only public tranpsportation people have in that area of the state.
“I started riding bus No. 9 two years ago when I switched jobs,” said William Hawkins of Greenville. “Back then gas was $2.30 a gallon and my family budget couldn’t handle it so I started riding the No. 9. Now gas is over $4 a gallon. People can’t handle it anymore. They need public trasportation now more than ever.”
RIPTA Assistant General Manager and Director of Planning Mark Therrien said the decision to shorten the Route 9 bus route and eliminate the bus run beyond Greenville to  Zambarano was based on the fact that the route has historically low ridership, averaging only eight passengers a day from Zambarano; 29 passengers a day from Smithfield Commons; and 27 passengers a day from Chepachet.
Riders and other residents at last night’s hearing - many carrying signs and wearing t shirts that read “Save Our Ride: Bus No. 9” - questioned those figures, saying daily counts of riders they’ve taken over the past months show ridership up in the area north and west of the mall.
“I think your ridership figures are out-of-date,” said Robert Shuffield from Chepachet. “In the early  morning it’s standing room only. I think you need to tweak some things and get on the back of the legislators to help you come up with the money to run this service.”
Alison Rich of Chepachet relies on Bus No. 9 to get back and forth from her job at Brown University “where there is no parking,” she says.
“There are lots of people like myself who rely on public transportation,” she said. “I spoke out about this four years ago. I’m beginning to wonder if you just down’t like us.”
Bus No. 9 riders found themelves in an identical battle with RIPTA four years ago, when the agency, which was facing a deficit that year as well, tried to eliminate the No. 9 bus to cut costs.
“It seems you can count on certain things to happen every four years. There will be a presidential election. There will be Olympic games and RIPTA will try to cut bus route No. 9,” said Fogarty, who fought the proposal four years go.
“It didn’t make sense four years ago and it doesn’t make sense now,” he told Moscola. “This bus route must be kept and it’s up to you to come up with a way to do that.”
“I appreciate the fact that your hurting from the high costs of gasoline, but we all are,” said Chepachet resident James Cormier, who’s wife relies on the bus to get to doctors appointments in Pascoag. “Eliminating service is not going to solve that problem.”
RIPTA will be holding its own public hearinngs on the service cuts this fall and at least one of those hearings is slated to take place in Burrillville. Fogarty said the reason for last night’s hearing was to give residents an early opportunity to register their opinions and for RIPTA to hear them before this plan progresses.
Also attending last night’s hearing were Rep. Edwin R. Pacheco (D-Dist. 47, Burrillville, Glocester), Rep. Raymond C. Church (D-Dist. 48, North Smithfield, Burrillville), Rep. Thomas J. Winfield (D-Dist. 53, Smithfield, Glocester) and Rep. Peter John Petrarca (D-Dist. 44, Smithfield, Lincoln and Johnston).
 In addition to several Smithfield town officials, there was a contingent of town officials from Burrillville, including Town Council members Nancy Binns, Norman Mainville, Kevin Blais and John Karmozoyn, and Glocester Town Councilmen Charles Poirier and Patrick Carroll.

As for Moscola, he ended up walking out of last night’s hearing with a “Save Our Ride: Bus No. 9” t-shirt given to him by a rider.

“We came here tonight because anytime a community has concerns we want to hear those concerns,” he said. “We also looking to get as much support as we can.”