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Boston Globe
24-07-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Facing budget deficit, RIPTA proposes cuts to most bus routes, eliminating 16 routes altogether
The RIPTA board of directors will then hold a special board meeting to vote on the proposed reductions, according to the agency, which did not specify a date for that meeting on Thursday. If approved, the changes would take effect on Sept. 13. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up 'A first-class transit system is essential for driving economic development in our state,' RIPTA CEO Christopher Durand said in a statement. 'Unfortunately, revenues have not kept up with operating costs and with federal COVID relief funding being fully spent, the Authority must now amend our services to align with the resources we have.' Advertisement Through the proposed cuts, RIPTA is seeking to eliminate 16 routes altogether, including a mix of regular routes, flex, and park and ride services. (Those routes are listed below). Other changes include reductions in trip frequency or numbers of trips on 30 routes, elimination of all weekend service on nine routes, elimination of some weekend service on eight routes, and the cancellation of some entire segments on six routes, RIPTA said. Advertisement RIPTA officials said the agency relied on an independent efficiency study conducted this year to determine the proposed reductions and cuts. 'We closely analyzed key performance metrics, including ridership levels, service productivity and the cost per passenger trip of every route,' RIPTA spokesperson Cristy Raposo Perry wrote in an email when asked how RIPTA chose which routes to consider eliminating, and where service rollbacks could be made. 'Wherever possible, we spread the reductions across the system to minimize the impact on any one area,' Raposo Perry said. Last month, Durand said RIPTA would also turn to raising fares and laying off as many as On Thursday, officials said RIPTA will conduct a study to analyze impacts of a potential fare increase on 'ridership, revenue, and equity.' 'The study will help determine whether fare adjustments could be implemented in a way that supports the agency's long-term financial sustainability while minimizing hardship for riders,' RIPTA said. Asked about the potential for layoffs, Raposo Perry wrote RIPTA is 'still finalizing our plan and are taking into consideration things like retaining the employees hired to resolve the 'With the mandated RIde Anywhere program becoming permanent, we need to grow our paratransit division,' Raposo Perry wrote. 'There is also an opportunity to improve the quality of service provided by the paratransit program by reducing the number of trips outsourced. Collectively these changes will reduce the number of employees that we may have to layoff. Our goal is zero, but we are still analyzing the final budget due to these factors.' Advertisement RIPTA was left with The agency initially faced a Last month, Durand said RIPTA was able to Durand said in his statement Thursday the agency also tapped on one-time federal reimbursements and reallocated federal funding. 'While the timely implementation of these service changes is necessary, we will continue to do everything we can to preserve services that help people get to work, educational and training opportunities, and medical appointments,' Durand said. 'As we prepare for these changes, please monitor our With public hearings on the proposal days away, some transit advocates who spoke at Thursday's RIPTA board meeting before the potential cuts were unveiled said bus riders haven't been given enough time to consider what's being proposed. Advertisement 'This should have been publicized a lot better. It should have been made more transparent,' said Randall Rose, of the Kennedy Plaza Resilience Coalition. 'It's not reasonable to expect the public to comment when this information is not being unveiled yet.' Rose said he places the blame for the cuts squarely on state lawmakers – not RIPTA. 'They chose to put RIPTA through this,' Rose said. Here are the routes that may be eliminated Regular Routes: Route 23 (Arctic/Crompton/Centre of New England) Route 68 (CCRI Newport/Memorial Boulevard/First Beach) Route 69 (Narragansett/Galilee) Route 73 (Mineral Spring/Twin River/CCRI) Route 75 (Dexter/Lincoln Mall) Route 76 (Central Avenue); Route 80 (Armistice Blvd.) Route 88 (Simmons Village Service) Route 89 (Walmart Cranston) Flex Service Routes: Flex 231 (South Aquidneck) Flex 301 Rural Ride (Westerly/Hope Valley) Park & Ride Routes : Route 9x (Pascoag Park & Ride) Route 12x (Arctic/117 Express Park & Ride) Route 59x (North Smithfield/Lincoln Mall Park & Ride) Route 65x (Wakefield Park & Ride) Route 95x (Westerly Park & Ride) Route 61x, or the 'Tiverton/East Bay Park & Ride,' will have two weekday roundtrips eliminated Christopher Gavin can be reached at
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Taxes, fees going up in $14.3 billion RI budget as federal money dries up
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island lawmakers on Tuesday night unveiled a $14.3 billion proposed state budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year that raises a variety of taxes and fees but rejects calls for an income tax hike on the wealthy. House Speaker Joe Shekarchi said lawmakers agreed to raise the state's gasoline tax by 2 cents, with the funding directed to RIPTA. There will also be a new statewide property tax on non-owner-occupied homes valued above $1 million — often dubbed 'the Taylor Swift tax' due to her house in Westerly — of roughly 50 cents per $1,000 of value. The bill will direct additional money to health care and education, particularly special education, according to Shekarchi and Majority Leader Chris Blazejewski. They estimated $45 million will go to primary care, $38 million will go to hospitals and $12 million will go to nursing homes once federal matching funds are added to the totals. 'We had to make choices,' Shekarchi said. The budget bill is a revised version of the tax-and-spending plan that Gov. Dan McKee put forward in January. It follows months of public hearings as well as private horse-trading between the House, the Senate and the governor's office. The final budget plan is about $119 million larger than McKee's original proposal. State leaders have been warning for the last year that the next budget cycle would be challenging, after years when huge influxes of federal money tied to the pandemic made it easier to increase spending. Estimates of the deficit for the current year have ranged from $200 million to $400 million. The 2-cent gas tax increase is expected to generate roughly $15 million to help RIPTA close its sizable operating deficit. As conditions, the agency is required to maintain the RIde Anywhere program for passengers with disabilities, and also to complete an efficiency study examining cost savings. The new statewide property tax on second homes is one of multiple efforts to raise revenue from real estate. Money from taxing Airbnb and other so-called 'whole-home rentals' will be split between municipalities, tourism districts and homelessness programs. Progressive groups expressed immediate dismay that House leaders refused to increase the income tax rate for high-earners. Shekarchi said the possibility could be reexamined, potentially as soon as a special session this fall, depending on how the state is affected by the final version of Washington Republicans' proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Another tax left on the cutting-room floor was the governor's proposal to levy a tax on digital advertising. Shekarchi described the concept as 'too speculative,' noting that Maryland is the only state in the country that has tried to impose one and that effort is currently tied up in litigation. Shekarchi said the serious problems affecting Rhode Island health care, from a shortage of primary care doctors to the precarious finances of some hospitals, was top of mind for lawmakers as they decided what made the final cut. 'We wanted to tackle that issue,' he said. In exchange for the new funding for nursing homes, they will also be subject to revised staffing requirements, after a previous legislative effort to mandate employment levels was halted amid an industry outcry. A review of reimbursement rates paid to primary care providers has been advanced a year, from 2027 to 2026. Lawmakers expressed frustration on the issue of education funding. Shekarchi said they were notified on Tuesday, as the budget was nearly completed, that the R.I. Department of Education needed $2 million to address an unexpected legal issue. RIDE had already had to warn lawmakers earlier in the budget process that they had significantly underestimated how much money would be needed to cover K-12 funding formula requirements. The budget sets aside an additional $22 million to put toward replacing the westbound Washington Bridge following last week's announcement that the all-in cost of the project has risen to an estimated $571 million. The budget also relies on $10 million in expected revenue once the R.I. Department of Transportation restarts the state's truck toll program, which was paused amid litigation but got the green light from a court late last year. It remains unclear when RIDOT will actually start collecting tolls again, amid continued pushback from the trucking industry. While no direct money is allocated in the budget for redevelopment of the so-called Superman building in downtown Providence, the state's tallest skyscraper, it does include language championed by the Senate that would make the project eligible for a break on sales taxes. 'It's my understanding that the Superman building is still waiting for a very substantial grant or award from the federal government,' Shekarchi said. 'I have no idea the likelihood of that or the timing of that. But if that trigger doesn't happen, there are no state dollars that go into that.' For the second year in a row, the House nixed McKee's proposal to acquire a building in East Providence from Citizens Bank to serve as a new state office. The House Finance Committee gave immediate approval to the budget bill Tuesday evening on a 11-3 vote, sending it to the full House for a floor debate and a vote next Tuesday. Additional changes to the budget, sometimes minor and sometimes significant, are usually made by House leadership during the floor debate. Once the budget passes the House it will head to the Senate, which in most years makes no further changes before sending it on to the governor for his signature. The new fiscal year begins July Nesi (tnesi@ is a Target 12 investigative reporter and 12 News politics/business editor. He co-hosts Newsmakers and writes Nesi's Notes on Saturdays. Connect with him on Twitter, Bluesky and Facebook. Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
