Transportation

RIPTA Is Facing a Budget Deficit … Again

The 2026 budget proposal marks the second consecutive year that Gov. McKee has proposed a spending plan that leaves the transit agency with a deficit

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PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority faces a $32.6 million deficit in Gov. Dan McKee’s newly released spending plan for fiscal year 2026.

The quasi-public agency had submitted its own budget proposal to the governor with a shortfall of about $31.5 million. RIPTA’s proposal noted that it no longer had federal COVID money to spend — the funding source had kept the agency afloat during the pandemic — and also requested adding new staff.

The governor’s fiscal year 2026 budget marks the second year in a row that McKee has proposed a spending plan that leaves the transit agency with a deficit.

When the governor released his proposal for fiscal year 2025, he offered $10 million in federal funds to help cover the then-$18 million shortfall the agency faced. By the end of the legislative session, the General Assembly voted to offset the rest.

This time around, RIPTA’s budget shortfall is significantly larger and the state is generally in a more difficult financial position, facing a deficit of more than $200 million.

Although it appears to be in a worse financial position, RIPTA has also seen a turnaround in several areas over the last year, including increased recruitment and improved service. While service cuts or the threat of them has plagued the agency since the pandemic, RIPTA added service in its most recent winter schedule change.

RIPTA’s board also appointed a new CEO, former chief finance officer Chris Durand, who has been commended both by board members and advocates for his leadership at the agency and his role in some of the turnaround.

“We’re happy to have Chris onboard as the permanent CEO of RIPTA. As we noted when his appointment was announced, RIPTA must adapt to the realities of a post-pandemic environment,” said Olivia DaRocha, McKee’s press secretary, in a statement to ecoRI News. “With ridership still below pre-pandemic levels, it’s critical for the organization to evaluate operations, identify efficiencies, and explore new revenue options, as Chris has emphasized publicly.”

DaRocha noted that the governor’s team and RIPTA’s staff are in communication regularly and “working collaboratively to ensure the organization is on a sustainable path forward.”

I look forward to working with the Governor and Legislature to address the budget challenges ahead,” Durand said in a statement. “Public transportation has large impacts on Rhode Island’s workforce, seniors, people with disabilities, and the state’s goals for addressing climate change. We are carefully reviewing the budget plan and will assess its implications for our operations.”

“As part of this process, we will also look into new ways that we can generate revenue and enhance operational efficiencies,” he added. 

The Save RIPTA coalition said in a statement that it is “extremely disappointed that Governor McKee’s proposed budget allocates no investment in RIPTA, leaving the agency with a $32.6 million deficit that will force mass layoffs of employees and leave bus riders stranded across the state.”

The coalition, which includes transit advocate groups, several unions, and other community organizations, formed last year to urge coverage of the agency’s deficit, as well as calling for fully funding the Transportation Master Plan (which would cost an estimated $110 million).

The Save RIPTA statement also noted that other states, including Massachusetts, are increasing their transit funding to historic levels.

“But here in Rhode Island, Governor McKee is once again locked into a small-town mindset that cannot advance our state into the future,” the statement said, “let alone meet his own administration’s goals of increasing household incomes and improving school attendance.”

Advocates and the agency itself have noted some of the funding issues RIPTA faces come from chronic underfunding of the agency. Rhode Island spends significantly less per capita on transit compared to similar systems in other states; according to Federal Transit Agency data, the Ocean State spends about $19 per person, while Delaware, which also has a single, state-wide system, spends about $100 per person.

Daria Brashear, a local transit advocate whose name has been floated by RI Transit Riders to fill a vacant RIPTA board position, said the governor’s budget proposal now leaves it up to the General Assembly to resolve.

“I hope the folks there understand the gravity of the situation, as we can’t afford to let transit service go,” she said.

Nothing in the governor’s spending proposal is final, and like last year, the General Assembly could step in again.

Longtime transit advocate and former RIPTA board member Barry Schiller is disappointed with the proposal, he wrote in an email to ecoRI News. “We’ll have [our work cut out] to head off severe cutbacks.”

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  1. I think the underlying problem is that McKee and some other state leaders see transit as just a necessary service for the poor, thus a low priority, instead of as a tool to help address climate, land use, housing needs, congestion relief, road safety, keeping more of our energy dollars in the state, helping families save on transportation by reducing the number of motor vehicles they need, attracting progressive employers.

  2. Make McKee getaround the stae on the bus instead of having the state police drive him everywhere. Make Sharchi and Ruggerio ride the bus too. I bet RIPTA funding would increase.

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