After years of funding shortfalls and service cuts, Rhode Island lawmakers approved a budget that closes the agency’s projected funding gap and puts the transit system on firmer ground. Photo: Jef Nickerson/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
For years, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, better known as RIPTA, has lurched from one funding crisis to the next. That instability has threatened a service hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders depend on to reach work, school, medical appointments, grocery stores, and loved ones.
But riders and community advocates didn’t sit back and wait. They shared their stories, packed hearings, met with lawmakers, and demanded change. This year, their work delivered a major victory: Rhode Island adopted a budget that closes RIPTA’s projected funding gap and puts the agency on firmer ground.
A Lifeline Put at Risk
The problems didn’t start overnight. RIPTA’s costs have long outpaced the revenue the state sends its way, and federal pandemic relief papered over that gap until the money ran out. Last year, the agency faced a projected $31.5 million deficit.
When that temporary funding disappeared, riders bore the brunt of “right-sizing” the transportation system. In practice, it meant cutting routes, raising fares, and telling riders on less busy routes that their buses weren’t worth running.
The service cuts took effect in the fall of 2025, and the damage showed up fast. Ridership dropped by about 125,000 trips that November compared with the previous year. Rhode Islanders got cut off from their congregations, their errands, their communities. For those without a car, a canceled route meant missed shifts, skipped doctor’s appointments, or children unable to get to school on time.
“Public transit is not a luxury. It is how people reach the places and people that make up their lives,” says Richard Stang, senior attorney at CLF. “Rhode Island cannot build a fairer, healthier future while allowing RIPTA to shrink.”
And the consequences extended beyond the riders who lost service. The cuts also pushed Rhode Island further from its efforts to reduce the pollution overheating our communities. Transportation accounts for 37% of the state’s harmful, climate-damaging emissions, and Rhode Island’s Act on Climate law makes reducing that pollution a legal requirement. And without adequate funding, riders faced the prospect of even more service cuts in the year ahead.
What Lawmakers Delivered
Over the past year, riders and community advocates pressured lawmakers to act – and our persistence paid off. The bottom line: RIPTA will not face another round of service cuts. The final state budget, signed in June, gets us there through a few concrete changes.
For starters, the budget directs about $4.2 million more to RIPTA than the governor originally proposed. Lawmakers increased RIPTA’s share of the state’s Highway Maintenance Account – a pool of transportation funding supported largely by fees paid by drivers – from 10% to 25%, giving the agency a stronger source of ongoing funding.
The budget also protects funding for paratransit, the door-to-door rides many seniors and people with disabilities depend on. It also includes $3 million to repair and replace aging bus shelters, meaning fewer riders should have to wait in the rain or dangerous heat without protection.
And it helps RIPTA go electric. Federal grants can cover much of the cost of new zero-emission buses, but RIPTA must contribute some of its own funding to qualify. The budget sets aside money from a regional program that charges power plants for their carbon pollution to potentially cover up to half of that share – helping bring cleaner, quieter electric buses to Rhode Island streets.
Finally, the budget prevents the state transportation director from also serving as chair of RIPTA’s board, giving the transit agency greater independence.
Rhode Islanders Turned Up the Pressure
People across Rhode Island made this win possible by organizing and refusing to give up. The Save RIPTA Coalition brought together riders, workers, older adults, disability advocates, faith leaders, and climate organizations around a common goal. Together, they refused to let lawmakers look away. Coalition members testified, contacted legislators, and documented what the service cuts meant for daily life. And they kept showing up, week after week, all session long.
While community members built public pressure, CLF helped make the legal and policy case for action. We joined meetings with legislators, testified at hearings, submitted comments, answered lawmakers’ questions, and helped ensure that the concerns raised by riders and community partners stayed at the center of the conversation.
CLF kept one message in front of lawmakers at every turn. Funding RIPTA is the right thing to do – but it’s more than that. It’s what the law requires to ensure the health of our communities. Rhode Island’s 2021 Act on Climate turned our goals to reduce pollution into binding legal requirements – which the state can’t meet with an underfunded transit system. Investing in RIPTA follows the law, protects people’s health, and saves money down the road.
Next Stop
The budget gives RIPTA breathing room, but it does not solve every problem facing the agency. Lawmakers included critical transit funding in the state budget, but nearly a dozen separate public transit bills failed to make it out of committee. RIPTA still lacks a dedicated, long-term funding source, and there is no guarantee that every route and trip cut in 2025 will return.
But the ground has shifted. RIPTA can plan its next year without bracing for another round of cuts. And lawmakers have shown a greater understanding of what transit means for Rhode Island’s economy, health, and climate.
“For too long, we have had to fight just to stop public transit from getting worse. This victory brings Rhode Island closer to the point where we can begin building the public transit system people deserve.”
CLF and our partners will keep pushing until every Rhode Islander has access to transportation that is reliable, affordable, clean, and built around the needs of communities.
