For those who use or care about public transit in RI it’s easy to see this as the worst of times. Most of all because H5076, the Governor’s proposed FY2026 budget, fails to help close the deficit RIPTA faces, about $32.6 million, the largest pending deficit ever, and if not addressed, RIPTA is only 4 months away from having to make severe, devastating cuts and massive layoffs. The state’s bureaucracy addressing climate change doesn’t seem to see transit as a tool to help reduce climate emissions. Further, RIPTA may still have to leave its convenient downtown Kennedy Plaza hub to some inferior location, likely leading to disruptions, debt, and higher operating costs. Then there is the Federal situation with the Trump administration hostile to transit, and even Amtrak at risk, especially with the possibility that Elon Musk, long hostile to rail travel, could well take a “chainsaw” to it.
A Few Reasons for Hope
Despite all that, here are some 6 ways it is also the best of times for transit in RI.
- There has never been a wider, more active coalition of transit advocates. Not only the long-time RI Transit Riders group, but also, both Grow Smart RI and the Environment Council of RI (ECRI) are fully in support of transit. Grow Smart even has a major event about building business support for transit coming April 10 in the Convention Center, while ECRI had funding transit as one of its top 3 priorities in 2024. The “Save RIPTA” campaign, a 27-member coalition including labor, environmental, community and social justice organizations, is working with legislators to develop a package of bills to truly save RIPTA, with an eye towards long term sustainability.
- There has never been such an energetic coterie of legislators working on transit. See below for the sponsors and bills that pertain to RIPTA
- For the first time in a long time, the current CEO of RIPTA , Chris Durand, seems to have support from the RIPTA Board, the unions, advocates, and legislators involved. There has already been notable progress at RIPTA including workforce development, Kennedy Plaza improvements, route changes to better accommodate Providence high school students, and expanded customer service call hours. Of course, Durand didn’t do this alone; he has a team of professionals really working to make RIPTA better.
- The state already has a vision for statewide transit which has been approved. It is usually called the Transit Master Plan (TMP), highlights of which include more frequent service, longer hours of operations, faster trips, better shelters, some new routes and bus-rail coordination.
- Though the Governor wants an efficiency study of RIPTA (now apparently due out in May) before committing to any more funding, RIPTA, subject to numerous previous reviews including from the legislature and Federal authorities, has always come out favorably.
- Amtrak has actually been a success! Its ridership is now higher than before Covid, indeed at an all-time high. Its level of service in Providence is about as high as it has ever been. And when Trump tried to shut down Amtrak in his first term, even Republicans rallied to its defense in response to constituents’ desire to keep their trains. Our own Congressional delegation has always been supportive and effective.
Now for the transit bills, and their sponsors:
H6020 (Representative Alzate) S342 (Senator McKenney) eliminates the Fiscal Year 2026 deficit by allocating about $32.6 million to RIPTA from the General Fund. Rep Karen Alzate summarizes the reason for this, and for transit generally, as follows: “This bill is crucial for maintaining and improving public transportation services in Rhode Island. With a proposed $32.6 million budget deficit for the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), essential transit services are at risk, threatening the livelihoods of thousands of residents who rely on public transportation for work, education, and daily needs. By allocating these funds, the state can ensure continued service, address workforce shortages by increasing wages and benefits for bus operators and support economic growth. Additionally, maintaining robust public transit aligns with Rhode Island’s climate goals, reducing congestion and promoting a cleaner environment.
Noting that the above bills are a one-time fix leaving an even large deficit to fill in 2027 several bills aim to fix the structural budget gap for the long-term:
H5304 (Representative Hull) S382 (Senator Bissaillon) require large employers to offer employees a pre-tax transit pass. Senator Jacob Bissaillon explicitly noted that beyond a one-timer fix we need to build revenue and ridership over the long term.
Rep Ray Hull noted “This bill is needed because costs are still rising across the board and that includes transportation costs for employees. With this legislation, large employers will be required to help off-set some of the costs that employees pay to get to, and get back home, from work. Owning a car is becoming increasingly expensive and this bill would encourage people to use public transportation, which would also benefit the environment and free up congestion on our roadways.”
H5467 (Representative Stewart) S46, (Senator Zurier) restores RIPTA’s share of the gas tax at 30% as it had been before the indexing to inflation began and keeps it at that level so it keeps up with inflation. Rather than taking money from the already stressed General Fund, it would reallocate some transportation funds from RIDOT whose budget has grown quite a bit more rapidly than RIPTA’s has.
In a comment to the Providence Eye, the Senator explained some further background S46, “The General Assembly made an inflation adjustment in the gasoline tax because it realized that costs are increasing for our transportation program. I believe that we have seen the effects of inflation in all of our transportation program, not just the general RIDOT budget. In that way, S46 restores the balance that existed prior to the introduction of the inflation adjustment in 2015.”
And, Rep Jennifer Stewart commented, “Stronger investment in public transportation cultivates all kinds of positive growth for our communities. For years, RIPTA has been under-funded. This bill is one part of ensuring RIPTA is better funded for our future.”
H5405 (Represenative Morales) S419 (Senator Britto) allocates the revenue from the 7% sales tax on Uber/Lyft rides to RIPTA, Rep David Morales noting this was to help address the underfunding of RIPTA that limits people’s options to get around.
S92 (Senator Kallman) adds an extra 75 cent surcharge on “rideshare” fees, ½ to RIPTA and 1/2 to the municipality.
H5105 Representative (Lombardi) promotes MBTA-RIPTA fare coordination. Rep John Lombardi says “an agreement recognizing each other’s passes would help people most in need to more easily travel and save money.”
H5470 (Representative Tanzi) proposes a $100 million bond to go to voters in 2026 to help finance the capital program of the Transit Master Plan (for example more buses, shelters, charging stations)
The last word goes to LIza Burkin, one of the organizers of Save RIPTA who said “the package of bills, supported by our 27-member coalition, will fund RIPTA both in the short term and the long term, so we can finally end the cycle of chronic underfunding and disinvestment, and make RIPTA into the robust public transit agency we need to serve our present and future economy, community, and environment.”
TAKE ACTION: Visit rilegislature.gov to find the text of the bills, the Committees they were assigned to, hearings scheduled, and actions taken.
For more information on the Save RIPTA campaign, go to: https://pvdstreets.org/save-ripta/
Barry Schiller, a retired Rhode Island College math professor, is a lifelong transit user and advocate. He has served on the RI Public Transit Authority Board of Directors and the state’s Transportation Advisory Committee.
