Council Opposes Planned Jitney Service

The Narragansett Town Council adopted a resolution at last Monday’s meeting opposing a proposed jitney service that would shuttle students between the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston campus and three local bars.

“I think we should show the town of Narragansett that we’re doing everything we possibly can to eliminate some of these problems that are being created by these rowdies out of URI,” councilman David Crook Sr. said in support of the resolution, which passed unanimously. 

According to a council communication by Town Manager Grady Miller, the service would operate Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. The proposed Narragansett destinations are Charlie O’s, the Hammer Head Grill and the Coast Guard House.

The resolution lists a number of concerns, including that the service “will encourage alcohol consumption, underage drinking, rowdy behavior and other negative behaviors.”

Other motives for opposition listed include potential impacts on the health of students, the safety of the community and the burden on police.

The document concludes with the statement that the town “will do everything in its power and influence to prevent the transportation service from taking place in the Town of Narragansett.”

The jitney service, Rogue Island Jitney, is the brainchild of Adam Combies, lawyer and cofounder of the law firm Combies Hanson, which has offices in Boston and East Greenwich.

The Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, the state entity responsible for regulating transportation companies, approved Combies’ application for a certificate authorizing the service on Jan. 13.

The Narragansett Town Council is not alone in opposing the service – South Kingstown officials have expressed similar concerns, and URI has appealed the DPUC decision to Providence County Superior Court.

Thomas Dougan, the URI vice president of student affairs, said the university doesn’t feel there is a need for the service, citing the failure of similar services in the past as well as concerns that the service would enable student drinking.

“We’re not opposed to decreasing the amount of drinking and driving, but that could be solved by a one-way service rather than a service taking people to bars,” Dougan said.

University lawyer Louis Saccoccio filed the appeal Feb. 4, and said the process is still in its early stages.

Combies declined to comment, citing the on-going legal proceedings.

According to a report of the DPUC hearing on the department website, Combies argued that the jitney service would fulfill a need at the university for transportation to student points of interest, and that it would provide an alternative for students who might otherwise drive drunk.

Two URI officials spoke at the hearing in opposition to the proposed service. Deputy Chief of Police Gerald Driscoll of the Narragansett police and Lieutenant Paul J. Horoho of the South Kingstown police also spoke, opposing the service on behalf of their respective departments and town councils, according to the document.

The full text of the Narragansett Town Council resolution can be viewed here.