Transit Advocates Aim To Change RIPTA Board Leadership
As the governor searches for the next Rhode Island Department of Transportation director, transit advocates plan to limit the agency’s influence on the state’s bus authority
March 16, 2026
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PROVIDENCE — Transit advocates are seeking to reverse a 2023 law that designates the director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation as the chair of the state’s sole bus operator.
H8127, sponsored by Rep. Teresa Tanzi, D-South Kingstown, would allow the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority board to elect one of its members as chairperson and assign RIDOT’s director as an ex officio member.
The measure is part of the Providence Streets Coalition’s 2026 Save RIPTA campaign legislative package, which consists of eight bills designed to reverse cuts, expand service to increase ridership, and reduce the transportation department’s influence on the bus’s governing board. The Providence Streets Coalition is an organization that advocates for pedestrian-friendly streets.
Representatives introduced the bill on Peter Alviti Jr.’s last day as RIDOT director. Alviti, who served 11 years as the state’s transportation chief, resigned in February amid calls to reform the department following his handling of the Washington Bridge closure in 2023.
He became RIPTA’s chair nearly three years ago, when state lawmakers called for a “wholesale reform” of the quasi-public, independent agency and debated plans to absorb it into RIDOT. Transit advocates opposed the move, citing concerns of conflict of interest, as both agencies often compete for the same funding.
Their fears manifested when Alviti opposed funding proposals to plug a $32.6 million shortfall in RIPTA’s budget, arguing that the transportation department’s loss of funding to the bus agency would jeopardize its ability to budget and deliver projects on time.
There’s no reason whatsoever for the head of RIDOT to be the person in charge of RIPTA, Tanzi told reporters after the board of directors approved its largest service reductions in the agency’s nearly 60-year history.
“I feel he needs to resign,” she said, adding, “I’m putting in legislation, very soon, to have him replaced as chair of the board.”
Although calls to restructure RIPTA’s governing board have gained support among transit riders, some people, such as Barry Schiller, believe the governor will block the bill.
Gov. Dan McKee announced in February that his administration will conduct a nationwide search for a permanent RIDOT director, and Schiller believes having the director in charge of both transit and highways “might be a plum” for attracting potential candidates.
“I doubt the governor will want to give that up,” the former RIPTA board member said.
The chief engineer for infrastructure at RIDOT, Robert Rocchio, is serving as interim director as McKee conducts the search. When asked by reporters about his role as the chair of the transit agency, Rocchio said: “It’s going to be a bit of a learning curve.”
“I think it’s the kind of evidence you need to illustrate that it doesn’t make a lot of sense for the head of RIDOT to be the head of RIPTA,” said Dylan Giles, operations manager for the Providence Streets Coalition.
He added that RIDOT deserves a director who is committed to ensuring the transit system works for everyone, including making sure that it’s just as safe and convenient to walk and take the bus as it is to drive.
“The last director did not embody those values,” Giles said.
The governor’s office did not respond to ecoRI News’ request for comment.
There is a conflict of interest when a RIDOT director favors private motor vehicles as the only means of transportation that merit public support. A wiser transportation official would use their position to take advantage of the fact that the cheapest, most immediate way to add capacity and shorten delays in and out of the city or across a half-closed bridge is mass transit.
It’s not rocket science. If there were more busses that stopped more frequently there would be more riders. If there were more bus shelters there would be more riders. For example, on West Main road in Middletown, there are NO shelters. You stand out there, freezing or soaking wet waiting for a bus that may or may not come in more than 20 minutes. Really not hard to figure out why people don’t use the bus. Find the money. There’s plenty of money around for things not nearly so vital.
RIDOT director directing RIPTA is guaranteed to harm transit. Alviti should be in jail, and no RIDOT director should have any influence on RIPTA.
good point Andrew. When the Washington Bridge east was shut, they tried an expensive, slow ferry, in the winter, with boarding delays at the docks, that didn’t go to a destination that many wanted to get to (Fox Point,) that only served folks in nearby Bristol and Aquidneck Island – of course it failed. Other places used their transit system to supplement travel when a major road shut down – RIPTA could have served the entire East Bay and goes to central locations in Providence, but was ignored, even though several of us made that point. The trouble is that Alviti, and I think the Governor too as well as many in the establishment, see bus transit as only for the poor/disabled, and not a system that can be for everyone, so they don’t fund it adequately and didn’t use it to help bridge congestion
There are no bus shelters on East Main Rd either, esp. at shopping centers like Shaw’s and Clements. They removed them and never put them back.