Amid all the angst about RIOC’s collapsing Red Bus system, this simple truth helps explain. Roosevelt Island should have none of these issues. RIOC should have stopped subsidizing cars years ago.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Simple Truth and Little Known Fact
Looking at underfunding for Red Buses, you see that it has led to the near collapse today. But you probably don’t know that Motorgate parking fees – or lack thereof – are the primary cause. Motorgate parking fees fund the transportation system. That’s according to RIOC’s own design.
Poor planning and fiscal mismanagement play a role, but subsidizing cars, dreaded by many, on Roosevelt Island, takes the cake. As we reported in May, even after as measly 3% increase, parking rates in Motorgate are 2.5 lower than nearby Queens rates. For standard cars, parkers at at nearby Steinway Street garage pay $549 monthly. In Motorgate, cars get a month for only $226.60.
In short, RIOC makes cars on Roosevelt Island more attractive by charging rates ridiculously below local going rates. If RIOC has any rationale, they haven’t explained.
It’s fair noting that RIOC gives all of its employees free parking in the garage. This is another huge giveaway for cars over buses.
Most Roosevelt Islanders Get Stiffed
Only a small minority of Roosevelt Islanders own cars or park in Motorgate. It’s another simple truth. It matches up perfectly with RIOC’s having no idea why rates are so low.
But here’s a fact: If competitive rates were in place, millions more would pour into RIOC’s coffers every year. It would be more than enough to keep the Red Bus fleet fresh and repaired, its drivers fairly paid.
RIOC cries poor on fixing the Red Bus debacle. However, it’s giving away millions every year favoring cars parking in Motorgate. And we still haven’t looked at how badly those same car wreck our streets and pollute the air.
RIOC needs a better plan, one that favors mass transit and not cars. Roosevelt Island wasn’t built for it nor should we be subsidizing this demise in community quality of life.
The Other End of the Leash
The first thing winter reveals when it loosens its grip is not green grass. It is honesty.
Where does the money come from to pay RIOC Salaries? Who pays for Public Safety and/or Police? Landscaping and horticulture? Fire trucks and ambulances? Garbage collection? The library? The
schools? Ride for Free Busses? Where does the money come from? How are rates determined?
Without understanding the full scope of your question, I can give you this insight:
Police (Not Public Safety), fire trucks and ambulances, garbage collection, the library and the schools are paid for by the city. The rest comes out Roosevelt Island residents and businesses. The rates are determined by contracts negotiated between landlords and RIOC, except for fees for things like the tennis courts, which RIOC determines without disclosing how.
A marina might help. It could be carved into the Island just South of the Queensboro Bridge on the
East Side, or built out into the river on the other, facing Manhattan. I’m thinking enough berths for a thousand boats. Those who can afford a yacht or two would surely be able to afford docking privileges. An area could be set aside for kayaks, which take up little space and wouldn’t pollute our river at all. Who needs a car when you live on an island and have your own boat? Hundreds of space would be opened up– on the street and in Motorgate and difficulty parking would be a thing of the past.