PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority scheduled public hearings for this summer to discuss cuts to service and fee increases as it faces a $18 million deficit in the coming fiscal year.

The General Assembly finished its 2025 session without providing full funding for the agency, which had initially budgeted a $32 million gap before legislators decided to allocate more money to RIPTA through an increase in the gas tax.

“RIPTA’s primary source of operating funds, the state gas tax, has failed to keep pace with inflation, making it inadequate to sustain a quality transit system and contributing to the agency’s budget deficit,” RIPTA CEO Christopher Durand said in a statement. “We’ve worked diligently to manage our operations with limited resources, and an independent efficiency study has confirmed what we already knew: there are no hidden savings left to be found.

“At this point, in order to close the budget gap, we must reluctantly consider reducing service, increasing fares and laying off our workforce. Without new revenue, we simply have no other choice.”

RIPTA hasn’t yet announced which routes will be affected, but a recent memorandum from an efficiency study that was mandated by the governor estimated the agency would need to cut service by about 20% to combat the funding gap.

Jim Tull, a frequent RIPTA rider who lives in Foster, is concerned the route he takes to work in Providence, the 10x, could be cut back.

Tull was one of the riders who benefited from an extension to the 10x that added a stop to what he called, “the Metropolis of Foster” — a parking lot in between Foster’s police station and Town Hall.

He doubts that service will be cut to the Amazon facility on the line, but that would leave the nearest stop in Johnston. “That’s not a viable option at all,” Tull said.

Tull moved to Foster in part because he knew he would have access to the bus. In his family of three, they only have one car. He wondered if he might need to move if cuts come through.
“It’s mostly a long-term commitment that’s required given the environmental predicament we‘re in,” Tull said of investment in public transit. “I think it’s very shortsighted.”

Cranston resident Katherine Prevost said she’s unsure what she is going to do if RIPTA reduces its service. She’s never had a license and relies on bicycling, walking, busing, and asking for rides to get around.

Prevost has recently been using RIPTA more, taking it to concerts and Rhode Island FC games in Pawtucket, but it can be a challenging system to use when many lines don’t run late or often.

“It’s just on the edge of useful,” she said.

If service gets worse, she’s worried public transit will teeter over that edge.

“I don’t feel like I’m likely to try to get my license,” Prevost said. “I think I’m more likely to just look for somewhere else to live like that isn’t in this state.”

RIPTA scheduled its public hearings, where riders will get the chance to share their input on fare and route changes, between July 28 and Aug. 6. Attendees can request translation and interpretation services 72 hours prior to a meeting.

RIPTA’s public hearing schedule:

Monday, July 28: CCRI Knight Campus, 400 East Ave., Warwick, noon-1:30 p.m.

Monday, July 28: Woonsocket Public Library, 303 Clinton St., Woonsocket, 5-6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, July 29: Newport CCRI Auditorium, One John H. Chafee Blvd., Newport, noon-1:30 p.m. and 5-6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 30: South Kingstown Town Hall, 180 High St., Wakefield, noon-1:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 30: West Warwick Public Library, 1043 Main St., West Warwick, 5-6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 30: Kingston Free Library, 2605 Kingstown Road, Kingston, 5-6:30 p.m.

Thursday, July 31: Pawtucket Public Library, Campbell Auditorium, 13 Summer St., Pawtucket, 5-6:30 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 4: Providence Foundation, 30 Exchange Terrace, Providence, noon-1:30 p.m. and 5-6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 6: Barrington Public Library, 281 County Road, Barrington, noon-1:30 p.m. and 5-6:30 p.m.