Last May, the Rhode Island legislature gave the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority an additional $15 million from the state’s unspent pandemic relief reserves to help alleviate their budget deficit — on the condition that RIPTA would conduct an efficiency study to assess their operations and finances by March 1.
But as of March 13, RIPTA still has not selected an outside firm to conduct the study, according to Cristy Raposo Perry, RIPTA’s director of communications and public outreach. The agency now faces a $32.6 million budget deficit for fiscal 2026.
The final requests for proposals from outside firms were due on March 13. The study is now set to start on April 1, Raposo Perry wrote in an email to The Herald.
House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi (D-Warwick) finds it “disappointing” that RIPTA has prolonged their timeline when the legislature wants to ensure the “money we allocated is being utilized in a prudent fashion,” he wrote in an email to The Herald.
If RIPTA’s budget deficit cannot be closed, RIPTA “would need to reduce our workforce by nearly 300 employees,” which would “involve significant service cuts statewide,” Raposo Perry wrote.
Patricia Raub, co-coordinator of Rhode Island Transit Riders’ Working Group, explained that the study could open the door for more funding if RIPTA is able to prove its financial efficiency.
RIPTA CEO Christopher Durand explained that the study was delayed due to recent leadership changes within the organization, in a letter addressed to Shekarchi, Gov. Dan McKee and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio (D-North Providence, Providence).
“Taking our time to complete the analysis correctly is more important than conducting it hastily to meet a deadline,” Durand wrote in the letter.
Durand stepped up as interim CEO when his predecessor Scott Avedisian resigned last April, and was later named CEO in November. RIPTA paused the study until the transition had concluded so Durand could adjust the scope of the study to align with his goals for the organization, he wrote in the letter.
According to Raposo Perry, RIPTA has seen decreased passenger revenues that have not returned to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. RIPTA also receives funding from the state’s gas tax revenues, which have declined with transitions to electric vehicles and increasingly fuel-efficient cars.
“Federal relief funding was crucial in helping to offset these financial challenges, but it was always intended to be a temporary solution,” Raposo Perry wrote. “We’re cautiously optimistic that this efficiency study will identify areas where RIPTA can be more cost-efficient.”
The Save RIPTA Coalition, which consists of several community organizations and labor unions — including RI Transit Riders — is supporting a package of seven bills which aim to close RIPTA’s budget deficit.
“If enacted, these bills could provide a sustainable annual revenue stream for RIPTA of approximately $7 million,” wrote State Senator Samuel Zurier (D-Providence), a sponsor of several of the bills, in an email to The Herald.
State Representative Terri Cortvriend (D-Portsmouth) said that future government funding for RIPTA remains uncertain until the general assembly’s revenue conference in May, which will consider findings from the efficiency study.
“Conceptually, I support RIPTA,” said Cortvriend, but she doubts the agency will get more funding in the future.
Pavani Durbhakula is a senior staff writer and photographer. She is a first-year from DC and plans to study IAPA and Public Health. In her free time, she enjoys baking, reading, and searching for new coffee shops.
