 |
|
1/27/2026
|
Sen. Zurier introduces bills to fund RIPTA, audit RIDOT
|
STATE HOUSE — Sen. Samuel D. Zurier has introduced bills to direct more highway maintenance funds to the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority and to perform an efficiency and performance audit of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.
“Last summer’s efficiency study showed that RIPTA operates at least as efficiently as its peer organizations. However, because that study did not arrive before the end of session, the General Assembly left RIPTA with a nearly $10 million budget gap that led to cuts to essential service routes,” said Senator Zurier (D-Dist. 3, Providence). “Increasing RIPTA’s share of highway maintenance funds will provide a stable mechanism to adequately fund the agency, and I believe that a study of RIDOT’s efficiency would uncover enough areas for savings to offset—at a minimum—this funding loss. At the very least I believe we should apply the same standards of fiscal prudence that we apply to RIPTA to RIDOT’s much larger annual budget.”
The first bill (2026-S 2095) would increase the share of Rhode Island highway maintenance account funds that RIPTA receives annually from 10% to 20%, starting on July 1, 2026. The share RIDOT receives from these funds would drop from 90% to 80%.
Rep. Terri Cortvriend (D-Dist. 72, Portsmouth, Middletown) will shortly introduce companion legislation in the House.
“RIPTA has been systemically underfunded by the State of Rhode Island for generations,” said Liza Burkin, board president of the Providence Streets Coalition. “By increasing RIPTA’s share of the state's Highway Maintenance Account to 20%––which is consistent with the federal standard for the national Highway Trust Fund––we can finally begin to undo the massive imbalance in transportation spending and invest more in our public transit. With more sustainable funding, RIPTA can be a driver of economic progress, and help achieve our carbon emissions, housing production and educational attainment goals as well.”
A report released earlier this month from the Providence Streets Coalition found that RIPTA routes lost riders and left passengers stranded as a result of the cuts put in place to cover the nearly $10 million budget gap left in the FY 2026 state budget.
The second bill (2026-S 2124) would require the Department of Administration to commission an independent efficiency and performance audit of RIDOT.
A 2025 report from the Reason Foundation ranked Rhode Island No. 30 nationally in cost efficiency per lane-mile of highway for capital and bridge projects, significantly behind the rest of New England, including neighboring Massachusetts at No. 12.
Senator Zurier also pointed to the Nov. 13, 2025, joint House and Senate Oversight hearing as a motivation for the audit.
“During the hearing, RIDOT Director Peter Alviti Jr. could not answer whether any of the bridge inspection contractors who the state is suing over the Washington Bridge failure were still doing work for the department,” said Senator Zurier. “According to a Providence Journal report in December, these contractors had performed 886 inspections over the previous two years. This made me wonder if it was prudent to continue hiring these contractors and whether RIDOT is spending the rest of the ‘billion dollars a year in construction activities’ the director mentioned efficiently.”
For more information, contact:
Tristan Grau, Publicist
State House Room B20
Providence, RI 02903
401.222.4935
|
|