McKee to Redirect $3M in Federal Funds to RIPTA; Seeks Fare Increase, Administrative Cuts
August 25, 2025
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PROVIDENCE — Gov. Dan McKee is providing the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority with $3 million in federal funding to partially fill a $10 million budget gap the agency currently faces.
McKee and RIPTA CEO Chris Durand announced the one-time funding infusion in a letter sent to the agency’s board of directors Monday afternoon, along with a new budget directive for the agency, which includes increasing advertising revenue, implementing a fare increase schedule, and cutting administrative positions to balance the remaining $7 million deficit.
The additional funding will come from the Federal Highway Adminstration’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program funding, according to the letter.
“The State is advancing approximately $3 million in CMAQ money from a sidewalk and roadwork project in Wickford — a project that is not scheduled to start until after RIPTA pays back the money from its capital budget,” according to McKee spokesperson Laura Hart.
Because of the increased funding, RIPTA will modify its plans for service cuts.
“Unlike the initial proposal, this revised plan avoids eliminating any routes entirely and instead generally focuses on targeted, demand-driven reductions,” the agency said in a note on its website with the revised cuts.
RIPTA originally planned to eliminate 14 routes altogether.
“While slightly better than the initial proposal, the Governor’s new budget deal still reduces frequency and weekend service on 46 of RIPTA’s routes, making the system less convenient and reliable overall,” Liza Burkin, board president of the Providence Streets Coalition and its Save RIPTA campaign, wrote in a statement.
“While the pressure of our advocacy is moving the conversation in the right direction, this new proposal will still cause harm to tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders with cuts to services in trips, frequencies and on weekends,” she continued. “People will lose their mobility, jobs, independence, and quality of life. It is not something to celebrate.”
Burkin also noted that the Save RIPTA campaign does not agree that fare increases should be a part of a more sustainable funding solution for the agency.
The budget directive also notes that the state is moving forward with the development of a new transit hub near the Providence Train Station.
RIPTA’s board of directors are scheduled to meet on Thursday.
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McKee’s action is better than nothing but too little. It still starts a downward spiral: less service-higher fares-fewer riders, thus justifying further cuts. It gives up on transit playing much of role in reducing congestion, climate emissions, road accidents, improving land use, and it tells residents and businesses don’t plan around having transit. Any fare increase above the basic $2 fare is may face higher elasticity (drop in demand) because it is an even dollar amount as happened when the fare went over $1 in 1995. So its likely fare hikes will produce limited additional revenue.
McKee can avert the service cuts if he wants to. He had no trouble finding about $240 million of state general revenues to allocate for eliminating property taxes on motor vehicles. In June he said he had $15 million available for RIPTA from unallocated funds, now just $7 million is needed. Transportation funding has some flexibility as seen from all the $$ spent for redirecting traffic when the westbound Washington bridge unexpectedly closed, even for a cockamamie winter ferry experiment. And there is always a midyear supplemental budget the Governor always submits. I still think it is worth calling the Governor’s Office, 222-2080, to ask that he not give up on transit.
We need a miliionairees tax to fully fund RIPTA and low income housing. McKee is clueless
The RIPTA board to “consider” (i.e. rubber stamp) these cuts is at 1:30 this Thursday. They will take public comment It’s at 269 Melrose St Providence, off Elmwood Ave, near the #20 bus line. Basically the RIPTA board agenda Thursday contains almost nothing except voting on McKee’s proposal.
Show up! shop up! protest! comment!
They’ve changed the time twice, from 1:30 to 2:30 back to 1:30. . . maybe we can all show up and support each other.