Business and Finance Business and Finance
Mon, May 5, 2025
Sun, May 4, 2025

RIPTA's finances are one hot mess. Lawmakers have four different solutions.


Published on 2025-05-04 17:21:02 -
  Print publication without navigation

  • A bill by Sen. Sam Zurier offers one way to plug the $32.6 million hole in the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority's upcoming budget: increasing the bus agency's share of the gas tax. The Providence Democrat's bill
  • one of four proposals seeking to solve the cash-strapped bus network's funding woes
  • would increase RIPTA's [
  • ]

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) is facing significant financial challenges, as highlighted in a recent report by the state auditor general. The report, discussed in a House Oversight Committee hearing, pointed out that RIPTA has been operating at a deficit, with its financial situation described as a "hot mess." Key issues include a lack of sufficient state funding, declining ridership, and increasing operational costs. The agency has been using one-time federal relief funds to cover its deficits, but these funds are temporary and not a sustainable solution. RIPTA's CEO, Scott Avedisian, acknowledged the financial strain and emphasized the need for a long-term funding solution to maintain and improve public transit services in Rhode Island.

Read the Full Rhode Island Current Article at:
[ https://www.yahoo.com/news/ripta-finances-one-hot-mess-203339264.html ]