Transit advocates say businesses need to speak up about RIPTA cuts

Jacquelyn Voghel

08/08/2025

BUS RIDERS LINE UP recently at Kennedy Plaza in Providence to board the R.I. Public Transit Authority bus on Route 31 to Cranston Street. Route 31 is one of the route that will be see reduced frequency under service cuts. PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO — BUS RIDERS LINE UP recently at Kennedy Plaza in Providence to board the R.I. Public Transit Authority bus on Route 31 to Cranston Street. Route 31 is one of the route that will be see reduced frequency under proposed service cuts. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

The proposed wide-ranging cuts to the R.I. Public Transit Authority’s bus routes to close a $10 million budget shortfall sparked hours of public comment and dozens of emails to the agency in recent weeks, but there was one voice largely missing: the business community. The cuts would affect 58 of RIPTA’s 67 service routes, which

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